1 - Get over your money issues

“Infinite Underpants”by Rebecca Fine

• "Do you think underpants grow on trees?"

• “Underpants can't buy happiness."

• "No matter how hard I try or what I do, I just NEVER have enough underpants."

2 - Know where money is going

• Track everything• If necessary, get an

audit

3 - Think like a business owner

• Nonprofit does not mean no money

• Business smarts can make the difference between continuing and shutting down

• Understand overhead

4 - Take care of your stuff

• Don’t replace; maintain instead

• Read manuals• Create a maintenance

checklist

5 - Freecycle and upcycle

• Be creative with what you have

• Craigslist and Freecycle lists can be sources of freebies

• Take advantage of “weird” donated items

http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/2013/01/wordless-wednesday-105/

6 - Shop around

• Particularly for pet meds and supplies

• Try to shop locally when you can, but know that sometimes online prices are better

• Get prescriptions from your vet so you can fill online

7 - Work with the vet community

• Work with vet schools• Get interns• Ask for deals, payment

plans• Vets are NOT the enemy!• Be professional

8 - Conserve energy

• Turn of items not in use• Watch out for “ghost”

drains on power

9 - Use volunteer labor wisely

• Know what volunteers are doing

• Know what they are capable of doing

• Try giving volunteers more responsibility

10 - Get creative with design

• Do black and white promos vs. color

• Take money-saving advice from printers (“gang runs”)

• Use the right printer for the project

11 - Haunt thrift stores

• If you have a thrift store or EBay shop and get donations, pay attention to what comes in

• Visit other thrift stores for items you can use

12 - Get animals adopted fast

• Every day an animal is in rescue costs money

• Run adoption promotions• Do off-site adoptions• Don’t end up with “forever

fosters” that never get exposure

13 - Partner with businesses

• Share costs with co-op accounts

• Share PR opportunities• Bring together people that

normally wouldn’t know your organization exists

14 - Make things

• Grow catnip/cat grass• Create your own nontoxic

cleaning supplies• Make cat/dog toys• Sell crafts• Find “crafty” people to

help (quilt guilds)

15 - Use pros in training

• Grooming school students• Journalism student interns• Talk to design instructors

about special projects

16 - Barter and swap

• Check out Craigslist• What do you have?• What do other people

want?

17 - Try "gleaning"

• Usable food and supplies that stores have to throw away

• Broken bags of dog food• Ask around

18 - Shop for insurance

• Get new quotes every year or so

• Insurance can be an expensive line item in your budget!

19 - Ask friends and donors

• You don’t get what you don’t ask for

• If you need something specific, send a letter or email to supporters

• You never know who has connections

20 - Shop off season

• Plan ahead for supplies for fundraisers

• For example, after Christmas stock up on discounted items for a SantaPaws event

21 - Cut your debt

• Interest costs a lot over time

• Never assume “things will be better later”

• Scrimp and save to remove debt overhead

22 - Pay your bills on time

• It should be obvious, but isn’t

• Paying late incurs extra charges

• Give yourself an allowance and stick to it

• When money is gone, it’s gone

Don’t stick your head in thesand about bills!

23 - Don't take "just one more"

• Every animal incurs costs

• Know what you can handle and what you can’t

• Spend less than you earn• Earn more than you

spend

24 - Look for hidden fees

• Go through bank statements

• Make sure you know what every charge is for

• Look for “mysterious”fees and charges

25 - Get pro-bono help

• Lawyers, accountants, graphic artists sometimes will do pro-bono work, so ask!

• Sometimes newbies want to enhance their portfolio (writing/design)

26 - Try crowd sourcing projects

• For a big initiative or project, try doing a specific ask

• Consider online sites like Kickstarter and Greenfunder

27 - Mail at the nonprofit rate

• If you are a 501c3, you can mail at a lower rate

• It’s free to get approved• Takes time for approval

28 - Eliminate printing

• Where can you cut printing costs?

• Print newsletter? What about email?

• How many of your supporters are online?

29 - Use free online tools

• Online software• Google docs, blogging tools,

analytics, social media

• Open source software• Photos (Gimp)• Audio (Audacity)• Office software (Open Office)

30 - Solicit in-kind contributions

• Create wish lists – include in web site and newsletters

• Ask for what you want, so you don’t get what you don’t want

• Sell or upcycle items that you can’t use directly

31 - Network and share

• Networking is free• Collaboration can cut costs• Share services

(webmasters, copywriters)• Share facilities (office

space, equipment, supplies)

32 - Simplify events

• Cut spending on events and galas

• Consider simpler, lower-cost events

• “Because we’ve always done it that way” is not a good reason to continue

33 - Hold contests

• Contests can be incorporated into fundraising projects.

• For example a photo contest for a calendar you sell

• People love contests!

34 - Save time

• Time is money• Where do you waste time?• Make meetings matter

(Or can you eliminate the meeting entirely?)

• Have an agenda

35 - Avoid “people problems”

• Rescues are often destroyed by people problems

• Huge emotional time sink• Hire slowly• Fire quickly

36 - Learn how to use your tools

• This is not 1989 “I’m not good with computers”doesn’t cut it anymore

• Take classes• Learn shortcuts• Be efficient

37 - Have a buffer

• Put money aside for bad times. They will happen

• Prepare now for future shortfalls

• Run “what if” scenarios (“what if the shelter burned down?”)

38 - Understand cash flow

• Don’t spend all the money from the big yearly fundraiser

• Know the difference between ongoing vs. episodic funding (ongoing=annual fund; episodic=grants/events)

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39 – Brainstorm income ideas

• Look at easy low-cost ideas from Funds to the Rescue

• Look at the ROI (return on investment) of everything

• Even if you make a lot of money on an event, you may not make a lot of PROFIT

40 - Diversify revenue

• Don’t rely on one big event or one big donor

• Putting all your eggs in one basket can be risky

• Times change; people change. What worked before may not work now

41 - Focus on your mission

• Rescues are weakened when they stray from their primary mission

• Don’t be distracted by non-mission activities

42 - Consider outsourcing

• Save time/money by outsourcing things you don’t do well

• Outsource HR, payroll, admin, taxes

• Time is money

43 - Ponder merging

• Merge with a similar or complementary organization

• If you’re at risk of shutting down, it may be the best option

• One bigger org can be more effective than two competing small ones

44 - Negotiate everything

• Always ask for nonprofit rate

• Almost everything is negotiable

• You never know unless you ask

45 – Maximize your board

• Have a “working board”• Board should help raise

and save money• Take advantage of their

contacts for donations, sponsors

46 - Try low-cost marketing

• Letters to the editor• Guest columns• PR is free; writing press

releases is easy• Small local newspapers are

desperate for “feel good”stories

47 - Retain your people

• Keep volunteers and staff happy

• Training new people is expensive

• Long-term employees have valuable knowledge

48 - Cultivate existing donors

• It’s easier to cultivate existing donors than to find new ones

• Let them know you appreciate and need them

• Tell stories that touch their hearts

• Always say thank you

49 - Stay in touch

• Don’t forget about lapsed donors

• Don’t delete them off your list!

• Give them free ways to stay in touch (newsletter, Facebook)

50 - Look for thriving biz

• Some businesses are recession proof

• Look for money where other orgs are not

• Keep up with the business press to spot companies doing well (for example, in our town a microbrewery is doing great)

51 - Reexamine projects

• Now may not be the right time for big capital project

• For example: New building may be great, but not feasible right now

• Big projects can distract from your primary focus

52 - Speak to spread the word

• Speaking to civic clubs is free

• Talk on topics business people are interested in (leadership, finding good help, partnering with nonprofits)

• Don’t just beg for money; provide useful information

53 - Get free PR

• Negotiate with radio stations for PSAs/event promos

• Consider non-peak times• Some time-slots may not

cost anything

54 - Participate in events

• Piggyback on someone else’s event instead of doing your own

• Have booths at community events

• Demonstrations, puzzles, fun activities

55 - Maximize your website

• Do you have a donate button?

• Can people sign up for your newsletter?

• Do you have a wish list?• Is the site easy to read?• Can people tell what you

actually do?

56 - Renegotiate with creditors

• If you’re desperate and may have to close down, talk to creditors

• Some may be willing to accept as little as 40-60 cents on the dollar

• They know some money is better than no money

57 - Be creative!

• This is the MOST important tip!

• Know where you money is going, look at the things that cost the most

• Find creative ways to lower or eliminate those costs

Now You…

• Questions? Thoughts?• Where are you

spending money?• What can you get

for free?• Where can you

reduce spending? BRAINSTORM!

Thank you for attending!

For more information, visit our sites:

• Logical Expressions, Inc: www.LogicalExpressions.com

• NAPRP: www.NAPRP.com

• Pet-related articles:www.pet-tails.com