Written by Foster Dogs, Inc.’s Executive Director, Sarah Brasky
2020 brought about difficult events and experiences for all of us, but there’s one thing that has stayed constant: our love for animals. The future of animal welfare is fostering.
Foster Dogs, Inc. received thousands more applications to foster this year than we had for all previous years combined, to our Foster Roster. People were suddenly much more available to foster or adopt - as they were thrown into the role of working-from-home. The WFH crowd was/is eager to help; and we feel that positive energy. It’s what drives us to continue - myself and my incredible volunteer team and staff.
See: recent press:
CNN, March
CBS News, March [Video here]
The New York Times, April
The Associated Press, April
ABC News, April
U.S. News & World Report, April
Yahoo! Life, April
Personally, back in March and April, I was unsure how our organization would survive this pandemic - as did so many other nonprofits. We wouldn’t be able to run our planned events, foster transport went on hold so there weren’t many dogs available, volunteers were moving away and feeling blue, and employers were sending staff on furlough. We rely on donations from individuals, so that would become tight - and corporations that previously might have sent a check are in a uniquely tough position this year.
But we adjusted, quickly at that. We pivoted our focus to become completely virtual in a way that, it turns out, felt so natural to our mission and team. Once I saw that the “end” to COVID was still in the far distance, my attention turned to fundraising; I continued to oversee all the regular operations and events, and even hosted our first-ever webinars - but fundraising needed a new approach. We ran a successful campaign focusing on $5 donations, which incredibly raised $4,000 in just a few days thanks to more donors, giving smaller amounts that felt comfortable to them.
Fundraising is still going to be a major challenge for the coming year. But we were able to raise enough to continue our current projects and to support our wonderful existing programs through the end of 2020 and into early 2021.
In addition to unprecedented foster interest levels, we also received more applications to volunteer than ever before. Thanks to a new on-boarding system by our administrators, we welcomed nearly thirty new volunteers this year (many of whom were able to help for a few months’ time, and some continue supporting us in more continuous roles).
Sixty five-star reviews on GreatNonprofits to date, and we plan to always work hard to promote positive, welcoming, progressive foster programs and ideals. We are proud of the adjustments and improvements we’ve made this year and of the foster boom in which we got to be active players. Innumerable lives were saved, and now we’ll take a moment to stop and reflect on this organization’s accomplishments.
Now, as we enter 2021, we ask for your support - any amount is helpful - in funding our efforts.
Some incredible recaps, for the wild year that was 2020:
FOSTER DOGS’ “IN-HOUSE” PROGRAM
16 dogs rescued who have become #FDIalumni (Foster Dogs Inc alumni!)! Beginning in 2018, we’ve rescued dogs annually from various circumstances (shelter, owner-surrender, rescue partners in New York and out-of-state). We rescue anywhere from 5, to 16 dogs annually depending on our organization’s funding at the time, and on our volunteer bandwidth to oversee each dog’s care all the way past the adoption date. And we aim to rescue another wonderful group in 2021. Please donate, and make a note if your donation should be earmarked for our medical fund to support future rescue stories like these!
While we are working tirelessly to enhance our programs and support our rescue partners (Foster Roster, virtual events, webinars), we also handle "in-house" adoptions - and promote positive, inclusive foster and adoption methods. Below are all our special faces, including many seniors, several puppies, small dogs, and a few medium and large dogs. Each dog shown here holds a special place in our hearts. Every dog we rescue goes straight into foster care, with full medical coverage and daily care coverage for the foster parent [our webinars preach: “fostering should be free'“].
2020: 15 dogs adopted to great homes, 1 in foster who is currently receiving medical treatment. 2 members of Chloe’s Fospice Friends [end-of-life placement], 2 dogs with massive growth removals, 9 seniors, 4 puppies, 3 adult dogs, 3 large dogs. 5 rescue transfer partners: NYC ACC, Louie’s Legacy, BARRK LI, PAWS NY, local vet clinic, Wiregrass Animal Group.
11 of these dogs received surgical procedures, ranging from lumpectomies, dentals, and spay & neuter. Surgeries are expensive, and we choose a select group of dogs annually in order to give each one of them a supportive and loving foster experience - and then, get happily adopted.
FOSTER ROSTER & RESCUE PARTNER RELATIONSHIPS
We sent 53 Foster Roster email blasts on behalf of 21 NY-area animal welfare organizations, to our list of thousands of applicants, as well as numerous Nashville blasts with our 2 local partner groups: Metro Animal Care and Control, and Wags and Walks Nashville. View our Participating Organizations here. Each email blast contains numerous dogs needing foster homes, and we connect the willing home, with the rescue contact, and provide the introduction and context needed for the foster parent to successfully move forward. Learn more about the program and how to apply.
We had incredible success rates with adult Pit Bull type placements during the beginning weeks of quarantine (read the blog), and received incredible surges in foster applications. Even before we knew what to do and how to do it, we knew that people wanted to help despite feeling helpless; so we commissioned this graphic - which went viral.
When the COVID quarantine began, our Foster Roster team had several intense weeks when thousands of people started to work from home and apply to foster. Shelters were in crisis mode, to get their animals into foster homes and avoid euthanasia. While innumerable people were seeking out resources to begin fostering, our Foster Roster team was tirelessly connecting with shelters and rescue groups to move all remaining animals into homes. In addition to helping our rescue partners, 8 shelters in the NY-area asked Foster Dogs for urgent help placing dogs during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Tri-State area.
This program is in-progress with an overhaul for 2021, and is seeking further donor and grant support to allow for us to better connect with our 12,000+ person total database of willing foster caretakers. We have great plans for the Foster Roster, and need your help to make that happen. Please donate, and include a note on the form if your donation should be earmarked for Foster Roster!
Events & PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Puppy Bowl “Pup Rally”: PBXVI, February at Boris & Horton in New York City, Raising $4,000 for Foster Dogs, Inc. Read more about it on Instagram.
Friday Night Foster Club: Launched in March, 25 episodes, Over 170 dogs, over 145 foster homes, nearly 50 rescue groups, 11 hosts. Covering 16 states across the country. Averaging 1,800 views per episode (note: the “save” feature was added in Instagram in May). Search #FridayNightFosterClub on Instagram to see all our many posts over the last eight months. Thanks to the “donate” button on the Instagram Live that was added by the platform in May. we were able to raise money for various nonprofit organizations. You all helped raise over $4,000 for the following organizations: Equal Justice Initiative [EJI], The Audrey Lorde Project, The Dogfather of Harlem’s Pup Relief Tour, and Foster Dogs Inc. Read more on our blog.
Feel Good Foster Club: Held on May 17th, Foster Dogs sought to try out new ways to showcase dogs in foster care while encouraging people to relax, engage, and support Essential Workers during a difficult time. Donors helped raise $2100 for Foster Dogs Inc., in which a large portion was donated to the Urban Resource Institute [URI]. Read more about this state-of-the-art virtual event on our blog.
Webinars: 7 webinars, beginning in March. We had 1,000 total RSVPs, nearly 400 people attending live. When we previously could welcome 2-3 dozen guests at our New York City workshops in years prior, these events could host thousands more guests in total. There were 3 special guests who joined webinars as co-hosts, including: Erin Stanton of Susie’s Senior Dogs, Melissa Shapiro of @pinkpigletpuppy, and Christine Nendick of @rescueinstyle.
Strut Your Mutt: Over $41,000 raised for our organization, which is $9,000 more than 2019 - during a pandemic. We are so impressed by our dedicated team this year. 7 participating cities in North America, showing off their love for fostering. Read more on our blog.
Honorable mentions: 1 in-person workshop at Animal Haven Shelter (January), Rescuer Happy Hour networking event (April), 2 Virtual Puppy Parties: CBS Viacom (August) & Two Sigma (November)
Diversity & Inclusion Efforts
Foster Dogs has been making a conscious effort to reach beyond our existing network of volunteers, fosters, and adopters, and show that fostering is for everybody - including those whom we weren’t reaching in the past. For the last six months, we have posted about amazing advocates on our #FosterFriday feature on Instagram, who bring diversity to animal welfare.
Read more about these Diversity and Inclusion efforts on our blog, and about our efforts to add more Spanish-language content to our website in the near future.
Sophie and her Fospice mom Laura. Photo by @iamgurk at their Fospice photo shoot.
Chloe’s Fospice Friends
This year, we welcomed back 2 returning (2019) dogs, brought in 10 new dogs into Fospice, as well as 2 reinstated Fospice friends (they had previously seemed to be doing better than expected, and declined again). And we even welcomed in our first feline into the program! 2 caretakers had taken in a Fospice pet before, and we welcomed 9 new homes into the program for their first Fospice pet. We collaborated with 7 other rescue organizations, totaling including Foster Dogs.
Our 15 Fospice Friends in 2020: Fran, Fred, Peeps, Scully, Allie, Wiley, Troy, Funny Bunny, Potato, Sophie, Oreo, Jack, Little Man, Rico, Caillou.
In 2021, we are planning to improve some aspects of the program to make it more sustainable for the participating shelter animals, Foster Dogs volunteers, Fospice caretakers, and rescue organizations. Please donate, and include a note on the form if your donation should be earmarked for Fospice!
