Things You'll Need
- Food
- Shelter
- Supplies
- Volunteers
- Attorney
- Fund Raising ideas
- Veterinarian
Instructions
Instructions
Find a good attorney. An attorney can make sure everything you are considering would be legal in the state of South Carolina. You would not want to put time and energy into this wonderful undertaking only to find out that the state does not allow something and you would again have to begin from scratch. An attorney will also advise you how you can apply for non-profit status in South Carolina.
Decide where your rescue will be located. Will you start this up in your home or will you find a remote location to take in rescues from? How many animals can this area hold? Will it need to have divided areas for smaller animals? Young animals? Special-needs animals? Will you also accept animals with behavioral difficulties? All these points must be taken into consideration before proceeding.
Research and plan. This is a something that you must be extremely committed to and cannot take on half-heartedly. Where will your funds come from? How much will it cost to house, feed and care for these rescues? You will need comparative costs for these items so you know how much money you will need to bring into your rescue to cover these necessities. Now is the time to sit down and create a financial plan.
Find help. Though you may feel that you can do this alone, once word starts spreading about your rescue, no doubt your phones will start ringing with calls for animal placements. Place small free ads in local South Carolina newspapers looking for volunteers. Join local online groups announcing the opening of your facility and ask for volunteers. Start putting up signs in your area or signs near local schools and businesses as well requesting volunteer help.
Locate a veterinarian. This is an extremely important task as you will need this doctor for emergency care as well as routine care of your rescues. Ask South Carolina veterinarians if they will donate their time, but you will still need to be choosy on the ones that you decide to work with. You will want doctors that are knowledgeable in the pets that you have chosen to rescue. Interview a few of them and then decide who you are the most comfortable working with.
Prepare your paperwork. You will need to draft both an adoption contract and an adoption application. You will want to make sure that you find the best homes possible for the animals that you choose to take in. Your adoption contract will lay out in simple terms what is expected of adopters after they leave with their new family member. Your adoption application should give you enough information to allow you to feel comfortable with releasing an animal to an interested adopter. You may also want your attorney to look it over to make sure that all laws in South Carolina are being followed as well.
Begin to fund-raise. Talk to local merchants to ask if they would be interested in donating food, supplies or even monetary gifts as well. Also consider fund-raising events to promote awareness and to raise funds needed to keep your rescue project afloat. Some ideas include silent auctions, spaghetti dinners, dances, garage and yard sales. Possibilities for fund-raising are endless and can also be a lot of fun while still helping out your worthy cause.
Decide to open the doors to your pet rescue. You will begin accepting pets and looking for new homes for them. You can see what you may need to revamp and change in the coming months. Alhough it was far from an easy task and will continue to be hard work, it will definitely be a rewarding and positive experience for all those involved.