2. 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."

3. 2 - Know where money is going
• Track everything
• If necessary, get an
audit

4. 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

5. 4 - Take care of your stuff
• Don’t replace;
maintain instead
• Read manuals
• Create a maintenance
checklist

6. 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/

7. 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

8. 7 - Work with the vet community
• Work with vet schools
• Get interns
• Ask for deals, payment
plans
• Vets are NOT the enemy!
• Be professional

9. 8 - Conserve energy
• Turn of items not in use
• Watch out for “ghost”
drains on power

10. 9 - Use volunteer labor wisely
• Know what volunteers
are doing
• Know what they are
capable of doing
• Try giving volunteers
more responsibility

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 13 - Partner with businesses
• Share costs with co-op
accounts
• Share PR opportunities
• Bring together people that
normally wouldn’t know
your organization exists

15. 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)

16. 15 - Use pros in training
• Grooming school students
• Journalism student interns
• Talk to design instructors
about special projects

17. 16 - Barter and swap
• Check out Craigslist
• What do you have?
• What do other people
want?

18. 17 - Try "gleaning"
• Usable food and supplies
that stores have to throw
away
• Broken bags of dog food
• Ask around

19. 18 - Shop for insurance
• Get new quotes every
year or so
• Insurance can be an
expensive line item in
your budget!

20. 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

21. 20 - Shop off season
• Plan ahead for supplies
for fundraisers
• For example, after
Christmas stock up on
discounted items for a
SantaPaws event

22. 21 - Cut your debt
• Interest costs a lot over
time
• Never assume “things
will be better later”
• Scrimp and save to
remove debt overhead

23. 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 the
sand about bills!

24. 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

25. 24 - Look for hidden fees
• Go through bank
statements
• Make sure you know
what every charge is for
• Look for “mysterious”
fees and charges

26. 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)

27. 26 - Try crowd sourcing projects
• For a big initiative or
project, try doing a
specific ask
• Consider online sites
like Kickstarter and
Greenfunder

28. 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

29. 28 - Eliminate printing
• Where can you cut printing
costs?
• Print newsletter? What
about email?
• How many of your
supporters are online?

30. 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)

31. 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

32. 31 - Network and share
• Networking is free
• Collaboration can cut costs
• Share services
(webmasters, copywriters)
• Share facilities (office
space, equipment,
supplies)

33. 32 - Simplify events
• Cut spending on events
and galas
• Consider simpler, lowercost events
• “Because we’ve always
done it that way” is not a
good reason to continue

34. 33 - Hold contests
• Contests can be
incorporated into
fundraising projects.
• For example a photo contest
for a calendar you sell
• People love contests!

35. 34 - Save time
• Time is money
• Where do you waste time?
• Make meetings matter
(Or can you eliminate the
meeting entirely?)
• Have an agenda

36. 35 - Avoid “people problems”
• Rescues are often
destroyed by people
problems
• Huge emotional time sink
• Hire slowly
• Fire quickly

37. 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

38. 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?”)

39. 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)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1st Qtr
2nd Qtr
3rd Qtr
4th Qtr

40. 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

41. 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

42. 41 - Focus on your mission
• Rescues are weakened
when they stray from their
primary mission
• Don’t be distracted by
non-mission activities

43. 42 - Consider outsourcing
• Save time/money by
outsourcing things you
don’t do well
• Outsource HR, payroll,
admin, taxes
• Time is money

44. 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

45. 44 - Negotiate everything
• Always ask for
nonprofit rate
• Almost everything is
negotiable
• You never know unless
you ask

46. 45 – Maximize your board
• Have a “working board”
• Board should help raise
and save money
• Take advantage of their
contacts for donations,
sponsors

47. 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

48. 47 - Retain your people
• Keep volunteers and staff
happy
• Training new people is
expensive
• Long-term employees have
valuable knowledge

49. 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

50. 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)

51. 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)

52. 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

53. 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

54. 53 - Get free PR
• Negotiate with radio
stations for PSAs/event
promos
• Consider non-peak times
• Some time-slots may not
cost anything

55. 54 - Participate in events
• Piggyback on someone
else’s event instead of
doing your own
• Have booths at community
events
• Demonstrations, puzzles,
fun activities

56. 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?

57. 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

58. 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

59. Now You…
• Questions? Thoughts?
• Where are you
spending money?
• What can you get
for free?
• Where can you
reduce spending?
BRAINSTORM!

60. 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