DISCLAIMER: These posts contain hints, tips and ideas from folks that have had some experiences dealing with this. It is NOT meant to be legal or professional advice - just related experiences. Please consult with a reputable professional if necessary. From: "Kathryn" Subject: EQ-ResQ: Article on possible rescue fraud Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 15:38:36 -0500 WOW! I am usually just a lurker, but how do we protect ourselves and keep our reputations? We are a young rescue that is growing rapidly. After reading this I wondered about having reference letters, not just available, but on our web site. We have MANY horses that have been donated to us and so far we have one that is a permanent resident (35 years of age!) the others have been adopted out. In many cases we do give out the information to the adoptors and donators (only with permission) Since we are a young and growing rescue, anyone have any suggestions? Thank you!! Kathryn Caldwell http://www.esfrescue.com Indiana Horse Rescue (765) 659-5209 ========== (c) "Kathryn" ====== ============================================================ From: "Jennifer Williams" Subject: EQ-ResQ: Rescue Reputations (was: Fraud Article) Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 16:11:51 -0500 "but how do we protect ourselves and keep our reputations? We are a young rescue that is growing rapidly." Hey, I think this is an excellent topic! All of us had to start out, at one point, as either new rescuers in an established organization or in a newly formed organization with NO reputation to speak of. Rescue has almost become a 'fad' word (as seen in the ads: "Rescue Old Blue or he's going to slaughter!" or "5000 Arabians to be sold. Rescue needed!" (Ok, I might exaggerate on the 5,000 part :)). People say they 'rescue' horses when all they do is buy them, turn around and sell them. People send emails to rescues to pull on our heart strings ("I need to sell my mare. I've had her all her life but now I have to sell her. Give me $5000 or she's headed to the killers!" - Sounds rather like blackmail, don't ya think?). And because people take advantage of the word 'rescue', those of us who do rescue have a tough road ahead of us - whether we're already established or whether we're new and growing. I know we're still really a young organization, formed in late 1999. We have worked hard to develop and maintain a good reputation, and we've had our problems in doing that and those who would cast doubts upon us. But we're doing well now, and we still have to fight the reputation given to ALL rescues. People have many misconceptions about rescue. One man told one of our volunteers that all we would do was "steal his horses". She ended up spending a lot of time talking to him about what we do, the channels we go through when horses are seized, etc. Did she change his mind? I don't know. But we have to combat that image where it appears. We have one county in the state who WILL NOT turn horses over to us, they send them all to auction. Why? Because several years ago, they used to turn horses over to rescues and got -sued- by a rescue when they didn't turn the horses over to them. So they changed their policy (the good news here is that the county does support what we do, lets people know about it, and they do let us know when there are auctions). So what do you do to develop a good reputation and a good organization? Operate a top notch rescue. Even if you can only take in a few horses a year, do it with pride. Have policies in place to cover major events like fostering, adoption, veterinary procedures, and euthanasia. Make those policies available to anyone who asks, and follow your policies. You are going to revise them as you go along and you figure out what works, but that's ok. You need something to follow and you need to have a policy to point to and say: That's how we handle this situation. This lets donors of horses (and money) know how your organization works, and if they don't like it, they don't have to donate to you. Figure out your rescue 'theory' or philosophy or mission and stick to it. It isn't going to make everyone happy all the time, but if you have a mission and follow it, that's another way for people to know what you are about. If people don't like how you do rescue, do not be offended. You can't please everyone and you should not try. Offer to help them find another rescue they may like better or tell them where to find a list of rescues and tell them to check out other groups themselves. Be upfront with where the money is going. Do a 990 every year, even if you don't bring in enough money to HAVE to do a 990 (last year was the first year we did one due to some problems - I wanted one in previous years). This is another way for you to show donors where your money comes from and where it goes to. When I have time,I'm going to scan ours and put it on our website. Have a good website with current info. I suggest a domain because it is easier to find. Don't use a free site, honestly they're really annoying with those pop up banners and you want people to stay on the site, not run away. Have contact information - phone number, email address, and an address (since we don't have a facility, we have a PO Box). Be as prompt as you can about returning calls and such. We try to return calls within 2-3 days, although sometimes it takes us longer (when things get really busy). If the caller states it is an emergency, we call them back immediately. I try -very- hard to answer email within 24 hours. Again, sometimes I get really swamped (or right now, I'm on a semi-sabbatical while I finish up my degree and I end up referring a lot of stuff to others in the organization to answer). If it takes me more than 24 hours to respond, I apologize. We have two PO Boxes and those get checked a minimum of once/week (the one in Austin is normally twice/week and the one in College Station is normally 3 times/week). (And I'm not always perfect at answering emails so I do ask anyone who hasn't received a response to something to get back with me!). I think you need good people handling skills. You are going to have conflicts between volunteers and you are going to sometimes have to deal with at least somewhat hostile people. You need to learn when to really bend over backwards to work out a problem and when it is just best to let it go. We also try to associate with rescues we feel good about so we can work together. We are very picky (and becoming more so) about who we associate with. There is an amazing amount of damage that can be done by being associated with someone less than desirable! (Obviously you don't always know until too late..). Go out and do things to raise public awareness, too. Have booths at horse shows, horse festivals/fairs, pet festivals, etc. to raise awareness about what you do and how you do it. Get on the news and in the paper(s) in your area to let people know about your group. It is very rewarding to have someone come up to you and say they've been watching you for 2-3 years and LOVE what you do. Be professional - be very professional. Even if your facility isn't picturesque, make sure it is clean and safe. Have professional looking forms and policies, have professional looking fliers or brochures to hand out. Keep a list of people who will act as references for you if a donor or potential adopter requests it. We have foster homes, previous adopters, and previous donors of horses who will act as our references when needed. (I think only once or twice have people asked for references, though!). Ok, this got long and isn't all about having a good reputation, but some of it is about having a good rescue which will lead to a good reputation. To sum it up - be professional, be up front with people, and run a good organization. You'll get a good organization and will attract the kind of people you want to work with. Jennifer Williams (www.vanbasti.com) President, Lone Star Equine Rescue - http://www.lser.org Equine Behavior Net - http://www.equine-behavior.net Imprint-Training.com - http://www.imprint-training.com ========== (c) "Jennifer Williams" ====== ============================================================ From: Pat Calloway Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Article on possible rescue fraud Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 14:21:09 -0700 At 03:38 PM 5/20/02 -0500, Kathryn wrote: > I wondered about having reference letters, not just available, >but on our web site. Not a reflection on your rescue, Kathryn, but anyone could fake reference letters & I'm sure do. It would be very easy to write up several glowing testimonials to how wonderful a particular individual or rescue is and present them as being from satisfied donors or adopters. That's why people really need to investigate a rescue and not rely solely on what the rescue or its representitive may say or write. ========== (c) Pat Calloway ====== ============================================================ From: "GM Naiph" Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Rescue Reputations Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 02:56:19 -0500 We too are a start-up rescue and reputation was/is one of our fore-most concerns. As the only official equine rescue in the area, this is also a major concern because the area is unfamiliar with just what an equine rescue does, exactly. While I'm in no place to have the experience to offer advice, here are a few considerations that we evaluated and some tips for working with the community I have been advised on that we are also trying to adhere to: 1. Ensure your board of directors is 'respectable'. By this, I mean don't just include your closest associates who are horse-lovers. We included those people as well, but we are also striving to incorporate local professionals into our board. Some of those professions are local and reputable veterinarians, Sherrif's Department officials, and law-enforcement officers in general, as well as a humane society officer. While we all know our friends and family are respectable, the general public doesn't necessarily recognize this. If you can include even one professional, then the public opinion is more likely to sway toward "Dr. so and so wouldn't risk his/her reputation on a fraudulent situation." or "Well, the law is working with them, therefore they have to be legit." (This is a tough one to achieve, because of the perceived risks involved. We are working really hard on this, and those seats are the ones we still have to fill.) 2. We are located in a rural area primarily, and most of our calls are going to come from rural areas bordering us. Therefore we have to work with the Sherrif's Department regularly. And, I am learning quickly there is a bit of ignorance and misunderstanding at those levels. A former highway patrol officer advised me to contact prominant officials in the county(s) and schedule a meeting with them to explain what we were, who we were, and our goals to garner support in the legal communities, and in turn, the general public. Some of the officials I was directed to were: Former judges, the Sherrif (s) -- not just Deputies, the highway patrol sub-station heads, chamber of commerce, local Marine Corp branch Public Relations Dept, Mounted Patrol, Sherrif's Reserve Patrol, etc. 3. As a few other people have commented already, making yourself available to the public is really key as well. The more willing you are to have visitors -- even if they aren't potential adoptors -- the more open you are with the public, the more they will tend to develop faith in you and spread the word. Not much to go on, and again, just wisdom that was passed along to us as well. But, food for thought. Valerie Hatfield Fableview Equine Rescue -- www.fableview.org ========== (c) "GM Naiph" ====== ============================================================ DISCLAIMER: These posts contain hints, tips and ideas from folks that have had some experiences dealing with this. It is NOT meant to be legal or professional advice - just related experiences. Please consult with a reputable professional if necessary.