Meow's the Word with Mission Meow

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Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the

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people and rescues making a

difference in the lives of animals.

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Today's guest is Sally Williams.

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She spent years providing direct

assistance to families navigating

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pet cancer through the Brodie Fund,

but her journey led her to a new

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mission supporting the very people

who save cats through Mission Meow.

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And that's what we're gonna

be talking about today.

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So welcome to the show, Sally.

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Sally: Thank you so much for having me.

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Dixie: To start off, I'd love if you

could tell us a little bit about yourself.

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Sally: Sure.

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I am obviously a cat lover first and

foremost, and I always say that my journey

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started when my mom was pregnant with me

and our family cat slept , on her belly.

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And so I think from the very beginning,

cats were just always meant to be

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a big part of my life's journey.

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And, I grew up, always had a

cat as a part of my life, and

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then I started volunteering.

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I had some health issues in my early

forties and had to stop working.

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And I had an incredible doctor

who suggested I volunteer.

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And volunteering was,

what would you wanna do?

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And I said I'd wanna pet cats.

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So guess what I did?

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I went to a local shelter and I pet cats

and petting cats turned into falling in

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love with working with them led me to

studying behavior, becoming a behaviorist.

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And I had a business for quite

a while as a behaviorist.

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And when that was going on, I had

my first cat . I've had multiple

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cats diagnosed with cancer, which

is not uncommon for those of us who

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have multiple cats in our lives.

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But my very first one was my cat Brodie.

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And that started my journey

into the nonprofit world.

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When he was going through treatment

for the first time ever, I heard

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a term called economic euthanasia.

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And when I found out what that was,

I thought, if I can do anything to,

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change that in any way I want to.

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And so I learned about nonprofits.

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Obviously I'd been volunteering for

one, but then I started volunteering

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for another one that gave grants

which led me to asking them if I

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could start a fund within their fund.

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And did that for a while, but then decided

to take the Brodie Fund out onto its own.

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And for seven years I ran a pet

cancer fund and we fully funded.

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Cases for families, meaning we

didn't cap but we gave, if we had

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enough to give holy, we gave holy.

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If we didn't, we found another

organization to partner with.

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And it was an amazing experience.

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We saved a lot of lives.

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It was incredibly rewarding but

also incredibly heartbreaking

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because there's a lot of losses too.

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And within that time I had

another cat diagnosed with cancer,

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Marlin, who is my soul cat.

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And, eventually, after going through

it again and COVID and all these things

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we said goodbye to the Brodie Fund.

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We had a big party and we raised a lot

of money and we gave legacy grants.

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And then I took some time off.

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And in that time, after several

months, I realized how much I missed

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running a nonprofit and started

thinking about, okay, how can I help?

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Cats.

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I really just wanna

focus on cats this time.

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That's where my passion is.

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And an organization near me during COVID

had to give up their cafe space and pivot,

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and they were doing more TNR and they

opened up a much smaller adoption center.

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And I thought, wow, if they

struggled for a little bit, is

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this happening in other places?

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And I started Googling this and

cat rescue closing, cat rescue,

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pivoting , like all the different

ways I could think about Googling

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the struggles of small feline centric

nonprofits and saw it was epidemic.

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This was happening across the country.

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And that is how mission Meow started.

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And it's funny because fast forward

to now, my cat West, so we launched

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three years ago, October, so

we're just over three years old.

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And when I was trying to come

up with a name, I was in the

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backyard swinging in hammock.

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And I tell the story in a talk that I

do and just having a quiet moment and.

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Speaking out loud.

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Okay, what's my mission?

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What's my mission?

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And West had incredible timing

and he, meowed and , that was it.

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Mission Meow was born.

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And so we had the name,

we had our mission.

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We filed for nonprofit status, had it in,

I think five, six weeks, and we hit the

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ground running and we haven't looked back.

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Dixie: That's an amazing story.

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And I especially love

how you got your name.

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That is pretty cool.

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That's a sign for sure.

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Sally: It was definitely

a sign and was simple.

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It was super cute.

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I loved the inspiration of it,

that it came from one of my cats.

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And then obviously there was a lot more

that went into launching a nonprofit,

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but I'm amazed at how smoothly it went.

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It was just one of those things that

if you're spiritual at all and you

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feel like in life, you're in flow.

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That's what it felt like.

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Like it just happened and

everything just took off so quickly.

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I talked to a couple friends of

mine, told them what I wanted to do.

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They were on board right away so we knew

we wanted to help small feline centric

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nonprofits, and I knew I needed to do

it in a different way because starting a

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nonprofit, a grassroots organization, it

takes a long time to build a donor base.

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It's a slow and steady process

and it's worthy of doing, but I

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wanted to have money right away.

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And in the town next to me, there had

been a house fire and it was awful.

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Obviously tragic, nobody was hurt.

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But what I thought was remarkable was the

way the community came together, which

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often happens, people do fundraisers.

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But what was unique to me was the

businesses in the town all came

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together and did different events to

raise money and I got a little light

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bulb moment and I was like businesses

because I had a nonprofit and I had

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also been speaking at conventions.

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I had met quite a few business owners,

so I slowly started reaching out to

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them and telling them about Mission

Meow and what my thought was that the

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foundation of the organization would

be businesses who wanted to give back

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to a community that they cared about.

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So we launched with, I think it was

34 business partners who had signed

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on to give us money four times a year.

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So we were, and we still are

giving grants quarterly, and

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it just made sense that way.

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It wasn't a big ask from them.

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We weren't coming at a company and saying,

we want you to give every single month.

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And so it was just a really unique,

wonderful formula, and that's

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how we launched the organization.

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And then over time, as

we've grown, we have.

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A wonderful donor base as well.

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Very passionate supporters.

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Then the combination of the two

coming together is how we're

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able to give larger grants.

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Dixie: How is it that you came

to find all these businesses?

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Sally: It, a combination of

research then phone calls, emails,

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and getting out to conventions.

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It's a lot of different ways.

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I find personally, I like meeting

people in person, telling them

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about Mission Meow, because

I have such a passion for it.

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So I always think

face-to-face is the best way.

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But if there's a company that I

find out about that excites me,

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that I think will align with our

mission, then it's just reaching

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out, whether it's a call or an email.

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And I would say the thing

that's important for me is.

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It really is about a product

that I feel strongly about.

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Whether it's litter or food or

toys or, we have behaviorists.

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I find it works for me to feel

supportive of what they're doing

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because we want to promote them too.

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So when they sign on as a business

partner, we give back to them as well.

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We have different ways of promoting

them and so we want them to feel

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supportive of our mission just as much

as I wanna be able to be supportive

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of whatever it is that they are

either, whether they're retailers,

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wholesalers, or they have a company.

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I think it's important

that we align together.

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So if you look at the list of our

partners, they're all wonderful companies

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and we feel really good about that.

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Dixie: It's clear that

you are not a rescue.

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So what would you classify

your organization.

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Sally: We are a nonprofit

that helps other nonprofits.

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I think that's probably the simplest way.

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Our focus is giving grants to small

feline centric nonprofits to make

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meaningful and lasting change for them.

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So our organization helps other

nonprofits, and we strictly focus

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on small feline centric nonprofits.

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Pretty much their budgets range

between 50-250K and their volunteer

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maybe one or two organizations

might have had somebody part-time,

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but these are the ones that really

struggle with getting grants because

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they're so small, they get overlooked

often, and they're the reason why.

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A, a lot of the hard work gets

done, the TNR fostering challenging

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cats working with towns.

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As far as strays and ferals these

are these small orgs all across the

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country, and once you start finding out

about them and getting to know them.

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The work they do is incredible, especially

when we're talking about, the largest

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problem in the US is overpopulation.

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So TNR or TNVR is incredibly

important and we are huge supporters

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of organizations that are heavily

doing TNR across the country.

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But it's not just that, it's foster based

groups, it's ones that rescue specifically

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special needs or specifically kittens.

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We really try to have variety in who

we're giving our grants to because

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we want to be impacting all the

different areas of feline centric

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nonprofits in the CAT community.

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Dixie: Yeah, and I love the

term feline centric, by the way.

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That's

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Sally: great.

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The thing is some of the organizations

we help , they're feline centric, but

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because they're such amazing people.

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If somebody shows up with

a dog, they don't turn them

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away or say a pig or whatever.

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We have organizations that have

started out strictly feline and then

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have evolved over time just because

there is a need in the community.

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So we won't grant to programs that

aren't feline centric or feline

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focused, but the organizations

can be helping in other ways too.

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We would never say no to somebody

who rescues both, but say we help

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in the organization that has dogs

within but they're looking for

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cubbies for an adoption room.

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So the money can go there, but it

cannot in any way, shape or form.

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And not that we don't love

dogs, but our focus are cats.

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That's the area we chose to focus on.

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So the funds have to be

earmarked specifically for cats.

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Dixie: Aside from the financial

assistance, what other kind of services

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do you offer to help these nonprofits?

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Sally: So we also have a program

where every single month people

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can apply for mentorships and

shelter, foster behavior, and TNR.

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And so we have experts in the

field, and so people can apply

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monthly for a mentorship.

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We think it's really important to be

supporting them and helping their growth.

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And then we have something that kind

of evolved from giving the grant.

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So obviously the grant, the money, the

impact that has is first and foremost.

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But we also found that there was an

effect that happened after a small

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organization got a large grant and we

actually call it the Mission Meow Effect.

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And we didn't know this, I certainly

didn't know this going in that once.

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They're a part of our family because

, once we've given a grant, we don't

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just write the check and walk away.

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We have a Facebook group that they all

join and they network with each other.

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We co-hosted an event with a group.

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We can make connections for them

if they're looking for, we've been

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able to find low cost vaccines help

with food and litter and things

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like that we don't give grants for.

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So there's all these things that happen.

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But what also happens, because we

do things how people would look at

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it backwards, we choose our grant

recipient and then we take a whole

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month and we raise money for them.

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And within that month, that's

when our business partners donate.

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But that's also when anybody

can donate to Mission Meow.

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You might specifically

support TNR or maybe you love.

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Foster or you just like that we're gonna

be giving a van or something like that.

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So that's where we take a whole month

that allows us to give a really big grant.

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But in that month, we're promoting the

organizations that we're working with.

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We tell them about their missions,

we'll tell stories about a cat that

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they've, helped or something special

that they've done, a program or anything.

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So people get to know these

organizations and because we're

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talking about them so much, we've found

that they'll gain more volunteers.

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Some have gotten board members,

we've connected them to new donors.

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They now have a network of other

like-minded rescues, foster

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groups that they can network with.

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Because one of the things that we

focus on in reading and evaluating

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these organizations that we're

choosing for grants is they have

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to be collaborative in nature.

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That's something that's

super important for us.

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So once they all become part of the

Mission Meow family, now they're all

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networking and helping each other.

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So it became a lot bigger

than just giving the grants.

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All these other things happened.

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And then formally we have the Facebook

group and we're able to help them in

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other ways with other connections.

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I know a woman who's a

documentarian, her name is Mye

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Hong, and she's actually traveling.

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All last year, and she'll be back out

there this year traveling with her

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documentary 25 Cats from Qatar and.

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When she goes to a town, she

looks to support a rescue.

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So she'll show the documentary and

the ticket sales go to the rescue.

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So I've been able to connect her.

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I think this point it's six or seven.

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So it's things like that.

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We're always trying to think,

okay, how else can we be helping?

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Because the need is so great.

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Whether it's cat rescues I'm less familiar

with dog rescues, but it's really hard.

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I don't know if people understand how

challenging it is to run a small foster

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group rescue group, TNR group, because

most of these people have full-time

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jobs, so they're full-time doing

something else and running a rescue.

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And compassion fatigue is real.

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Burnout is real.

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All these things are real.

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So all these other areas that we're

helping them in are really so important

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above and beyond the financial.

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Dixie: I'd like to talk a little

bit about the compassion fatigue

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and how you work to help them

when they're suffering from this.

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Sally: Honestly the grants help

them tremendously and I can quickly

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tell you just , one example.

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So very early on, I think it was our third

grant cycle, so , we were still new and

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we were choosing grants based off what we

thought our fundraising abilities were.

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But if we raised more money,

we were recognizing we could

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surprise an organization,

which we have done regularly.

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So that particular month we had picked

a wonderful organization that was

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launching a foster program and our

money was funding 30 kitten kits.

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And the program was called

All You Need is Love.

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And this organization

gave them everything else.

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So all you needed was love,

but we got this application

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from an organization that just.

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Was sitting with me because

one of the things they needed

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was a fire alert system.

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And I have to tell you, I couldn't sleep

at night knowing there was a group out

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there that needed the fire alert system

and , I think something had happened

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and money was spent in other places.

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Organizations have to

do a lot of juggling.

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And the cats care first

and foremost is everything.

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So , what I mean by something

happened, they were also applying

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for ceiling tiles and lights.

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So something had happened

to their ceiling.

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So I knew that was important, but the Fire

Alert system was what really struck me.

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So I reached out to business partners

and several of our donors and

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said, we have another application.

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If we can't fully fund the entire

6,000, I want to at least raise the

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money to cover the Fire Alert System.

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It's just so important for me.

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And we did it, and we raised the

money and we raised the whole

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$6,000 and we were able to surprise

them and it was so wonderful.

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There were a lot of

tears of joy and relief.

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And what the interesting part

of this is the very next day the

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director of the organization called

me and she said, I had to call you.

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'cause I didn't wanna tell you, we were

celebrating, but she said we were planning

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on closing at the end of the year.

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And I said, why?

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I've seen your budget.

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I've seen the work you do like there's

no reason for you to be closing.

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And she said, we didn't

think that anybody cared.

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And we're so burned out because

we work and we work, but we don't

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think that anybody really cares.

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And that broke my heart.

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And that's a big part of the

compassion fatigue and burnout,

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is they don't feel recognized

for the work that they're doing.

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And it's invaluable work.

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It's important work, and they

need to be recognized for it.

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And it can be, it doesn't

have to be a huge grant.

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It could be somebody who sends a

thank you who adopted from that.

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You know what I mean?

308

: 00:18:30

There's just so many different ways, but

we really need to be recognizing them.

309

: 00:18:34

Also, because we have the Facebook

group, they talk to one another and

310

: 00:18:38

they share stories and they support

one another and they're there for one

311

: 00:18:43

another in a way that not everybody

can be, not everybody may understand

312

: 00:18:47

the toll it takes to be doing TNR.

313

: 00:18:50

That's really hard work.

314

: 00:18:52

Especially during kitten season.

315

: 00:18:54

Kittens are fragile, very fragile, and

these organizations suffer a lot of losses

316

: 00:19:00

and that can lead to compassion fatigue.

317

: 00:19:03

If you're a small organization,

it's hard to say no too.

318

: 00:19:08

You get phone calls all the time

and people, can you please help?

319

: 00:19:11

Can you please take in, and they stretch

themselves sometimes past where they

320

: 00:19:16

should and so it's important for them

to be able to support one another.

321

: 00:19:20

It's important for us to be there

for them and say, it's okay to

322

: 00:19:23

say no, it's okay to take a break.

323

: 00:19:26

It's okay to take care of yourself

because otherwise if you're burning

324

: 00:19:30

out to the point where you're closing.

325

: 00:19:33

We're losing organizations that

are doing valuable work, and

326

: 00:19:36

that's what we really wanna stop.

327

: 00:19:38

So the influx of cash, the support,

teaching them how to support one another

328

: 00:19:44

too, that, you don't have to be isolated,

that you can support each other.

329

: 00:19:50

I at one point started a

group called Rescuing the

330

: 00:19:53

Rescuers, and it still exists.

331

: 00:19:55

I'm just not running it anymore

because I don't have the bandwidth.

332

: 00:19:58

But it's there to have, a safe place

for people to go and share their

333

: 00:20:02

rescue stories and not feel judged

and just to get things off your chest.

334

: 00:20:07

It's so important that these people

have a place to feel safe and talk.

335

: 00:20:11

'cause this work is hard.

336

: 00:20:12

I'm sure

337

: 00:20:13

Dixie: yeah, definitely.

338

: 00:20:14

And I love that you have the group too,

for people to support each other, but

339

: 00:20:19

also to share ideas with each other too.

340

: 00:20:22

Because I'm all about collaboration.

341

: 00:20:24

'cause personally I find that

there's a lot of fighting going

342

: 00:20:28

on between organizations and

competition between organizations

343

: 00:20:32

that does not need to be there.

344

: 00:20:34

My whole thing is it's about the animals.

345

: 00:20:36

So if I work with you, if it might

not be one of my animals that gets

346

: 00:20:40

adopted, but if I get your animal

adopted, then I have done my job.

347

: 00:20:46

Sally: Yeah, I'm part of another

group called One United Paw.

348

: 00:20:48

It's myself, Sterling Davis.

349

: 00:20:50

He founded it.

350

: 00:20:51

And Aaron Lighty.

351

: 00:20:52

And we speak at conventions and the talk

is called Collaboration Over Competition.

352

: 00:20:58

And we talk about all the different

ways that you can be a collaborative

353

: 00:21:02

and maybe it's initially, so say you're

thinking you wanna start a nonprofit

354

: 00:21:07

and you want to help and rescue, find

out in your community what the need is.

355

: 00:21:12

If there's already six organizations

doing TNR, maybe foster,

356

: 00:21:17

maybe, just do something else.

357

: 00:21:19

That's a good way to get started.

358

: 00:21:21

We encourage people volunteer before

, you launch your own organization, it's

359

: 00:21:26

wonderful if in a community there's

all the different parts of rescue.

360

: 00:21:30

So if , there's a lot of one thing

going on, move into a different area.

361

: 00:21:35

We also talk about, don't have the

mindset of it's your way is the only way.

362

: 00:21:40

There's more than one way to do things

and try to support one on another in that.

363

: 00:21:44

Don't be judgmental of

another organization.

364

: 00:21:47

Be curious, ask questions

if you're curious, why.

365

: 00:21:51

Some organizations, lack

kittens, which sounds crazy.

366

: 00:21:55

Communicate with other organizations in

the south, so in the northeast and north

367

: 00:22:00

center of our country and northwest for

a large part of the year, there's not a

368

: 00:22:05

lot of kittens, so do some networking.

369

: 00:22:07

So you can have transports and

bring kittens in, but it's really

370

: 00:22:10

all about the communication.

371

: 00:22:12

I talk about founder syndrome and how

it's unhealthy in an organization and

372

: 00:22:19

you need to have a succession plan.

373

: 00:22:21

You need to be thinking about that.

374

: 00:22:23

You need to be.

375

: 00:22:25

Of the same mindset, collaborative

as a founder and president.

376

: 00:22:29

Don't think that same thing.

377

: 00:22:31

That your way is the only way.

378

: 00:22:32

Collaborate with your board,

collaborate with your volunteers.

379

: 00:22:36

That's just such a key.

380

: 00:22:37

And the fighting is just not necessary.

381

: 00:22:41

There's just so many assumptions made

and judgments made, and it's better to

382

: 00:22:45

sit down and talk and ask questions and

find out why people do things the way, do

383

: 00:22:50

things, and I see, and I hear about the

fighting all the time, and so we really

384

: 00:22:55

encourage people, and I would be happy

to, if an organization, even if they

385

: 00:22:59

weren't a grant recipient, reached out

and had questions, of course we're there.

386

: 00:23:02

They can reach out to one United Paw,

there's an Instagram page, and people

387

: 00:23:06

can reach out if they wanna learn more

and learn more about working together.

388

: 00:23:11

And we're stronger together for sure.

389

: 00:23:12

And there's that expression.

390

: 00:23:13

The rising tide lifts all boats and it's.

391

: 00:23:17

Certainly true in rescue.

392

: 00:23:20

Dixie: What would you say to these

rescues that think that they're

393

: 00:23:24

competing for the same limited resources?

394

: 00:23:28

Sally: I am not finding that there's

so much truth to the scarcity

395

: 00:23:31

mindset, and that's what I call it.

396

: 00:23:33

It's a scarcity mindset.

397

: 00:23:35

Think of it this way, when we are giving

a grant, we are sharing and talking

398

: 00:23:40

about our organizations all the time.

399

: 00:23:42

I never think I'm going to lose a donor.

400

: 00:23:45

And if I lose a donor, I'm gonna

401

: 00:23:46

Dixie: find another donor.

402

: 00:23:47

Sally: I hope that our donors become

supporters of these other groups.

403

: 00:23:51

And if then in turn they end

up I'm gonna choose them.

404

: 00:23:55

So be it.

405

: 00:23:56

And I just feel like then

somebody else is gonna come in.

406

: 00:23:59

But I think if you approach everything,

having that scarcity mindset,

407

: 00:24:03

it can become self-fulfilling.

408

: 00:24:05

I just think of different ways, get

creative with how you fundraise.

409

: 00:24:09

And again, back to if you're thinking

about starting an organization, look in

410

: 00:24:13

your area and think of, maybe I'll go

a different route or think, reach out

411

: 00:24:17

to the organization and say, okay, can

we collaborate on something together?

412

: 00:24:23

Come together to do things.

413

: 00:24:25

You can always also collaborate with

rescues that are in the dog world.

414

: 00:24:30

I love when I see that, when

you see a fundraiser and it's

415

: 00:24:33

to get dogs and cats adopted.

416

: 00:24:35

I just think if you're open and you're

curious and you ask questions and you

417

: 00:24:41

don't live in that scarcity mindset, I

think that there's a way around that.

418

: 00:24:46

I really do believe that there's

enough out there for everyone.

419

: 00:24:50

Last year I was a bit pessimistic.

420

: 00:24:52

I know that a lot of people are

feeling that way right now because,

421

: 00:24:56

the economy can be a little bit scary.

422

: 00:24:58

And we had an exceptionally good

year last year and I think that

423

: 00:25:03

there's a lot of mentality out there

that people are a little bit just,

424

: 00:25:08

uneasy with the world right now.

425

: 00:25:10

But one of the things they can do, and it

doesn't matter how much, if it's a dollar,

426

: 00:25:15

$5, $20, it does feel good to give back.

427

: 00:25:18

And so I would encourage people,

and I did hear that, I had people

428

: 00:25:22

reach out who donated, they

said it's something I can do.

429

: 00:25:26

There's not a lot of things I can

change, but this I can do or volunteer.

430

: 00:25:30

Too, but I do think that there's more than

enough room out there for everybody, and I

431

: 00:25:35

think that working together is a good way,

if you have an organization that you're

432

: 00:25:40

curious about that's near you, reach out.

433

: 00:25:43

Maybe there's ways you

can help one another.

434

: 00:25:45

Maybe you're different enough that

you could do something together.

435

: 00:25:49

Dixie: Yeah, I couldn't

agree more with that.

436

: 00:25:51

I'm of the mindset that there's

enough out there for everybody.

437

: 00:25:56

If you have to change your focus,

I do believe there is enough

438

: 00:25:59

Sally: out there for

439

: 00:26:00

Dixie: everybody.

440

: 00:26:00

Creative.

441

: 00:26:00

Yes.

442

: 00:26:02

Sally: Do creative things.

443

: 00:26:03

I remember during COVID when I was running

the Brodie Fund at the time, COVID was

444

: 00:26:08

really a challenge for fundraising, right?

445

: 00:26:11

One of our biggest annual fundraisers

for the Brodie Fund was something

446

: 00:26:15

that we called Santa Paws.

447

: 00:26:17

, Our big end of year.

448

: 00:26:18

And we did it in a really fun

way , and however anybody wants

449

: 00:26:22

to do it, there's no wrong way.

450

: 00:26:23

I just loved what we did.

451

: 00:26:25

So instead of just setting up

in a space and taking photos of

452

: 00:26:28

people's and their dogs, cats,

bunnies, whatever they brought.

453

: 00:26:32

We worked with different restaurants

and breweries, and it would be a whole

454

: 00:26:37

afternoon event and you could bring

your dog obviously with exceptions,

455

: 00:26:41

where we would clear out time at the

end where people needed to get, dogs

456

: 00:26:45

that were reactive to other dogs, but

if your dog was good or your bunny was

457

: 00:26:50

good, or whatever, come for the day.

458

: 00:26:52

And so people came and they ate

and they drank, and we did raffle

459

: 00:26:55

baskets and we made it really fun.

460

: 00:26:57

And it was a very successful fundraiser.

461

: 00:26:59

And all of a sudden COVID hits

and I'm like, oh boy that's a

462

: 00:27:03

lot of money we're gonna lose.

463

: 00:27:04

And somebody suggested doing a giving

tree, and I just looked at them.

464

: 00:27:08

How's that helpful?

465

: 00:27:09

Because in my experience, a

giving tree was something I saw

466

: 00:27:12

either at a pet store or a bank.

467

: 00:27:15

And you took something

off the tree, right?

468

: 00:27:17

Like you would take an ornament or

something that had a piece of paper

469

: 00:27:21

written on it and you were gonna pick

a child's toy or a dog's toy or food.

470

: 00:27:26

But it was always where you were

taking something off the tree.

471

: 00:27:29

So I thought, okay, how can we

do this and have it be something

472

: 00:27:33

forgiving, not, giving to us.

473

: 00:27:36

And in turn then I'm able to

pay it forward through grants.

474

: 00:27:40

And I came up with this idea and

it was named after my cat, Marlin,

475

: 00:27:44

who I lost to cancer, who is really

my inspiration for pretty much

476

: 00:27:48

everything I do in the cat world.

477

: 00:27:50

He was just an amazing cat.

478

: 00:27:52

And so I came up with this idea where

people would donate a minimum of $10

479

: 00:27:57

and we would write the name that they

wanted of their pet on the star Dog Cat.

480

: 00:28:02

And then it turned into, in

honor of somebody in rescue or

481

: 00:28:06

in honor of an organization.

482

: 00:28:09

And so people were donating $10,

but then some people would donate

483

: 00:28:12

20 or 50 or a hundred or even more.

484

: 00:28:16

And so the first year, I don't

remember how many stars I hung on the

485

: 00:28:20

tree, but we raised $5,000 hanging

stars on a tree in my living room.

486

: 00:28:26

And each year with the Brodie

Fund, it increased a thousand.

487

: 00:28:29

So we did it for, I think

we did it three years.

488

: 00:28:31

So it's 5000 1st year,

6,000, the next 7,000.

489

: 00:28:34

Then I brought it to Mission Meow.

490

: 00:28:37

First year we did it with 6,000.

491

: 00:28:39

Last year it was 7,000.

492

: 00:28:41

This year we raised over $8,000.

493

: 00:28:44

Me in my living room, writing names

on stars and hanging them on a tree.

494

: 00:28:50

And I think there's just times

where you just have to get creative.

495

: 00:28:53

I never imagined that.

496

: 00:28:55

It would become an $8,000 fundraiser

and maybe in some bigger organizations,

497

: 00:29:00

that doesn't seem like a lot of

money, but $8,000 in my living

498

: 00:29:04

room I think is pretty awesome.

499

: 00:29:06

And what's so cool about it and why

people really resonate with it and

500

: 00:29:10

why it grows each year is that it's

not that, just them doing that.

501

: 00:29:15

So I take the time, Monday

through Friday, I give myself

502

: 00:29:18

weekends off so I don't burn out.

503

: 00:29:20

I sit down, I punch holes in each star,

and I hand write each star, and then I

504

: 00:29:25

make a video so that everybody on that

day who has donated stars gets to see me

505

: 00:29:32

hold the star up in front of the camera,

read the name, and hang it on the tree.

506

: 00:29:37

Especially for those people that

are doing it in memory, like

507

: 00:29:41

the tree is in memory of Marlin.

508

: 00:29:43

A lot of people do this in memory of

for their cats or for a friend and

509

: 00:29:48

they say, Hey, watch the video tonight.

510

: 00:29:50

You have to see this.

511

: 00:29:51

And then I read the name

of their beloved cat dog.

512

: 00:29:56

We've had horses, lizards, you name it.

513

: 00:29:59

Read the name.

514

: 00:30:00

We've had people who have passed

away that meant a lot to people

515

: 00:30:04

in rescue who are involved.

516

: 00:30:05

Their names go up on the tree.

517

: 00:30:07

So it's become really this beautiful

tradition and it's gonna keep growing

518

: 00:30:12

every year, but it came out of.

519

: 00:30:15

Oh my gosh, what am I gonna do?

520

: 00:30:16

We can't leave the house.

521

: 00:30:18

We lost our fundraiser and

it ended up being one of my

522

: 00:30:22

absolute favorite fundraisers.

523

: 00:30:24

A favorite tradition of mine.

524

: 00:30:25

I love reading names.

525

: 00:30:27

I love when people fill out where

they're donating and they tell stories

526

: 00:30:32

about, this is for my cat Oscar, who,

you know, only lived three years,

527

: 00:30:38

but he impacted my, and I get to read

their stories and it's so beautiful.

528

: 00:30:43

Dixie: Yeah, that is very beautiful.

529

: 00:30:45

Sally: It's almost making me teary eyed.

530

: 00:30:47

Dixie: So I think,

531

: 00:30:48

Sally: yeah, so I think

there's always a creative way.

532

: 00:30:51

Of doing something, you just, I'm a

big believer in getting out and getting

533

: 00:30:55

fresh air and going for a walk when

you're feeling stuck, go for a hike.

534

: 00:30:59

Or if you're in the city, just

put your, earbuds in, get out.

535

: 00:31:02

Crazy enough, some of the best ideas, and

I know people get this, they happen when

536

: 00:31:06

you're in the shower or you're taking a

bath, 'cause you're just quiet then, and

537

: 00:31:10

your mind just opens up a little bit.

538

: 00:31:13

, Or talking to people, I love good

brainstorming sessions, so I love getting

539

: 00:31:18

on a phone call with a business partner

or the head of another organization

540

: 00:31:23

and talking to them for say, an hour.

541

: 00:31:25

You never know what comes of this.

542

: 00:31:27

Some of the best ideas have

come from brainstorming sessions

543

: 00:31:30

when you least expect it.

544

: 00:31:32

And so I think sometimes if you're

feeling stuck, you just have to

545

: 00:31:36

move forward a little bit, find a

way, whether it's picking up the

546

: 00:31:39

phone or going for that hike or,

I just think there's always a way.

547

: 00:31:44

Dixie: We've covered the

scarcity aspect of that.

548

: 00:31:48

Now, another question that I have that

relates to the whole collaboration versus

549

: 00:31:53

competition, or maybe you can just offer

some advice to this, is something else

550

: 00:31:58

that I see frequently is like a lot of

people fight over volunteers and I'm more

551

: 00:32:04

in the mindset that if somebody comes

and helps me as a volunteer and they go

552

: 00:32:10

and help another group, that's great.

553

: 00:32:12

They still came and helped me.

554

: 00:32:15

So what would you have to say about that?

555

: 00:32:18

I agree.

556

: 00:32:19

Sally: I agree.

557

: 00:32:20

I just, here's the thing.

558

: 00:32:22

You can only do what you can do

as far as volunteers, it's really

559

: 00:32:26

hard to find good volunteers.

560

: 00:32:27

That's the first thing.

561

: 00:32:28

So count your blessings for the

ones that you have, and if somebody

562

: 00:32:32

comes and goes, be grateful for

the time that they gave you.

563

: 00:32:35

But also, sometimes maybe it's good

to sit down and talk to other people

564

: 00:32:40

in your organization say, are we doing

enough to appreciate our volunteers?

565

: 00:32:45

'cause volunteers, they're

giving time that maybe they

566

: 00:32:48

could be doing something else.

567

: 00:32:49

So I think there's two things I think

that be grateful for the time that they

568

: 00:32:53

gave, but also maybe be thinking, are we

doing enough to appreciate our volunteers?

569

: 00:32:58

And it doesn't have to cost money, right?

570

: 00:33:00

Facebook posts, Instagram posts.

571

: 00:33:03

Emails, phone calls, a handwritten note.

572

: 00:33:06

If you are lucky enough to have a

volunteer coordinator in a volunteer

573

: 00:33:10

capacity, make sure they're doing

enough to let the volunteers know

574

: 00:33:14

how much they're appreciated and also

be clear on what their roles are.

575

: 00:33:19

I think a lot of times volunteers

really feel a bit lost.

576

: 00:33:22

They don't really have good guidance

on what they should be doing.

577

: 00:33:26

So I think that, appreciate them for when

they were there and try to think about

578

: 00:33:31

how to keep them, what can we be doing to

make sure that our volunteers feel valued?

579

: 00:33:37

And if you've done all those things and

they move on to another organization, I

580

: 00:33:41

would say send them a thank you note and

say you so appreciated the time that.

581

: 00:33:46

They gave.

582

: 00:33:47

We have donors that come and go and we

don't always know why they stopped doing

583

: 00:33:51

anything, but I think sometimes, donors

will stick with you for a year and then

584

: 00:33:55

they move on to another, you don't know.

585

: 00:33:58

I always send them a

thank you, doesn't matter.

586

: 00:34:00

I thank them.

587

: 00:34:01

Thank you so much for the time

that you spent with us and for

588

: 00:34:05

being a part of our family and

for contributing to our mission.

589

: 00:34:09

Always.

590

: 00:34:10

I'm just grateful for whatever that

timeframe is, and it's, whether it's

591

: 00:34:13

volunteers or donors, just I think showing

gratitude for it is a wonderful thing,

592

: 00:34:18

and I think once you put that out in the

universe, the next one's gonna come along.

593

: 00:34:24

Dixie: Great advice.

594

: 00:34:25

Now to wrap things up, I'm going to

ask you just some questions that are

595

: 00:34:30

gonna be focused on getting the next

generation of CAT Heroes involved.

596

: 00:34:36

Sally: Okay.

597

: 00:34:37

I'll do my best.

598

: 00:34:39

Dixie: Okay.

599

: 00:34:39

So for the aspiring advocate.

600

: 00:34:42

What is the very first step someone should

take if they wanna help cats, but they

601

: 00:34:46

don't wanna start a full-blown rescue.

602

: 00:34:49

Sally: Think about what is

your passion really about?

603

: 00:34:51

Like where do you see yourself and

find an organization that aligns

604

: 00:34:56

with what you think the direction you

wanna take in and start volunteering,

605

: 00:35:01

find a mentor reach out to people.

606

: 00:35:03

The best way I'd say before

anybody jumps in and doing

607

: 00:35:07

this, 'cause it's a lot of work.

608

: 00:35:09

And you know what, I was a

jumper, iner, I went all in.

609

: 00:35:12

, But I did spend a little bit of time with

an organization before, not maybe enough,

610

: 00:35:18

but I just felt very strongly about it.

611

: 00:35:20

But I think if you can find an

organization in your community, or it

612

: 00:35:24

doesn't even need to be, that people

shouldn't be myopic in their focus of,

613

: 00:35:29

it has to be, unless of course you want

to interact a hundred percent with the

614

: 00:35:33

animals, but maybe you don't, maybe

your skillset is somewhere else, so

615

: 00:35:37

widen your search and think we have

volunteers from all over the country.

616

: 00:35:41

So find what you think you want to do,

what you're good at, what you feel like.

617

: 00:35:46

I would feel really good about this.

618

: 00:35:49

There'll be somebody out there.

619

: 00:35:50

We have people who help with

social media, you know what I mean?

620

: 00:35:53

So what's your skillset?

621

: 00:35:55

And find an organization that you really

feel good about and if you don't have

622

: 00:35:59

to be hands-on, it could be anywhere.

623

: 00:36:01

So make sure you have your search.

624

: 00:36:03

Be broad.

625

: 00:36:05

Dixie: What about a sanity tip?

626

: 00:36:07

What is one non-negotiable

boundary every new advocate

627

: 00:36:11

should set to avoid burnout Early.

628

: 00:36:14

Sally: Don't be afraid to say no.

629

: 00:36:16

Just don't.

630

: 00:36:17

Don't ever be afraid to say no.

631

: 00:36:19

You have to have that ability because

if somebody calls you and asks you to do

632

: 00:36:23

something, of course we wanna give, right?

633

: 00:36:25

We're volunteering.

634

: 00:36:27

But you have to be able to set

your boundaries right away.

635

: 00:36:29

So I think one of the things you

have to be is practice saying no.

636

: 00:36:33

Just practicing.

637

: 00:36:34

No, and that's okay.

638

: 00:36:35

It doesn't mean you're not a good

volunteer not everybody can, be

639

: 00:36:39

there all the time and that's okay.

640

: 00:36:41

Longevity is important.

641

: 00:36:43

So to have that longevity,

it's okay to say no.

642

: 00:36:48

Dixie: What is one common myth

about cat rescue that you wish new

643

: 00:36:51

advocates would stop believing?

644

: 00:36:54

Sally: Going back into what we

were just talking about you don't

645

: 00:36:57

have to be hands on to volunteer.

646

: 00:36:59

I think that a lot of

people think if I can't, be.

647

: 00:37:04

Petting a cat or active there's

a place for everybody.

648

: 00:37:08

And I feel like, you should know

that, there's also no minimum amount

649

: 00:37:14

of time If you think you don't

like, maybe that's a myth where

650

: 00:37:17

you won't have enough time to give.

651

: 00:37:19

Trust me, as somebody who runs an

organization, it all makes a difference.

652

: 00:37:24

So there's a place for you,

there's a time for you.

653

: 00:37:27

I don't think that because you have

limited time or maybe you think your

654

: 00:37:31

skillset is atypical or maybe you're super

shy there's definitely a place for you.

655

: 00:37:39

. Dixie: And then lastly, what is the

biggest lesson that your cat, Marlin,

656

: 00:37:44

taught you about the resilience

that every advocate needs to hear?

657

: 00:37:49

Sally: Oh my gosh.

658

: 00:37:50

Marlin taught me how to live

every day to the fullest.

659

: 00:37:53

That's the biggest lesson

I learned from him.

660

: 00:37:55

He was a kitty with cancer.

661

: 00:37:57

But the thing is, and I always

joked, Marlin doesn't know he

662

: 00:38:01

has cancer, so don't tell him

because cats it beautifully.

663

: 00:38:05

They don't know, right?

664

: 00:38:06

So they're very much in the moment and

they very much just live their best lives.

665

: 00:38:12

And so that's my approach to

every day I wake up in gratitude.

666

: 00:38:16

I try to find one thing to

be grateful for every day.

667

: 00:38:21

And that's something that

he definitely taught me.

668

: 00:38:24

Because they are just so different.

669

: 00:38:26

We can get really wrapped

up in so many things.

670

: 00:38:28

And I can see his face

perfectly right now.

671

: 00:38:31

And always, I could just look at him and

just know gosh, things are just so simple

672

: 00:38:36

in the sense of you truly live every

day to the fullest and you find so much

673

: 00:38:42

joy in life and so much gratitude in.

674

: 00:38:45

And I think about him

all the time in that.

675

: 00:38:49

Dixie: Thank you so much

for joining me today, Sally.

676

: 00:38:53

Sally: I'm so

677

: 00:38:53

grateful.

678

: 00:38:54

I'm so glad we were able to do this.

679

: 00:38:56

And thank you for giving me an opportunity

to talk more about Mission Meow and about

680

: 00:39:01

rescue and all the important things.

681

: 00:39:04

And I would just love to say to everybody

out there and rescue, hang in there.

682

: 00:39:09

Hang in there.

683

: 00:39:10

We know it's hard.

684

: 00:39:12

We see you.

685

: 00:39:13

We see you, and we recognize

you for the work that you do.

686

: 00:39:16

And thank you for it.

687

: 00:39:19

Dixie: And just before we end

how can people find Mission?

688

: 00:39:22

Meow?

689

: 00:39:24

Sally: They can go to mission meow.org.

690

: 00:39:27

That's our website.

691

: 00:39:28

We are on TikTok, not that much,

so that's not my first go-to.

692

: 00:39:31

But Facebook, Instagram but directly,

just go right to mission meow.org.

693

: 00:39:38

I'll include some links

in the show notes too.

694

: 00:39:42

Perfect.

695

: 00:39:43

Dixie: All right.

696

: 00:39:44

Thank you.

697

: 00:39:46

Sally: Thank you so much.

698

: 00:39:47

Dixie: That's it for today's episode.

699

: 00:39:49

I wanna thank everybody for

listening and supporting us.

700

: 00:39:53

If you wanna take that an extra

step, consider becoming a member.

701

: 00:39:57

We just added this to our

website, animalposse.com,

702

: 00:40:02

scroll down, look for the support tab.

703

: 00:40:04

Our membership program is going to

help us directly support animals

704

: 00:40:10

in need, whether that be through

vaccinations, food or spay neuter efforts.