Joan Schramm of Annapolis, Maryland writes:
“I volunteer with the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue League and recently took over as the publicity coordinator for Maryland/D.C.
“I’d like some new ideas for getting the word out about our monthly Meet and Greet events (where we set up at local pet stores and bring some of our dogs for people to meet and learn about Great Danes) and for our larger events, such as our annual Parade of Paws, Bull Roast, etc.
“We have about 80 Danes looking for homes, and we’re in desperate need of more people to foster Danes while they’re looking for their forever home.
“We’re having our annual Bull Roast and Silent Auction on May 5 this year, and I’d love to get some tips from your other readers on how we can really publicize this and get a big crowd. I thought about trying to get some local news celebrity to kick it off, or do a live broadcast, or something, and I also thought about trying to get some local corporate sponsors.”
Have you connected with local vetrinarians? They may let you put up signs in their waiting rooms, and where better to find dog lovers?
Have you thought about teaming up with a local nonprofit? The local Red Cross chapter in Baltimore or in another area of Maryland probably teaches Pet CPR and this may be a great way to tie both things together to receive more attention. You could see if there are any reporters interested in taking a pet CPR class and helping the cause for the rescue, etc. The message could be, “Share and Prepare” … meaning share your love and prepare to take care of a dog for many years to come. Just an idea… Good luck!
If spokespeople are what you seek, what about using area beauty pageant winners to come and promote the event, play with the dogs, etc? DAMES FOR DANES. Media may pick up the story as a good will story, and the pageant winners often have a following of supporters. Best of luck!
This is admittedly off-the-wall, but have you thought about doing a “Great Dane” theme and having a local theater group do acts from Hamlet or inviting someone from the Danish embassy to highlight the accomplishments of “Great Danes” or provide a trip to Denmark for your silent auction? The play on words could probably get you some fun publicity if nothing else.
Each Christmas, a local radio station works with the area animal rescue to do “12 Strays of Christmas.” Each day, for 12 days, a rep from the organization brings a different dog that is in need of the home into the studio. The DJs spend several segments talking about how cute the dog is, how loveable, etc. and asking the rep questions about the organization. Photos of each “stray” are posted on the radio’s website as well as updates (whether the dogs have been adopted or if they still need a home). This gives the organization lots of exposure (and, it’s repeated exposure!) Perhaps this is something you could do around the holidays, or tailor it to do anytime of the year.
Why not have events at malls and other spots? You’re losing out on a large number of people if you just appear at pet stores. Any local celeb with the first name of Dane? Have him be your spokesperson.
sice you are so close to DC why not get the Embassy of Denmark involved? Contact their public affairs director to floay your ideas and get the support of yje other type of great Dane.
Did you know that you can do free postings for your events on the websites for the major local news channels in the DC Metro area, i.e. NBC, ABC, CBS? Contact the radio stations as well to make announcements for you. And if your geographic area is not limited to Annapolis you can post on the Washingtonian Magazine website. DC is a dog loving city as well and I’m sure you could find some good homes for your dogs in the city. How about contacting a local pet friendly hotel and seeing if they want to do a split sponsorship where they do a nominal donation and offer a discounted room/promotion for attendees coming to the event? And lastly since you are in the Annapolis area have you contacted the Wet Dog Cafe at Port Annapolis Marina. Maybe they would be interested in doing some kind of fun promotion or sponsorsing a door prize?
How about taking it to the streets, literally, and do a “March for Danes” in March? Round up some volunteers and have humans walk the dogs in need of homes. (You could also do a fundraiser at the same time and ask the walkers to get sponsored.) Hold signs saying, “Great Danes make great pets”, “Adopt us” , “Looking for love” etc. and walk in a heavily-trafficed area that is still safe for the dogs….maybe around lunch time. Hopefully the photographers will come out for the great photo op and this should help get some publicity. Or maybe you have a local news program that uses guests…you could take a dog on for a segment and talk about how so many of them need homes and offer general info on the breed. Finally, contact your local Girl Scout chapter and see if they offer a badge for helping animals. If so, plan a dog wash (just make sure enough adults will be on site to supervise the kids around the dogs.) I’m picturing a photo of a little girl standing the same height as a Dane with soap on his head. Good luck!
Try this it worked for my Adult ADHD support group and many other non-profits I coach. Every weekly and daily newspaper gives space to non-profit announcements. The FREE newspapers and magazines in your area are perfect for you. Your local newspaper, normally the “Community” section will give you space in their FREE local club announcements.
Ask the pet store where you meet at if they will sponsor the “beauty contest” that Jamie suggested. Their advertising anyway so it is an extra draw.
Check with the newspaper to see who covers such local news. Now invite them to the meeting or buy them lunch.
The best way to get FREE publicity for a good cause is to personally call and invite the reporters. Email is just going to hit the person at the desk with all the others. To many people think the papers owe them just because they are local and believe in THEIR cause.
Always take the personal contact road to success.
Goofy as it is, I was also going to suggest the Danish embassy–you are in the DC area after all. The embassy might not want to spring for a trip to Denmark, but I bet they might be happy to provide a catered private dinner with the ambassador for two as a prize.
Being seen seems like an obvious thing when you’re talking about great danes, but when there’s so much competition for exposure for charities, it can be tough. Here are a few ideas for you…
* Always play up the “power of the paw.” There are over 40 million homes with pets. It’s one of the largest demographics in the US! Your event will be unique because of your theme, but also because of your dogs who will benefit from the event. Keep them in mind during planning. Too many charities stray away from their focus when hosting events, and the events that should be special tend to blend together.
* For your upcoming Bull Roast and Silent Auction, invite your media members and local celebrities personally, or better yet, invite THEIR pets to attend. Address an invitation to Scruffy c/o Mayor Jones and ask Scruffy to bring their family members. Rarely do pets get mail of their own, so your invitation will stand out. Your board members and other local society members will know these details about peoples’ pets.
* Definitely bring in some corporate sponsors. By having a media members as a corporate sponsor, they will typically provide one of their news anchors, DJs or other personalities as the host of the event, and will publicly discuss the event on air. And, corporate sponsors also enjoy their perk of a few free tickets by sending some of their employees to the event, and potentially the top brass at the office. This is a great way for them to be introduced to your cause, and champion it in the future!
* For a walk, if you’re using a media sponsor, create a challenge between two or three of the media celebrities to raise more money and volunteers/ walkers than the others! This campaign will play out on the air, and bring in more walkers than ever!
* If you have an event coming up, such as a dog walk or your silent auction and roast, take a stroll. Don some donation vests or adopt me vests for the dogs, and walk around some major foot traffic areas. By having 3 or 4 of your volunteers each with a dane, you’re a walking billboard. Carry brochures or business cards for the upcoming event with your website on them to pass out to people. If you sit back and wait for people to find you at PetSmart, they may not find you. Go out into the world! Go forth, Great Danes!
Good luck!
Purrs and woofs,
~Danielle
HumaneFundraising
I’m not sure whether Joan’s primary concern is getting people to attend the events, increasing potential foster homes, fundraising, increasing awareness of the organization, or all of the above. I’ll just assume it is all of the above and encourage her to reach for the golden ring.
Contact Cesar Milan and suggest he visit your area and do a show about your situation. He can shed light on why so many dogs end up needing rehoming and how to avoid it, and also give advice to foster homes on how to best prepare dogs for adoption. As a finale, Cesar could meet with newly rehomed dogs and lend suggestions.
This idea could also work on a local level if you have any media contacts. If not, I would just start calling and tell them your organization has 80 Danes that need to find the right fit and get a new life.
We’ve done this with a lot of animal groups. Our founder Rick London (Londons Times Cartoons) which is one of the highest rated cartoons on the Internet is a big animal person and he will give at cost as many tee shirts, mousepads, etc. (all dog-related), so you can resale them (Ebay is a good place or locally), and make enough profit to fulfill your cause. He has a number of references and has helped numerous animal groups.
Simply drop by http://www.londonstimessuperstore, click on any product and scroll down to “Dogs”. There are numerous products (the price you see is retail but write us at sales (@) londonstimes (.) us and we will give you the wholesale price for as many as you like.
Sincerely,
Alexa Ferotina
Marketing Director
Londons Times Cartoons
http://www.londonstimes.us
http://www.londonstimessuperstore.com
Wow! What a bunch of wonderful ideas! These have given me many new avenues to pursue — I like the Embassey of Denmark ones, but wonder if it matters that Great Danes are from Germany and not Denmark? i LOVE the idea of inviting the pets of local celebrities.
Thank you all so much for your suggestions — they will be a big help for our Danes!