Protecting The Future Of The Animals At TCWR
June 24, 2020
Turpentine Creek loves and appreciates all of our donors; you are amazing people who help us to care for these animals every single day! Yet, the global pandemic COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of recurring donors to our animals’ and Refuge’s future. Recurring donations give us a gift beyond just financial sustainability and stability; they give us peace of mind and hope when things can be a bit unsteady in our world.
When we had to temporarily close our doors to the public to protect our animals and team members, we quickly realized that our current income source was unstable. During the spring and summer, we rely heavily on lodging and admissions to cover our costs and in the winter time our donors step up, donating approximately half of our annual income. This has always helped to cover our expenses year-round, but this year, COVID-19 hit right as we were gearing up for our spring and summer visitors.
We were lucky; we have been planning for emergencies for years, tucking away extra money here and there to build a small emergency fund. It is due to this pre-planning, and the fact that our amazing supporters came together in a big way to donate during our time of need, that we were able to make it through the closure and find a safe way to reopen to the public. Now, that emergency fund has been greatly depleted and COVID-19 has not gone away. Although we do not know what the future holds with COVID-19, there is a lot of evidence that a resurgence is coming, and we need to be prepared for that possibility.
While we were closed we reduced all costs to a minimum, going to essential employees, reducing spending, stopping new projects, etc. and found out that it would cost about $140,000 a month to run the Refuge when we are closed to the public and on a reduced staff; that number increases when we are open to the public even on a limited capacity. Normally, operating at full capacity it is about $200,000 – $225,000 a month.
With this in mind, we began to look at ways to protect our animals if another emergency were to happen, or COVID-19 creates a situation where we are forced to temporarily close again. The solution is to create a steady, reliable, income source that does not fluctuate based on the season or visitor count: monthly recurring donations.
Monthly recurring donations creates a steady foundation to fall back on, to be reassured that in rain, shine, sleet, hail, or global pandemic we can continue to provide quality care for our animal residents. These donations allow us to plan ahead, purchase food when needed, rescue animals, and continue advocating for their future- all things that cannot be paused even when it seems as though the world has.
Currently, we receive a little over $10,000 a month in recurring donations. We have set a goal to add 200 new recurring donors between now and September 1. Can you help us reach this goal?
Setting up a monthly donation of $5, $10, or $25 (less than the cost of most streaming services!) will protect the animals at Turpentine Creek.
Monthly recurring donations are just small automatic debits that add up to a lot of money for the animals!
- $5 a month = $60 a year
- $10 a month = $120 a year
- $25 a month = $300 a year
- $50 a month = $600 a year
Your ‘bite sized’ monthly donations go a long way over an entire year!
Now, more than ever, please help us give our animal residents a stable and sustainable future. Click here to set your monthly recurring donation up today!
