I hung up from a conversation with a shelter Board member the other day feeling very frustrated. This person was well intentioned and his shelter was doing some good things. But there were so many problems, and each one impacted the next.
"We don't have an Executive Director right now. We can't afford one. The salary we can offer is so low we simply can't attract a qualified person."
"A big influx of animals came into the shelter recently and now we're going to have to euthanize for space. This problem could be avoided if we had more foster families, but we can't seem to find them. People are afraid they'll want to keep the animals or they'll get burned out."
"Money is the real problem, but we're having trouble with our fundraising. Our community is very blue collar and we have very few high-end donors."
Although I lent a supportive ear, I wanted to say, "dump the defeatist mentality, eliminate the negativism, and stop the excuses. Prioritize the goals, segment the tasks into manageable steps, and move forward."
A lot of organizations make the mistake of trying to do too many things at once. Those that take on countless tasks end up spinning their wheels and going nowhere. It takes discipline to do one thing well before moving on to the next, but it's an important key to success. (See my previous editorial,
One Step at a Time.)
It's also common in our movement to feel overwhelmed and defeated simply because you're burned out. If you really do believe the cards are all stacked against you and there is no hope for improvement, step aside and let an idealistic newcomer take the lead.
Many organizations get bogged down in the weight of seemingly intractable problems. But there are solutions to every problem, from fundraising to marketing to management. Answers can be found on the internet and at animal welfare conferences or through networking with peers, meeting with members, talking with community leaders, or brainstorming with staff and volunteers.
If "can't do" seems to be the prevailing mood at your shelter, bring in the attitude adjusters and then get to work. The answers are out there.
Here are a few websites with lots of answers:
http://www.bestfriends.org/nmhp/resources.html
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ccah/Prog-ShelterMed/
ShelterMedicine.htm
http://www.maddiesfund.org/organizations/index.html
http://www.spcaonline.com/Go%20No%20Kill.pdf
