As a charitable nonprofit organization reliant upon donations, we think it’s important you know how FLPS gets our funds as well as how we use them. Angela Heckler, Director of Fundraising for FLPS (pictured directly above preparing for last year’s Cocktails & Canines event) shares some general financial information, takeaways from 2020 and looks a bit into the future.
Can you spot which of the 6 statements below is false?
True. We receive no government funding, and the overwhelming majority of our revenue (about 95%) comes from individual donors, for whom we are so grateful! In 2020, our estimated revenue was $173,400 and came from various sources, including:
True. Our total estimated expenses for 2020 were $144,200 and of that we spent over $100,000 on medical, even with the reduced fees Dr. Bob and All Creatures Animal Clinic so kindly provide us.
Our medical costs are our biggest expense because senior dogs tend to need medical care when we take them in. It’s common they require some dental work or other treatment.
These high medical expenses also reflect the Forever Loved philosophy that we want our dogs healthy when you adopt them. We don’t want to give you a “to-do,” says Angela. We are conservative in accepting dogs because we want to be sure we can cover any medical issues we may discover.
True. We are always mindful of our mission to help senior dogs and as such, we do all we can to keep expenses down. This is in large part thanks to our loyal donors.
“Anytime we put out the word that we need something — whether it’s printer paper or dog food or detergent — our supporters step up,” Angela says.
We pay one modest salary, and that’s to our President; all other roles at FLPS are volunteers. Thank you!
Another reason our overhead is low is because of our small sanctuary. We are so fortunate to have a robust foster program not only because it’s better for the dogs and adopters but because it saves us the cost of having to operate a bigger shelter. Thanks to our fosters!
True. 2020 made us adapt how we fundraise. Changes included:
True! We are so passionate about making a bigger impact and striving to save more senior dogs. The need is enormous. We still turn a lot of people (and dogs) away simply because we don’t have the capacity or funds.
Angela, ever the optimist, says her fundraising goal for FLPS is $200,000 for 2021. She points out that we increased our revenues in 2020 by 18% compared to 2019. Wow!
Absolutely false! Hopefully in reading about our finances you realize what a significant impact you have. We truly couldn’t save senior dogs without your help.
