Start a shelter in New Jersey to help animals.
Animal lovers in New Jersey who dedicate their lives to caring for abandoned, neglected, abused or homeless animals can work with the New Jersey American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and other New Jersey agencies, organizations and resources to start an animal shelter. Opening an animal shelter involves time, energy and dedication. Community involvement will smooth the process and can assist in bringing needed funding to ensure that the animals receive proper care and will have a good chance of finding adoptive owners.
Instructions
1. Review New Jersey's state statutes for sheltering animals. New Jersey law specifies that local municipalities hire and train animal-control personnel, and that those individuals have the responsibility to seize abandoned, abused or stray animals to bring them to a licensed municipal shelter. Municipalities hold the responsibility for their local laws governing the operation and sanitary conduct of kennels in their locality. New Jersey state law grants these shelters the responsibility to shelter, locate adoptive homes or, if necessary, euthanize the animals.
2. Plan the type of shelter to start. Experts suggest starting small and allowing the shelter to grow with time. Funding can increase as the shelter's success becomes known.
3. Develop management experience, accounting skills and community contacts before attempting to start an animal shelter. Look at New Jersey Community Colleges' business administration and accounting courses to develop the needed skills and knowledge for starting and operating an animal shelter. These courses can assist in managing the business aspect of running an animal shelter and may also assure potential sponsors that the shelter maintains a staff with professional management skills.
4. Assess the needs of the New Jersey community where the shelter will open. The ASPCA encourages people who plan to start an animal shelter to investigate existing animal-care facilities in their community to avoid duplication of services. The Mutts and Cats website (muttcats.com/shelters/new_jersey.htm) provides a listing of New Jersey shelters by location.
5. Work in an animal shelter to gain experience in the field. Volunteer in a shelter. Talk about the plans for starting a new shelter with the shelter staff. The staff can offer suggestions and tips for initial fundraising. A new shelter in the area can relieve overcrowding in the already-existing shelter and bring more animal advocates onto the scene.
6. Find like-minded helpers, supporters, activists, neighbors and others who want to help the new shelter succeed. Obtain a FoundationCenter (foundationcenter.org/about/) listing for foundations in New Jersey or national foundations that fund animal-welfare projects to request a grant to help fund the new shelter. Contact animal-welfare organizations in New Jersey (aplnj.org/) to begin networking among the animal-welfare community for support and funding ideas.
7. Obtain a license for the shelter from the animal-control authorities of the New Jersey municipality or county where the shelter will operate. Make sure that the local zoning board approves the shelter plans.
8. Market the new shelter. Think of innovative ways to advertise the shelter's activities. Do a "bark" sale at a community fair with animal-shaped cookies; ask classrooms and organizations to subsidize the cost of keeping an animal in the shelter; create a web blog featuring "guest posts" from the shelter's "guests" and lots of pictures of the shelter's residents; and/or circulate pictures of the animals. Invite church groups, classrooms and community clubs to help at the shelter. Suggest that they solicit neighbors, families and friends to contribute to the shelter.
9. Set up a web presence. Post guest articles and comments to New Jersey community newsletters and forums (usnpl.com/njnews.php) to keep the shelter in the public eye.
10. Research the possibilities of incorporating the animal shelter as a New Jersey nonprofit organization (state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/pdf/pubs/exemptfaq.pdf). Donors often prefer to donate to a recognized nonprofit because they can write off the donation as a tax deduction on their own taxes. Incorporating involves an additional expense and a high level of oversight. Consult with a CPA or tax attorney in New Jersey to learn about the procedure for incorporating as a nonprofit organization in New Jersey as well as the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. The Center for Nonprofit Corporations in North Brunswick, New Jersey, (njnonprofits.org/) assists New Jersey nonprofit organizations to incorporate as a recognized nonprofit organization. The New Jersey Department of the Treasury requires a mission statement, Federal Employer Identification Number, Federal Exempt Status and Federal Charities Registration to incorporate as a nonprofit in New Jersey. The Department of the Treasury also suggests applying for a sales-and-use-tax exemption.
11. Draw up a clear mission statement for potential donors. The mission statement provides large donors with an overview of the shelter's philosophy and plan of action. It also gives donors and staff a clear vision of the shelter's mission. Donors also want to know that they are not donating to an organization that undertakes projects or tasks with which they disagree. For instance, a donor who believes that she is donating to a "noneuthanizing" shelter may become distressed if she discovers that the shelter euthanizes animals when necessary.
Tags: animal shelter, mission statement, nonprofit organization, Department Treasury, help shelter, Jersey Department