A number of Tallahassee non-profits made their Giving Tuesday cash goals last week. Now, one local organization is looking for more members.
The organization in question is the Humane Society of Leon County. Its Executive Director Lisa Glunt said this year actually began better than most from a fiscal standpoint because of one family's generosity.
"The family, while they lost a loved one, they were able to leave a legacy. And that gift literally saved us this year because our fundraisers and events were hit drastically. So that gave us a little bit of a cushion, but we're still in a tight spot. So we currently have our membership campaign going for next year."
More on that campaign in a moment. But Glunt did report this most recent Giving Tuesday gave the local Humane Society a nice boost.
"We just closed out a successful Giving Tuesday where our community was very generous and they helped us to unlock some matching donations and help us hit our goal of $20,000 so that gives us a little more security for the end of the year to be able to do what we have been doing and to get us into next year to see what that brings."
As the pandemic took hold, the demand for pets suddenly exploded. Many people, stuck at home and deprived of human contact, now wanted an animal companion. But as society reopened, many animal welfare organizations have seen a lot of the pets they'd adopted out earlier, returning. Glunt said that hasn't been the case so far with the Humane Society and cites its unique approach to animal owner vetting.
"LCHS is different from a municipal shelter in that we've got the ability to work with and communicate with people and figure out ahead of time if that person is really prepared to take on a new animal. And most of the time we're able to help them troubleshoot and figure out if it truly is the time or not."
She added that staff can help with behavioral and other matters to make for healthier, happier relationships between owners and animals. She called it part of an ongoing response to changing conditions.
"As the need in our community to help animals and their pet owners has adjusted a little bit, the organization is able to adjust so we can help in areas where it's needed."
Critical to all this, said the Humane Society's Lisa Glunt, is having devoted members. Which is what is needed most right now.
"And members have the ability to give input on what they're seeing and ways that they think LCHS needs to take a firmer stand on things or help. And absolutely our members are awesome! Not only do they help financially, especially when we have these big emergency cases that come in, but members are usually the first to jump in and say, 'I'll help with this! Do you need extra hands on deck? Supplies? Money? Veterinary care?' It's really neat because this organization is like none I've ever volunteered or worked at in that it's like a family/team dynamic."
Like the old American Express slogan went, "Membership has its privileges," although not too many, according to Glunt.
"One thing that drives me crazy is when I give to an organization and I get constant cards or calendars or gifts and I want that money to go for the need in the organization and not swag. So our board of directors has gone to an awesome extent of researching cool things that we can give to members who show their support of the Leon County Humane Society, but to do it for a fraction of the cost of what people would expect. So we've got some neat t-shirts and koozies coming out and all the information for membership is on there and what you can get."
The Leon County Humane Society web site and Facebook page can tell you more;
