Shelter Shout Out: Lynchburg Humane Society

Our ShelterBeds program connects thousands of animal welfare groups across the country with supporters and donors in order to get Kuranda beds for the animals in their care. Our Shelter Shout Outs are a way that we feature a successful or creative Kuranda bed drive. Not only do we love sharing these organizations’ incredible hard work but these interviews help to raise awareness of our ShelterBeds program!

Last year, the Lynchburg Humane Society ran a successful ShelterBeds campaign. We got the chance to talk with Claire about the campaign and about the shelter.

Like many shelters across the US, the Lynchburg Humane Society was also experiencing a very high dog population at their Center for Pets in Lynchburg, VA. With the larger number of dogs cycling through the kennels, their beds were facing more than normal wear and tear. So, Claire started a social media campaign asking their supporters for Kuranda beds!

Read on to view the full interview:

Kuranda: What were the steps you took to start your campaign? Did you have any resources you referenced or team members with experience?

LHS: Our operations team reached out to me and let me know that we were short on raised beds. I have a background in social media and marketing and that is what we mostly used for the campaign along with our email-sending subscription and social media pages. Our plea for donations was used on social media and in our weekly email newsletter to about 6,000 subscribers.

Kuranda: What are some of your key focuses in trying to engage with donors and encourage them to donate?

LHS: When we ask for donations of any kind, we want our community of supporters to know why we need their help and who the pets are that they are helping. We included a photo of an adoptable dog in a bed with a stuffie and explained to our supporters how important it is for dogs in a shelter to have a place to comfortably rest.

Kuranda: What would you say was the most successful part of this campaign?

LHS: I think the most successful part is that this campaign included so many different groups of people working together to get these sweet pups comfortable beds. Our community donated and shared the story/need. Kuranda makes it so easy to showcase and track how the campaign is doing. And, once the beds arrived, our volunteers assembled them and our staff paired them with blankets and passed them out to dogs.

Kuranda: Is there anything you'd try differently or tips you learned to try on the next campaign? (This can be for bed drives, food, treats, or anything you are encouraging donations for)

LHS: I think for the next campaign I would include more posting on stories and possibly a short-form video. This campaign was done with very little extra time because we were also in the middle of planning for a very large event.

Kuranda: Any advice to a shelter wanting to start a campaign but not sure where to start or how to reach their donor base?

LHS: I think building up an authentic email list is so valuable to shelters. You can ask adopters, donors, and community members to opt-in to receive updates from you. You don’t have to send email updates every week like we do, even once a month or once a quarter is great. This group of people is easily accessible and wants to hear how the pets are doing, how your shelter is doing, and how they can help.

We’re so glad to report that the hard work of everyone the Lynchburg Humane Society has paid off; the animals in their care received plenty of the beds they deserve!

Donate a Kuranda Bed to the Lynchburg Humane Society here and find out more at shelterbeds.org.