Fundraising success stories?

[totallyawesome206]

I am trying to figure out a way to pay for my cat's $5000 medical bills. Has anyone had success with fundraising for their pets? Any ideas? I would like to avoid just straight-up asking for donations and am willing to do something creative, I'm just not sure what would be the most successful. Thank you for reading and for sharing your experiences! Any help is appreciated.

[BendyMom]

Fundraising seems to get harder every year, as every year the economy gets worse.
it isn't impossible, no, but it is sure trickier than it used to be.
first thing to do is to get your cat known to people.

Currently I think Facebook is the easiest way to do that. Make your cat a page with nice stories about her, and what medical issues she has and what she needs. Put up lots of cute pictures.

If you are already on FB, you can send invites to everyone you know already, if not, try to connect with people you know and ask them to share the link. On FB I am TheBendyMom Furr you can send me the link and I can share it to try and help.

some attempts at fundraising fall flat, others catch on, and I have yet to figure out why. When, four years ago, I needed $700 for Tierseas' emergency eye surgery I got it no problem, but just this past month getting $200 for Egypt's teeth seemed impossible, until one person sent me the whole amount.

I have done a lot on ebay. Ebay can be a royal pain to make the listings, and the fees definitely take a cut out and then PayPal (which they insist you use) takes a cut too. To make money on ebay, I've found i have to sell things that I paid next to nothing for, otherwise all the time and hassle doesn't pay off. I did a lot of gift baskets. But you have to stand out. Think of what sorts of things you might want to sell, see what is already listed, how much they are going for...and try to come up with something different somehow. One year I sold gift packs for hermit crabs, because no one else was selling them, and I actually did well simply because no one else was selling them so people bought them from me.

Do you have any especially nice/cute picts of your kitty?
You can get 4 x 6's made, find a low cost matt, an sell those. I would post a bunch of picts and see which get the best responses.

I wish I knew a way to get a big fat lump of money donated at once, but I haven't discovered that yet.
good luck, let us know what you'r eup to and how it working.

[CarolC]

For my two cents, this is the best time of year to get a temporary part-time job. Teen summer hires go back to school and stores start hiring extra employees for the holidays.

[BendyMom]

well that depends where you live, carol, here in NC? good luck finding anything past minimum wage!

[BendyMom]

however, with the holidays coming up that is an excellent time to do fundraising

[totallyawesome206]

Thanks for all the ideas! I think ebay might be a good place to start for me, I have afew boxes of vintage toys that have been in storage forever, maybe they can do me some good! I feel so strange to ask people for money, the idea of selling things first is much more appealing to me. I appreciate the feedback!