I cannot believe how many different people have taken issue with the fundraising post. I am sorry folks but this is the reality...not every single person or group who has ever raised money for saints will always get honorable mention..i am writing off the cuff here and will not remember to mention everyone, everytime. it does not mean their fundraising efforts are not appreciated and it does not mean their fundraising efforts are not hugely helpful. it simply means I put forth a couple of examples when trying to get my point across about something.
I am not faulting the bank for choosing not to run the bake sale for saints this year. a little bit of notice might have been nice so we had time to try to pull a different fundraiser together but it is what it is. the fact of the matter is that we should not have begun to count on that event..it did not belong to us. it has been a hard lesson to learn. and the reality of this is..yes we will acutely feel the loss this year..to pretend we will not is not true. however...whatever..we will deal it and this too is the reality of rescue.
I have gone back and re-read that post several times...and what I wrote and read is not a bunch of pointing ungrateful fingers...but an honest attempt to share with you the ins, outs, ups, downs, and my own personal preferences of trying to provide predictable ongoing funds for someplace like saints. it was never meant to accuse anyone of anything. it was not meant to ignore the past, present and future efforts of everyone out there.
and here is something I have been wanting to say for a long time...no one runs around saints patting me on the back, thanking me every day for what i do, for what i sacrifice. mostly all I ever hear about me is complaints..i should be this..i should be that..i should be doing this and that..this way and that way. and yes i do hear the jokes tossed around about big bad carol.
whatever...i have taught myself not to take it personally. i am a big girl and do not need to be validated or appreciated to see what I accomplish here every day....all i have to do is look at the animals of saints.
and I think what folks need to understand is...I am not doing what I do here for you...I am doing it for the animals. and by the same token what folks do here for saints..they are not doing for me, they are doing it for the animals at saints. so if me or anyone is looking for thanks or pats on the backs..we should be looking to the animals for that. and the reality is... they will not give them, it is not in their vocabulary..they do not know how.
I live in a reality here...we need money to pay the bills. I live in the reality here that when you or me screw up and leave open a gate or make a bad decision or do not pay attention...an animal can die or get hurt. i live in the reality that there are consequences to all actions or inactions..to mistaken assumptions. and i do not do the animals or you any favor by pretending this is not so.
maybe if i was a different person..nicer, more politically correct, with a feel good graceful personality..saints would be much further ahead. but saints does not have that person...saints has me. a nicer person right now would not survive even a day in my shoes. and for all the white noise about how i should or should not be, how i should or should not write things, how i should or should not think or feel..saints lives honestly, in reality..not in a fabricated fantasy.
it has taken me a very long time to learn that the reality is..many folks do not want to hear the reality of rescue..they only want to hear what makes them feel happy, warm and fuzzy and nice. i have no idea how to be that person..if i have to live the reality of it, then i damn well get to talk about it just like it is. and i will say it for the 1000th time...the reality of rescue is...it is NOT PERSONAL.
I hope my lengthy comment on the blog was not the inspiration for your "it's not personal" entry. I did not intend to offend or indicate that there are fundraisers that are not getting accolades. I am simply indicating that, I, like many others worry about fundraising for SAINTS. I just wanted to ensure that people are aware that there are a lot of ways to donate funds. I disagree with your comment about not receiving pats on the back from the animals. For me personally, they actually do pat you on the back. The sheer pleasure in their eyes and for some of the animals, in their actions, let's you know they are pretty damned happy we are all their to serve them. In my brain, every dollar that is donated or every "in-kind" donation IS a pat on the back for SAINTS. It's someone or some corporate donor showing that they have confidence in the work that you, your staff and volunteers do on a daily basis. For many private donors giving to any non-profit is a personal sacrifice. Fundraising is becoming more and more challenging as more and more businesses close, merge or change focus and non-profits have to be continually reinventing their fundraising options. I have the same worries about fund raising for VWS, a non-profit, I have sponsored monthly since 1999. I always pray that there is sufficient funding so that the bear biologists can continue to do their important work. My post was not intended to insult anyone or to give accolades where none was deserved. I simply wanted to reinforce that there are lots of options available for fundraising and probably more that haven't been considered as yet. If my comments offended you or any one else, I apologize, that was not my intention. I will not comment on fund raising going forward.