Best Friends Network

We caught up with some Best Friends National Conference attendees to find out what animal welfare organization inspires them the most. Each of their responses felt like a warm hug, and this video has just a few!

Join the virtual hug fest and tag the organization that inspires you every day in the comments! And be sure to tell everyone why they're so inspiring 🤩

Part 2 of our 2023 National Data Report goes beyond just data. We’re giving you programming recommendations based on your specific 2022 and 2023 save rates! Here's a quick look from Brent Toellner, Best Friends Senior Director of Lifesaving Programs, at how it works for one of three categories: shelters with a 2023 save rate of 90% or above.

Access the full report here: https://network.bestfriends.org/research-data/research/2023-national-data-report

Want to stay tuned into your data for decision making year-round? Sign up for SPDA: https://shelterpetdata.org/

Did you know part 2 of the Best Friends 2023 National Data Report can give you custom lifesaving recommendations based on your specific 2022 and 2023 save rates? Here's a quick look at how it works for one of three categories: shelters with a 2023 save rate of between 80-89%.

Access the full report here: https://network.bestfriends.org/research-data/research/2023-national-data-report

Want to stay tuned into your data for decision making year-round? Sign up for SPDA: https://shelterpetdata.org/

Did you know part 2 of the Best Friends 2023 National Data Report can give you custom lifesaving recommendations based on your specific 2022 and 2023 save rates? Here's a quick look at how it works for one of three categories: shelters with a 2023 save rate of below 80%.

Stay tuned in the coming days for the other lifesaving categories, and access the full report here: https://network.bestfriends.org/research-data/research/2023-national-data-report

Want to stay tuned into your data for decision making year-round? Sign up for SPDA: https://shelterpetdata.org/

Have you checked out the Best Friends 2023 National Data Report yet? We designed it especially with our shelter and rescue partners in mind to help you make informed planning and strategic decisions.

Not sure how to use this comprehensive report? Here's how to get started.

Dive in now: https://network.bestfriends.org/research-data/research/2023-national-data-report

We are pleased to share the 2023 National Data Report containing statistics from 96% of brick-and-mortar shelters across the country! This release is designed with our shelter and rescue partners in mind because we believe data is most powerful when it helps you make informed planning and strategic decisions. With this data release you can:

🎯 Identify specific next steps and relevant resources for your organization, based on your 2022 and 2023 save rates.
🎯 Get a bird's eye view of national 2023 data trends.
🎯 Zoom in on trends related to specific organization types and locations.
🎯 Gain insights from the first quarter of 2024 to see where the U.S. stands on lifesaving progress this year.

Dive into Best Friends 2023 national data report: https://network.bestfriends.org/research-data/research/2023-national-data-report

During the month of June, animal shelters and rescues across the country have been pushing themselves to try open adoption practices and host adoption and foster events as part of the Best Friends Network 🧡 Bring Love Home Challenge 🧡

Cincinnati Animal CARE is one of those organizations, so check out their fun video, which captures the spirit of the Bring Love Home Challenge by engaging their community in an unexpected, silly way to encourage people to adopt dogs for a low adoption fee.

The Bring Love Home Challenge ends this Sunday, and we're so proud of every organization that has participated. We can't wait to see the results they all worked so hard for! 🐶 😸

Do you utilize your foster families as expert adoption teams for the foster pets in their care?

Empowering fosters to facilitate adoptions can lighten your team's load. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control's huge foster base enables them to increase their capacity to nearly twice as many pets as they can hold in their building. Hear from their customer service manager Adam Carter about how Charlotte-Mecklenburg leverages their army of foster families to get involved and speed pets through the adoption process.

"If we are going to accomplish the goals that we want to accomplish in animal welfare, we need to keep people healthy," says Michael Keiley from MSPCA-Angell in Boston. "The sort of constant turnover of staff and things that are lost along the way means that we're always kind of catching up rather than moving forward."

Michael Keiley will share more about MSPCA-Angell's approach to keeping their team healthy as one of the panelists in our webinar, Caring for the People that Care for Animals: Prioritizing Staff Well-being in Animal Welfare, on Wednesday, June 26, at 5pm ET. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4bTRHOs

"I 'care more' because I am running myself into the ground," is a culture we must work to get away from in animal welfare if we hope to keep impactful people in the industry.

Want to hear more? Leah Craig Chumbley, Executive Director of Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, is one of the panelists for our webinar, Caring for the People that Care for Animals: Prioritizing Staff Well-being in Animal Welfare, on Wednesday, June 26, at 5pm ET. Save your spot for this important conversation by registering: https://bit.ly/4bTRHOs

Would a $3,000 grant* help you save more lives? Best Friends Network Partners who join Shelter Pet Data Alliance (SPDA) and enter their data for all of 2023 through May 2024 will become eligible for a $3,000 grant.

With your data in SPDA, your organization is equipped with the tools and insights needed to identify lifesaving opportunities, drive change, and form crucial partnerships in your area. Watch to learn more about how SPDA puts your data to work!

Ready to get started? Go to shelterpetdata.org to get started on SPDA, or to update your data, if your organization is already on SPDA.

*This grant opportunity is exclusive to organizations who manage the intake and outcome of animals including transfer of ownership. To be considered, your organization must be a Best Friends Network Partner with data in Shelter Pet Data Alliance for all of 2023 and 2024 through May. The deadline to meet the eligibility requirements is June 17 at 11:59pm ET.

Through Best Friends’ national shelter embed program, leadership and staff from Rhea County Animal Shelter in Tennessee worked alongside a Best Friends expert who was embedded at the shelter for nine months from May 2023 through January 2024. Together they implemented proven strategies to help save more animals’ lives and move closer to no-kill.

Shelter staff now have the freedom to expand their thinking about animal welfare and consider creative ways to save more lives. That’s improving staff morale while making a big difference for the animals. According to Shelter Pet Data Alliance, the shelter’s average save rate for the past year has been 92.6%, up 30 percentage points from the previous year. Rhea County is a shining example of how far shelters can go when they embrace change and have some support.

🧩 Hiring and team culture 🧩 is a very important piece of the puzzle when it comes to promoting adoption and fostering to non-English speakers in your community. Get your team ready to welcome adopters and fosters who speak a language such as Spanish with these tips from Marisa Sutherland, Community Marketing Senior Strategist at Best Friends Animal Society.

What percentage of your community are you missing?

Finnegan Dowling, Shelter Program and Social Media Manager at Mutual Rescue, shares some words of wisdom about the importance of including Spanish speakers in our outreach for fosters. This applies to adoption outreach and other communications too!

Do you know how many non-English speakers are in your county, or what languages they do speak? Type in your county and state on this website to find out: https://data.census.gov/profile