Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers PO Box 647 - Madison, VA 22727 540-543-2307 www.sdwr.org FAQ About Our Fundraising Process How much money do I have to raise to qualify for a dog? SDWR asks each family to fund raise at least $25,000 as a volunteer for SDWR. Most agencies use program development personnel to raise the money needed to train and place service dogs. Because of this they are limited to whatever this person or people can bring in over the course of a year. By using our clients as volunteer fundraisers we are able to operate on a much larger budget, which means we can place far more dogs and do not have to utilize a waiting list. This is good news for you! The funding you are raising is used to support the SDWR mission of placing service dogs with disabled children. Once your fundraising requirement is well underway you will then qualify to receive one of our specially trained dogs. It will cost SDWR $43,000 to place a service dog with yourself or your child so any amount of money you raise that exceeds your minimum requirement of $25,000 will certainly make it possible for us to train even more dogs for more individuals. We do offer opportunities to fundraise as a volunteer to our program over a three year period, however many families complete their fundraising goal during our reservation wait period of currently 10 months. SDWR will assist you with fundraising ideas. We have a handout titled Fundraising A Great Start with many wonderful ideas on ways to raise money for SDWR. These ideas will usually bring in much, if not all of the money needed to fulfill your fundraising requirement. This amazing document is provided as part of the acceptance packet only. Remember, SDWR is not asking you to go out and fundraise for yourself, independent of SDWR. You are required to volunteer to fundraise for SDWR as a sort of partnership in providing a service dog to you. We are here to guide you, approve all fundraising efforts, make changes on all material going out to the public, and offer suggestions to improve your efforts. You will not be sent out to raise money on your own, which can seem very overwhelming, you are volunteering for and working with SDWR. We will be here to support your efforts in any way that we can. Why can t I just raise funding on my own? SDWR is a 501(c)(3) agency. This means that not only is the donation tax deductible by the person donating it but also that we are accountable to the IRS for our fundraising efforts. In addition there are agency policies in regards to how fundraising is done. For these reasons, all fundraising efforts must be cleared through SDWR. You will need to call and/or email us with your activities. On the fundraising handout you will find the following statement Keep a detailed account of all your contacts including but not limited to, schools, universities and colleges, churches, media other agencies, businesses, or funding sources. Provide updates on your fundraising efforts weekly. If we have a problem with how a letter or flier is worded, we will provide alternate wording. If an activity is not acceptable we will explain and offer an alternative means of raising the money. There are specific ways the money raised through the means on the handout Fundraising A Great Start should be collected and/or supplied to SDWR and these will
be shared with you at the time that we discuss the fundraiser with us. If you were just to go out and do it on your own, you might accidentally misrepresent the fundraising process to the donors or create a legal issue that we would then have to deal with. Remember, in essence you are volunteering your time and fundraising efforts to SDWR in order to qualify for a dog from our agency. What happens if I can t raise the entire amount? We have placed several hundred service dogs and have never had an applicant who truly put effort into fundraising who could not raise the total amount of their fundraising requirement. It does take time; funds do not come in overnight. SDWR will continue to work with you for as long as it takes. Generally the fundraising takes 6-12 months. However, if you were to raise half, three-fourths, etc. of the money and then quit your fundraising efforts, stating you no longer wish to participate in this process, no dog will be placed with you. The donations you helped to raise for SDWR are not returned. These are monies given to SDWR as a donation and will be used by SDWR to continue our service dog placement services. Please be clear on this topic of discussion, SDWR will NOT quit working with you as long as you are making the efforts needed. We will support you in any way and stay with you until all funds are raised. No family who has honestly worked at fundraising has not received their dog! What if I can afford to just pay the money or my family wants to just pay the money? In the event that a participant has the means to provide the amount of their fundraising requirement themselves, they may make a personal donation to SDWR. It must be clearly understood that this is a donation made to the agency and NOT a fee paid to buy the dog. Whether a person is fundraising or personally donates the fundraising requirement, they must still meet the other contracted requirements to get a dog. The contract is provided before you begin your fundraising requirement. If the person fails to meet the contracted agreement and no dog is placed, or a dog is removed after placement, the money donated is not returned. Remember it is a donation NOT a fee paid for the dog and fundraising is not the only requirement you must meet to get a dog. How do I know that the money I bring into SDWR is credited to my efforts? You will be asked to tell anyone making a donation to SDWR because of efforts on your part, to include your name on their check or to attach a letter, newspaper clipping, etc. that shows the donation is in your name and should be added to your list of donations secured for SDWR. Each time a check comes in with a notation indicating your name, it is noted on your records. A letter of thanks is sent to the person who made the donation to SDWR that they can use for tax purposes. At the time your records show you have met your requirement, your case is officially opened and a dog is placed into training for you.
What happens if extra money comes in? All donations that come in are made to SDWR and not to you personally. Any extra funds that come in as a result of your efforts are used to provide service dogs to people with disabilities. Does completion of my fundraising requirement guarantee me a dog? Completion of the fundraising requirement assures that you are eligible for a dog and that SDWR will supply a dog trained specifically to meet your needs. You must participate in training with the dog through our two year training program with our instructors in your environment and in public. Make all training sessions, with the dog, after the dog is placed, and maintain the training contract you signed prior to fundraising as well as the placement contract you will sign at enrollment and prior to placement of the service dog. You should also know that how the dog is placed is not guaranteed by the fundraising requirement. Let s say you have been approved for a Mobility Assistance Dog and wish to take this dog into the public. You have finished raising money and the dog has been fully trained. However, after the training period is over, you have not been able to demonstrate that you can handle the dog in public; the dog will then NOT be placed for use in public. You will sign an agreement stating you understand the dog is for home use only until at some later date you may be then able to demonstrate better control of the dog. If you fail to follow through on your requirements for getting a dog at any point during the entire process, from fundraising through maintenance of yearly certification the dog will not be placed or may be removed from your home. Again, please be assured, SDWR will provide a dog that was chosen and trained specific to your needs. Your ability to handle the dog determines if the dog is placed for use in the home or for use in public as well. If you fail to communicate with our trainers and follow through with our training sessions, at this point would be as a direct result of your failure to meet the training requirements. SDWR cannot simply hand someone a trained dog. The recipient must learn how to use the dog both in the home and in public. Do I have to use Donor Drive? You are required to at least set up a Donor Drive page. If you choose to fundraise in only checks and cash that is up to you, but you are not permitted to use other sites like GoFundMe or Kickstarter as they are not non-profits and will not provide a receipt for the donations given to your campaign. There are fees, and taxes that will be paid by the creator of the campaign on sites such as GoFundMe and Kickstarter. Should you have further questions please call Client Services and they will be more than happy to answer any question you may have regarding this matter. What Do I do with Cash and Checks? If someone gives you cash please put that in a secure place immediately. Enter the donation on Donor Drive as an Offline Donation If you need help with how to do this,
please contact Client Services for further instructions on that. Once it is entered please put it on the donor tracking sheet, which you can get from Client Services. The you will convert the cash to either get a cashiers check or money order. PLEASE DO NOT SEND CASH IN THE MAIL!!!!! For checks, you first need to make sure that the check is made out to SDWR and not you If it s made out to you, we ask that you have the check re-issued as we can t give them a receipt if it s not donated to us, but to you instead. Once you double check who the check is made out you will then enter it on the tracking sheet and mail a copy of the tracking sheet and all checks and money order or cashiers check to P.O. Box 647 Madison, VA 22727 What sort of media can I do? We encourage you do to all types of media through out your journey with your service dog. Every time you mention one of our invisible diseases you are raising awareness for it. If you couple that with your service dog and how it helps your family and how it s changed your life, even better. Radio and newspaper is what you are allowed to do before you get your dog. We do like to review all articles prior to making it to print, just to make sure the facts are all there and clearly understood. We are happy to talk with reporters and help answer questions that you may not be equipped to answer. Please give them the number for the main line. 540-543-2307. We would also like the article link or the radio sound byte when you are done. Television is NOT PERMITTED before getting the dog. We encourage your first television video be delivery! If you can arrange it so that there are people waiting there when the dog first arrives, do it. Please notify your training staff first so they aren t caught off guard of course. They will be there to answer any questions that the news crew might have. What events are we allowed to do? In general we allow all types of events. That being said, you must have all events approved. To approve events inform Client Services of them and they can give you feedback or other ideas to make it even better. They will make sure the event is appropriate and is acceptable. As an ambassador for SDWR you represent us, and we of course want to look our best, as first impressions are everything! Flyers for every event must be approved as well. All flyers as well as social media blasts must say All proceeds are going to Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers and are tax deductible. This informs everyone that they are donating to an actual non-profit organization. As your fundraising guidelines state (first two pages of the contract that you signed), fundraising is a privilege, and should you fail to follow these instructions you will lose the privilege of using our tax status and name.
Can I use your Logo? Yes. Yes. Yes. YES!!!! We encourage all of our families to use our logo we just ask that you not alter it in any way. We have a logo with a different color paw for every type of dog we provide as well as the Original sky blue paw. Client Services will be able to provide you with that logo, you just have to ask and we like to do a final approval of the location of the logo. Who Do I contact should I have questions about fundraising or need ideas? Client Services will be your contact for all things fundraising and in general all questions you have while you are waiting to hear from the training department about a delivery date. Once you complete the pledge they will contact you. Hopefully this has answered your basic questions. If not, please feel free to call and discuss your questions or concerns with a SDWR staff member. We have placed several hundred dogs in the community, using this process, and their recipients are thrilled to have them! We look forward to beginning this exciting journey to receive a wonderful SDWR service dog, with you. The day the dog is placed, we guarantee all your efforts will seem light in respect to the wondrous life you and your dog will have together! Building Relationships. Changing Perceptions. Enriching Lives. Until there is a cure... There is a dog. Hope is good!