Shelter Resources

All shelters need help to survive and manage limited resources wisely. Following are links to resources available to ferret shelters around the globe that provide a specialized services in the form of grants, support, or discounts. If you would like to submit links for this page to share with other shelters, please Contact Us with details for posting.

Crowd-Funding Programs

• LoveAnimals.Org – Non-profit crowd-funding website that does NOT charge non-profit animal groups to raise funds unlike GoFundMe or similar sites (now up to almost 7.9% in total of funds raised!). The ONLY fees are those charged by the credit card or paypal (which are currently about 2.9%). That can make a HUGE difference in a campaign!   That, plus they are a non-profit AND they ONLY involve animal programs.

Discount Programs

• Ferret Treasures – Receive a 15% discount for product orders shipped to the shelter using the coupon code SHELDIR15. Applies to shelters listed on the Ferret Shelters Directory only.

Grants and Grant-Making Organizations

• American Humane Association – Second Chance Fund – Potential funding source for 501(c)3 shelters for medical expenses in severe abuse situations. Guidelines are strict; and there are a lot of applicants, but worth at least an application depending on the situation particularly those that might involve multiple animals or agencies.
• Animal Sheltering Grant Opportunities – List of grant sheltering organizations providing on the Animal Sheltering website.
• ASPCA – The ASPCA provides a number of grant programs that could be applicable to ferrets.
• Ferret Canine Distemper Fund – Non-profit, grant-making group that provide grants to shelters for canine distemper vaccinations.
• Support Our Shelters aka SOS – Charitable organization established to raise funds and support small shelters throughout the United States. Ferret shelters in the US and Canada are eligible to participate.  The Ferret Shelters Directory provides a listing of all shelters to SOS.
• The FACT Disaster Relief Fund – Relief fund established by the Ferret Association of Connecticut following Hurricane Katrina to assist in housing and treating ferrets following a natural disaster. Consideration is also given to other types of overwhelming situations involving ferrets.
• The Mira Memorial Fund – Special needs health care fund for ferrets established by the Ferret Association of Connecticut in memory of a special little ferret, Mira.
• The Ralph & Virginia Mullin Foundation – The Mullin Foundation provides small grants to assist animal welfare and shelter organizations to become incorporated and obtain 501(c)(3) status. Those grant recipients must use funds for costs directly related to achieving these goals. To apply, first send a Letter of Inquiry.  Deadline for grant applications is September 30, so send inquiries well in advance in order to ensure you can fully complete the application prior to the deadline.  Contact information: Ralph and Virginia Mullin Foundation, Attn. Mr. Robert Rauh, 2401 E. Speedway Boulevard,Tucson, AZ 85719. Phone: 520-881-6607 Fax: 520-881-6775 E-mail: rob@hrtucson.com. In 2012 the foundation gave out about 60 grants (including to ferret organizations) for a total of over $71,000.  The average grant size is $1,000.

Information/Support Services

• 32 Auctions – website that allows anyone to set up silent auctions for as little as FREE (for up to 20 auctions). Uses proprietary PayPal for processing secure transactions. Useful for specialty fund-raisers with a fixed audience unlike eBay where the world is – potentially – your audience.* Low-cost custom features for greater numbers of items. Cons: buyers do have to register for an account but it is tied to your specific auction; you are required to drum up your own potential pool of buyers. (*Note: First time sellers do not get much attention on eBay unless auctioning exceptionally rare or unusual merchandise. Rules can be onerous; fess range from 12 – 20% depending upon categories; and you must also open a PayPal account.
• Animal Sheltering Magazine – Published bi-monthly. Optional low cost annual subscription or free-to-read back-issues (pdf format). Focused on all animal species and aimed at animal shelters of various sizes. Potential source of info and ideas on what other shelters across the US are doing in the humane field. Published by Humane Society of the United States. Back issues are added to the site about 1-2 months past the publication date. Print issue subscription  is $20 per year (as of April, 2014).
• Disabled Ferret Wheels – Wooly Flyer originally designed by Dave Duke Wooldridge and now generously made for disabled ferrets by Euel Oliver.  Euel makes flyers upon request and can be reached via his Facebook page. Flyers are provided for a donation to cover materials and shipping.

  

• ProBono Legal Services – primarily aimed at Connecticut, New Jersey and New York constituencies. HOWEVER, there is a wealth of published information on their site pertinent to any US based non-profit on non-profit board governance, legal liability, etc. Worth a visit. Site sometimes loads slowly.
• How To Set Up A Basic Ferret Shelter Bookkeeping System – an article written by L. Vanessa Gruden, Exceuctive Director of the Ferret Association of Connecticut, an exeperienced non-profit book-keeper. Includes easy to follow examples.
• Rescuers Relief, Inc. – Extraordinary non-profit service providing skilled ferret caregiver service to ferret rescuers and families as they criss-cross the US.
• The Apartment List is a national, searchable database of apartments for rent. It allows users to search by a various requirements including whether dogs, cats are allowed. It does cover Connecticut and other major areas around the country. It is definitely worth giving a shot in a search for pet friendly housing.

Pet Adoption Listing Services

• Adopt-A-Pet – Sponsored by the makers of Purina Pet Products and Bayer – Adopt-A-Pet is a somewhat lesser know “cousin” to Petfinder. However, we at the Ferret Association of Connecticut (FACT) have found that the inquiries we receive from Adopt-A-Pet seem to be better qualified. The reason may be where they “advertise” their listings. Petfinder links can be found all over the internet in some rather unusual spots like Overstock.com and it may show in more “how much is that doggy” rather than serious adoption inquiries. That said, it may be worth using both services and testing your geographical area/constituency. These “ads” may also be bringing us ferrets that need sheltering as well
  The link provided is to their present shelter requirements page. A shelter does NOT need to be a 501(c)3 which is an advantage to many small shelters. Adopt-A-Pet also has a small grant program it makes available each year.
  Petfinder – the name that’s become synonymous with a pet adoption searchable online database, Petfinder is very large. While we at FACT have seen more inquiries, they are generally more of the “do you have babies” and “how much are your ferrets” type of questions. Again, your experience may vary. They also accept non-501(c)3 groups and also specifically note that they accept veterinarians. Unlike Adopt-A-Pet they do not specifically state that they exclude breeders – or at least I did not see it immediately but didn’t read the “fine print.”
  Petfinder is a stickler for maintaining listings! They want the listings to remain fresh and up-to-date. So if you are not inclined to do that, you will find your shelter listings “delisted.” They do, however, provide warning emails.
  Petfinder also has a foundation which provides grants. The rules appear rather stringent at first glance.
  Petfinder also co-sponsors with Petco the free Adoption Options seminars around the country. These are great networking opportunities.   We urge everyone to attend these one day events. A great place to “meet the players” in your area; meet Petco regional and foundation reps that can be useful and sometimes get bits of free stuff.

Ferret Shelter Forum 2016

The Ferret Association of Connecticut is happy to announce the first-ever Ferret Shelter Forum. We have committed our own funds, are in the process of working to raise money from other sources, and the Petco Foundation has donated $2,500 for participant travel assistance. Further information about the conference including a preliminary participant survey can be found on the Ferret Association website.