We have operated SAFE on a strictly volunteer basis for over 6 years, and during that time, every dime we’ve made in donations has gone straight to the horses. As SAFE has grown, the burden of work on the directors of this organization has grown too, along with the demands of each individual’s full time employment outside the rescue. We’ve made it work, but for some of us it’s meant essentially working two full time jobs at once. Add to that the needs of our families and our own horses, and you’re looking at some pretty exhausted SAFE volunteers. It’s not a management strategy that we can maintain indefinitely and yet our goal has always been to make SAFE a sustainable organization that will be able to help horses and horse owners for many years to come.

Recently, we decided to look into the feasibility of adding a full time employee to SAFE’s management team. The decision was made to hire an independent contractor on a trial basis in order to determine if this is the right choice for SAFE and its supporters. The trial was conducted over a four month period beginning May 1, 2011. After careful evaluation of the results of this trial, the SAFE Advisory Board voted unanimously to hire an ongoing Development Director as a full time, paid employee of SAFE, effective Sept 1, 2011.

So let’s introduce SAFE’s Development Director: Bonnie Hammond. Bonnie is one of the co-founders of SAFE and has been with the organization since its beginning in 2005. As a member of the SAFE Board of Directors, Bonnie has devoted herself to making SAFE into an organization that is open and accessible to its supporters, from its transparent financials to the wealth of information available about each of our horses, past and present, on our website. Bonnie has been instrumental in the development and management of the SAFE Benefit Horse Show, and has seen this event grow from an ambitious idea into a Northwest horse show tradition. If you’ve donated to SAFE in the past, you’ve probably interacted with Bonnie at some point, as she has worked hard to ensure that our supporters understand how much we truly appreciate their gifts. And in partnership with SAFE President Jaime Taft, she has helped to create a rescue organization that is respected, trusted and held as a standard among non-profit organizations everywhere.

As Development Director of SAFE, Bonnie will be focusing her energy primarily on obtaining sustainable funding so that SAFE can continue to support itself as an organization and offer more assistance to horses and horse owners in need. She will be working to develop SAFE as an effective non-profit organization, and to increase public awareness of our mission. She will be taking over the majority of office work so that other SAFE volunteers can focus solely on the horses. And she will continue assisting SAFE with hauling horses, assessing the needs of horse owners in our community, working with Animal Control, supporting the SAFE Advisory Board members, and helping with day-to-day decision-making and problem solving.

In the interest of total financial disclosure, Bonnie will be paid a salary of $2,500 per month, which is the equivalent of $30,000 per year. At this time, Bonnie is the only paid employee of SAFE. At some point in the future we hope to be able to sustain a larger staff, but for now, this is a big change that we are approaching slowly and carefully. Our ultimate goal is an organization that can be 100% effective in helping horses in need, and an organization that can sustain itself for many years to come.

Bonnie relinquished her role as bookkeeper to Advisory Board member Lisa Dobbin, effective May 1 2011 and resigned from the SAFE Board of Directors effective August 31, 2011.

We welcome and encourage any questions or comments you have about this announcement, and we are eager for your feedback. Feel free to contact Bonnie at bonnie@safehorses.org or by phone at 206–331-0006. You may also privately address comments or concerns to SAFE President Jaime Taft at jaime@safehorses.org

As always, thank you for your support!