We are very excited to announce that SAFE has been awarded a grant through the ASPCA Equine Fundraising Education Program. This $500 grant includes a one year membership in the Association of Fundraising Professional for SAFE’s Executive Director Bonnie Hammond, and access to the AFP’s seven part online eLearning course entitled “Fundamentals of Fundraising.” The remaining funds from the grant are earmarked for other activities that will impact the organization’s fundraising efforts.

The ASPCA Equine Fundraising Education Program was created to improve the fundraising capacity of nonprofit equine organizations, and up to 50 grants totaling $25,000 will be awarded through this program. The program is designed to assist smaller 501(c)(3) rescue organizations like SAFE which do not have large fundraising departments or large operational budgets.

SAFE’s co-founder and Executive Director Bonnie Hammond is very excited about the educational opportunities that this grant will provide. “I was not a professional fundraiser when SAFE began,” she explains, “but the role became mine because I was so interested and fascinated by the people who believed in SAFE enough to give us money. And because no one else wanted to do it.”

Despite her lack of background in fundraising, Hammond has been successful in keeping funding coming in for SAFE over the past seven years. “In a lot of ways, I’ve just let SAFE’s work speak for itself. I’m pretty good at sharing the stories of the horses that we rescue and rehabilitate, and people are moved by those stories and that motivates them to want to help us by donating. I truly believe that the people who donate to SAFE are just as much a part of this rescue as I am. And I work hard to convey that to them, and to convey our appreciation for their support.”

As SAFE has continued to grow, its operating costs have increased and the burden of financing those costs have fallen to Hammond. “This grant from the ASPCA could not have come at a better time for me in terms of my professional development. With hay costs going through the roof, and more and more horses in need of our help, that means I have to do a better job of finding funding to keep the organization afloat. Fortunately, this grant will make it possible for me to learn solid skills and techniques to help me do that.”

The ASPCA Equine Fund has provided SAFE with a great deal of welcome support over the past several years. An emergency hay grant given to SAFE in 2009 was followed last year by a $4,000 grant to support SAFE’s horse training program. “We are so lucky to have the ASPCA in our corner,” Hammond says. “Their support for animal rescue and rehabilitation programs all over the country has done so much to help horses who really need it.” The ASPCA Equine Fund provides grants to U.S. nonprofit equine welfare organizations and other animal welfare organizations that care for horses, mules, donkeys and ponies – both wild and domestic – in alignment with their efforts to protect all equines. The ASPCA Equine Fund grants program seeks to award equine organizations which strive to achieve best practices, including maintenance of updated websites and robust fundraising practices, as well as excellent animal care.

For more information about the ASPCA Equine Fund, visit http://www.aspcapro.org/grant/2013/02/11/grants-aspca-equine-fund.