Featured posts
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How Organizations both Promote and Stifle…
An expert in organizational development and a long-time lead volunteer for Austin Animal Center’s cat adoption team, Carla J. Penny, MSSW,…
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Taking the Fear Out of the…
Fundraising can be frightening. In his session, “Taking the Fear Out of the ‘Ask’ (What would John Wayne do?),” Daniel…
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Understanding Team Dynamics of a Board
Solange Charas, PhD., President of Charas Consulting, joined the second day of the SAWA conference sessions to share information about…
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Collaboration Between Shelters and Animal Care…
SAWA president and CEO Jim Tedford, CAWA and National Animal Care and Control Association Executive Director George Harding, joined forces…
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Go Big or Go Home: How…
Armando Zumaya is a nationally-noted trainer, lecturer and development officer. He focuses on helping non-profits bridge the gap between prospect…
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Research That Will Help You Make…
Dr. Solange Charas is president of Charas Consulting and teaches courses in human resources and human capital at New York…
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April Letter from the President
Dear friends, There are many things I have long admired about SAWA. First, I think our leadership development training opportunities are unparalleled in our industry. I haven’t missed a conference in over 20 years because the content SAWA delivers challenges me to think beyond the boundaries of my industry — my comfort zone. Secondly, SAWA…
About the Shelter Employee Engagement & Development Survey
Since we posted our previous blog on the SAWA network last summer, we have received a lot of questions about our services, what we have learned, and what we plan to do next. In response, we thought we would address all those great questions in a new blog post. This way, we can explain exactly…
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Pit Bulls and Dangerous Dog Laws
When tragic incidents with pit bulls happen, as they have very recently in the metro Detroit area, many are quick to blame the breed, without seeing where the true responsibility lies: the dog’s owner. We share in the sadness of these tragedies, and it is understandable that, in the immediate aftermath, individuals try to find…
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Finding Common Ground: Collaboration is Key to Saving Lives
I’m writing this blog post as I sit on my hotel balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico during the annual conference in St. Pete’s Beach, FL. The setting seems a perfect one to remind us of the beauty of the collective work we do, and to find peace and personal reflection when the opportunity arises….
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Of Mice and Dogs
When I was an undergrad, I studied an unusual species of mouse called the spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus). They are unusual in that they are precocious – born with fur and able to move about and feed themselves (much different than the mice we are familiar with, where babies are born quite underdeveloped and fully…
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7 Witty Ways to Thank Your Donors
At some point, fundraisers have to admit that the standard thank you letter will not cut it. An out-of-the-box gesture of gratitude just might surprise your donors and may even earn your organization its next big gift. Here are a few clever ways to thank your donors: Thank you letters Of course we need a standard thank…
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Helping Senior Dogs Find Forever Homes
November is “Adopt a Senior Dog” Month. As an animal welfare professional, this is your chance to educate prospective pet owners about some of the following advantages of adopting an older canine: No surprises. From the get-go, pet parents will know important information, including the dog’s full-grown size, personality, and grooming requirements. Easy training. Older…
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Delighting Your Donors
If you walk into a bookstore, wait a minute, there are no more bookstores left…well, if you browse through Amazon.com in their business section, you’ll see scores of books (actually 11,056 books) on how to create great customer service. These books by authors including Seth Godin, Marcus Buckingham, and others pontificate relentlessly that in order…
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10 Years of Data from the Largest Study Ever Conducted on Animal Shelter Employees
By Mallory F. Fiery, MA, Licensed Psychological Associate & Steven G. Rogelberg, PhD, Chancellor’s Professor – Organizational Science, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte Euthanasia, kitten season, limited financial resources…often, there seems an unending litany of stressors involved in the daily management of animal welfare and the dedicated staff who make it possible. Over…
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Engage volunteers at your next trap, neuter, release event
Community cats are found across the United States and have become an important topic in the animal welfare community. In Arizona, 30,000 cats were brought into Maricopa County animal shelters in 2013 — and the trend isn’t exclusive to the area. To address the aforementioned issue, animal welfare organizations and community members must work together. However,…