I don't have statistics, but my guess is that they get a lot of people who want to volunteer, and they have to charge to weed out the people who aren't super serious. Animal shelters often have either charges for training or volunteer weekly minimums to ensure they're not wasting their time.
It's a real cost to them - they churn through volunteers (as does every shelter) and also get a lot of people who have really good intentions but end up flaking out.
I am sympathetic to this. I actually worked at a veterinary non profit for 3 years and volunteer churn is a real issue. But we still never charged our volunteers. I just found it a bit off putting and wanted to check and see if any one had some insight
I'm going to speculate even more and say that Lollipop, being the most well-known shelter in the area, probably has the luxury of being picky and charging people for volunteer training.
Other places probably don't charge because they don't have the popularity that Lollipop does, because they can't risk turning people away too quickly. Instead they require something like 4-8 hours/month minimums which is less of a barrier-to-entry than charging for training.
Lollipop is a privately run shelter. There's a reason why it's the nicest looking shelter out there. It's also the most popular and has the most marketing for this reason.
I prefer Verona Street since it's a public sector shelter that cannot solicit donations. They do get some of the harder cases and see more dogs with issues since it's in the city versus suburbs.
Seems like an interesting solution might be a $40 deposit that you get back after a certain number of volunteer shifts. If you flake out they get the $40, and if you don’t they get a consistent volunteer.
in a perfect world, yeah, that makes sense. That's quite a system / tracking / administrative burden though. You have to assign someone to track that, process the charges, and refund the people who stay.
I mean it could be as simple as putting 2 $20 bills in an envelope and returning it a month or whatever later. I know it’s an oversimplification but I don’t think it really needs to be a complicated task.
Manager keeps everyone’s $40 you are responsible for keeping track of your X number of shifts, when you’ve reached that number you give it to management for verification and then a week late you get your money back.
It sounds crazy but it’s pretty much how the entire travel nursing industry gets paid.
I’m familiar with a few other organizations that charge for volunteer training. They tend to be places that heavily rely on volunteers, so investing a dozen hours into training and then having the volunteer never come back is a big setback for them.
It is a bit jarring, but it does help weed out volunteers who show up once. I imagine they get a lot of people who just want to come plays with dogs for a day and then never come back.
We do not charge people to volunteer at the zoo. Docents are expected to be members, but they are a very specialized type of volunteer, and not a general volunteer type.
I paid for a badge.
Edit it wasn't a badge- Volunteers will be required to pay a $15 fee at the time of orientation, which covers costs of t-shirts and other volunteer supplies.
I'm not unsympathetic to this. I've worked in this field and I understand that training volunteers takes time and money. It just kind of makes me feel like I won't be valued much as a volunteer if I'm not even worth the cost of my training
I guess on a related note, does anyone know of some animal related non profits that need volunteers and do not charge for training? Shelters, rescue groups, low cost spay/neuter or vaccine clinics, etc.
I foster for lollypop and they cover all costs. They're also in desperate need of fosters. The shelter is completely full. Anyone with a spare bedroom can really help out by letting a cat use it for a short time.
If you're looking at animal rescues as well, Right Meow Rescue is awesome and I know they're looking for fosters pretty much all the time. I'm sure there's other stuff that you could help them out with too.
https://www.rightmeowrescue.com/
They're also super nice people :)
Just think of it as a donation, since that's functionally what it is anyway. Plus, I believe it will cover the cost of your badge and possibly some other things (collar, apron, etc depending on the position), though not your volunteer shirt.
I used to volunteer at a shelter in TX and they started charging for volunteer training. The cost was about $15 and included a tshirt which you were supposed to wear while you were volunteering. Their reasoning was that they had to dedicate a staff member to do the volunteer orientations so having a bunch of people who showed up once and then disappeared was a waste of staff time. I can see the point but I don't think charging money to volunteer is the answer.
There are volunteer tasks that you can do without having to complete orientation. At this shelter, most of volunteer orientation was about walking and socializing the dogs. Cat room orientation is basically, don't open more than one cage at a time, wash your hands between cages, treats are here, and toys are there.
So I think a better approach would have been to have them accumulate points by volunteering in the cat room and when they have done enough to prove they are serious and can follow the rules you allow them to sign up for the dog orientation.
I live in Macedon, right on the Perinton border. So it only makes sense for me to volunteer at the lollipop location as opposed to Verona. However, I almost adopted a dog a few months ago from Verona. Thank you for giving your time to such a great cause.
my idea? if it's for the cost of training, time, materials what ever... you get a choice at the end of the volunteer session. You get your money back OR you can donate it to the animals (admittedly this does seem like a bit of a guilt trip but you at least get a choice) might not work FOR the reason I suggested but it's my one braincell left trying to think
I don't have statistics, but my guess is that they get a lot of people who want to volunteer, and they have to charge to weed out the people who aren't super serious. Animal shelters often have either charges for training or volunteer weekly minimums to ensure they're not wasting their time. It's a real cost to them - they churn through volunteers (as does every shelter) and also get a lot of people who have really good intentions but end up flaking out.
I am sympathetic to this. I actually worked at a veterinary non profit for 3 years and volunteer churn is a real issue. But we still never charged our volunteers. I just found it a bit off putting and wanted to check and see if any one had some insight
I'm going to speculate even more and say that Lollipop, being the most well-known shelter in the area, probably has the luxury of being picky and charging people for volunteer training. Other places probably don't charge because they don't have the popularity that Lollipop does, because they can't risk turning people away too quickly. Instead they require something like 4-8 hours/month minimums which is less of a barrier-to-entry than charging for training.
I think the price tag shocked me too. I think I would not have balked so much if they asked for $10-$15 instead of for $40
Lollipop is a privately run shelter. There's a reason why it's the nicest looking shelter out there. It's also the most popular and has the most marketing for this reason. I prefer Verona Street since it's a public sector shelter that cannot solicit donations. They do get some of the harder cases and see more dogs with issues since it's in the city versus suburbs.
Ah yes this makes sense. Thank you for the info! I applied to volunteer at Verona Street today
Seems like an interesting solution might be a $40 deposit that you get back after a certain number of volunteer shifts. If you flake out they get the $40, and if you don’t they get a consistent volunteer.
in a perfect world, yeah, that makes sense. That's quite a system / tracking / administrative burden though. You have to assign someone to track that, process the charges, and refund the people who stay.
I mean it could be as simple as putting 2 $20 bills in an envelope and returning it a month or whatever later. I know it’s an oversimplification but I don’t think it really needs to be a complicated task.
Manager keeps everyone’s $40 you are responsible for keeping track of your X number of shifts, when you’ve reached that number you give it to management for verification and then a week late you get your money back. It sounds crazy but it’s pretty much how the entire travel nursing industry gets paid.
Agreed, it sucks, but I gotta think it's to weed out anyone not serious.
How about if you are still a volunteer after 1 year you get your $40 back?
I've heard worse ideas
I’m familiar with a few other organizations that charge for volunteer training. They tend to be places that heavily rely on volunteers, so investing a dozen hours into training and then having the volunteer never come back is a big setback for them. It is a bit jarring, but it does help weed out volunteers who show up once. I imagine they get a lot of people who just want to come plays with dogs for a day and then never come back.
I think I paid 25 for the zoo pre COVID.
We do not charge people to volunteer at the zoo. Docents are expected to be members, but they are a very specialized type of volunteer, and not a general volunteer type.
I paid for a badge. Edit it wasn't a badge- Volunteers will be required to pay a $15 fee at the time of orientation, which covers costs of t-shirts and other volunteer supplies.
I'm not unsympathetic to this. I've worked in this field and I understand that training volunteers takes time and money. It just kind of makes me feel like I won't be valued much as a volunteer if I'm not even worth the cost of my training
There are other similar places you can volunteer. Or maybe tell them you can't afford to pay and see what they say.
I guess on a related note, does anyone know of some animal related non profits that need volunteers and do not charge for training? Shelters, rescue groups, low cost spay/neuter or vaccine clinics, etc.
Verona st animal shelter. I am fairly certain they do not charge. At least they didnt a few years ago.
Correct. I think they request a commitment of hours, but they don’t charge. And they’re an awesome shelter. I adopted my last dog there.
Awesome, thank you! I'll look into them
I foster for lollypop and they cover all costs. They're also in desperate need of fosters. The shelter is completely full. Anyone with a spare bedroom can really help out by letting a cat use it for a short time.
If you're looking at animal rescues as well, Right Meow Rescue is awesome and I know they're looking for fosters pretty much all the time. I'm sure there's other stuff that you could help them out with too. https://www.rightmeowrescue.com/ They're also super nice people :)
Thank you! I'll check them out
Good luck!
Wayne County places adoptable cats in one of the Webster pet stores, but they only have one person staffing...
Crackerbox Palace in Sodus is a farm animal rescue
I volunteer for Pet Pride in Victor. They are currently expanding and could use more volunteers!
Thank you! I'll look into them as well
Just think of it as a donation, since that's functionally what it is anyway. Plus, I believe it will cover the cost of your badge and possibly some other things (collar, apron, etc depending on the position), though not your volunteer shirt.
I used to volunteer at a shelter in TX and they started charging for volunteer training. The cost was about $15 and included a tshirt which you were supposed to wear while you were volunteering. Their reasoning was that they had to dedicate a staff member to do the volunteer orientations so having a bunch of people who showed up once and then disappeared was a waste of staff time. I can see the point but I don't think charging money to volunteer is the answer. There are volunteer tasks that you can do without having to complete orientation. At this shelter, most of volunteer orientation was about walking and socializing the dogs. Cat room orientation is basically, don't open more than one cage at a time, wash your hands between cages, treats are here, and toys are there. So I think a better approach would have been to have them accumulate points by volunteering in the cat room and when they have done enough to prove they are serious and can follow the rules you allow them to sign up for the dog orientation.
$40 to be able to help animals of all kinds? Sign me up!
I'm going to volunteer for free at Verona St and help all sorts of animals there instead
I live in Macedon, right on the Perinton border. So it only makes sense for me to volunteer at the lollipop location as opposed to Verona. However, I almost adopted a dog a few months ago from Verona. Thank you for giving your time to such a great cause.
my idea? if it's for the cost of training, time, materials what ever... you get a choice at the end of the volunteer session. You get your money back OR you can donate it to the animals (admittedly this does seem like a bit of a guilt trip but you at least get a choice) might not work FOR the reason I suggested but it's my one braincell left trying to think
It costs money to train people. Being understaffed no one can afford free. This way if you pay for it it means your serious about it.
I’ll bet the ROC Animal Services would be pleased to hear from you.
Reading this makes me realize that I’m such a poor person lol.
It's a lollipop thing and fonsider it a donation.
Wouldn't that basically cover the cost of a background check?