Monday, November 06, 2006
Donations and Contributions
I am extremely pleased to announce that the website design and development I donated to the Holland Lop Banquet Auction raised $275! I am very excited to get to work on a new website for the high bidder - Pandora Allen.
You may remember that last spring, I donated a doe to the Holland Lop Nationals that raised $320 for the Arizona club sponsoring next spring's Holland Lop Nationals. I'm extremely pleased to be able to make these donations and help out the hobby that I love so much.
But there are many other ways to donate and contribute that don't involve working on a project for over a year or giving up your best-producing doe. Yes, you can donate in smaller ways that, over time, make just as much impact.
One way to donate is to bring items for the raffle table at the rabbit shows you attend. I have noticed some regional differences in how these are handled. Here in the south, folks often contribute to whatever club is hosting the show, regardless of whether the exhibitors belong to the club. We all get something out of these clubs staying financially sound so they can put on future shows - and, hopefully, even better shows. I've tried to contribute to the raffle tables up north, but they look at me like "this does not compute." So I am assuming traditions are different there and the raffle is entirely furnished by the club members.
Whichever way the table is handled, almost all will accept rabbit donations from members and non-members alike. Be sure to ask whether the rabbits must be pedigreed or whether they accept pets before you place your rabbits in the raffle. Also, make absolutely sure you check to see that your rabbit was won and taken by someone before you leave the showroom. And don't forget your carrier (which you have marked as not being part of the raffle).
Whatever you do, please do not donate a rabbit that has DQs unless you specifically mark them as such. Only donate rabbits that have some benefit to a breeding program. If there's no benefit, that rabbit should be donated as a "pet only."
I may have told the story before of a grand champion doe that was donated to a raffle once she had stopped producing babies. I'm sure that the donor just thought the doe was "going away." Well, she didn't go away. She was won by a person who then slapped an $80 price tag on her and sold her, with some bogus information about her age and the productive lifespan of a Holland doe to someone brand new in Hollands - me, at my second show. I spent months trying to get live babies out of her before I gave her to a little girl as a pet (thankfully, she was a sweet doe). Had she been donated as a pet (or processed), someone wouldn't have made $79, after the cost of the raffle ticket, at my expense.
And if you are donating a rabbit to be a pet, please make sure it has a reasonable pet personality. That's not the way to get rid of a madman or crazy woman rabbit.
All of the same considerations apply to donating a rabbit to an auction. An auction is not the place to get rid of your bad teeth, white toenails, split penis bucks, or eye spots. Such problems should be clearly labeled, so I doubt that having those problems publicly announced would really be in your best interest. Remember, your reputation is worth more than the price of any rabbit.
I purchased several rabbits at an auction once, only to find that one had butting teeth. I was so disappointed. Being still relatively new (yes, if you are thinking that I've made every mistake in the book, you are right!), I didn't do a thorough check of the rabbit before the auction began. Someone succeeded in passing on their problem, while making a 50% profit in the process.
Other ways to donate include sponsoring the sanction for a show. Generally, these specialty club sanction sponsors are for fair shows or other shows run on a shoestring. Sanctions don't cost much. The most expensive is about $25 for both open and youth - Holland Lops. Others are just a few dollars; Dutch - youth, for example, is $6. A club I belong to is currently asking for specialty club sponsors for our charity show. We did that for our picnic show, too. Both shows have virtually no budget. I sponsored a sanction for a fair show this year, too. It's a great way to help a show be sanctioned for your breed when it might not (or would not) otherwise be.
Some or perhaps many clubs, especially new clubs or clubs that have suffered setbacks (such as a snowstorm or hurricane occurring on the day of the show), appreciate the donation of awards. It is a constant struggle to secure meaningful awards at a cost that allows the show to make a small profit or even just break even. Consider donating an award as a way of advertising some hand-crafted item your sell.
(And need I say that we want clubs to make profits - profits are needed to front the costs for bigger and better shows in the future since airline tickets, sanctions, and many other costs occur before the show.)
Aside from donations of money or items, most clubs need contributions. From what I've seen, there's an overabundance of ideas and opinions (and complaints). What most clubs lack is a broad base of people who are willing to pitch in, set up, do the paperwork, do the work on the day of the show, tear down, clean up, and then wrap up all of the details. A lot of work goes into each and every show.
I left home at 1:30 p.m. yesterday and returned home at half past midnight last night. I attended a meeting for a club that has 40 members. There were the predictable six members there, discussing, deciding, and volunteering. Oh, sometimes we have eight. I don't want to exaggerate! We spent a good amount of our time talking about how to get broader participation - not just names on the roster. Wouldn't it be lovely to have a couple dozen truly active members in a local club?
The bottom line is this: we all get a lot out of our hobby. It is a wonderful, wonderful hobby. But each of us should ask ourselves whether we are contributing in proportion to all we gain. Contribute sound animals and stand behind them with integrity. Contribute raffle items generously. Contribute your time and your talent and your effort along with your ideas and your opinions and your criticisms. Just think how much more wonderful our hobby would be if everyone did these things!
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 4:10 PM
You may remember that last spring, I donated a doe to the Holland Lop Nationals that raised $320 for the Arizona club sponsoring next spring's Holland Lop Nationals. I'm extremely pleased to be able to make these donations and help out the hobby that I love so much.
But there are many other ways to donate and contribute that don't involve working on a project for over a year or giving up your best-producing doe. Yes, you can donate in smaller ways that, over time, make just as much impact.
One way to donate is to bring items for the raffle table at the rabbit shows you attend. I have noticed some regional differences in how these are handled. Here in the south, folks often contribute to whatever club is hosting the show, regardless of whether the exhibitors belong to the club. We all get something out of these clubs staying financially sound so they can put on future shows - and, hopefully, even better shows. I've tried to contribute to the raffle tables up north, but they look at me like "this does not compute." So I am assuming traditions are different there and the raffle is entirely furnished by the club members.
Whichever way the table is handled, almost all will accept rabbit donations from members and non-members alike. Be sure to ask whether the rabbits must be pedigreed or whether they accept pets before you place your rabbits in the raffle. Also, make absolutely sure you check to see that your rabbit was won and taken by someone before you leave the showroom. And don't forget your carrier (which you have marked as not being part of the raffle).
Whatever you do, please do not donate a rabbit that has DQs unless you specifically mark them as such. Only donate rabbits that have some benefit to a breeding program. If there's no benefit, that rabbit should be donated as a "pet only."
I may have told the story before of a grand champion doe that was donated to a raffle once she had stopped producing babies. I'm sure that the donor just thought the doe was "going away." Well, she didn't go away. She was won by a person who then slapped an $80 price tag on her and sold her, with some bogus information about her age and the productive lifespan of a Holland doe to someone brand new in Hollands - me, at my second show. I spent months trying to get live babies out of her before I gave her to a little girl as a pet (thankfully, she was a sweet doe). Had she been donated as a pet (or processed), someone wouldn't have made $79, after the cost of the raffle ticket, at my expense.
And if you are donating a rabbit to be a pet, please make sure it has a reasonable pet personality. That's not the way to get rid of a madman or crazy woman rabbit.
All of the same considerations apply to donating a rabbit to an auction. An auction is not the place to get rid of your bad teeth, white toenails, split penis bucks, or eye spots. Such problems should be clearly labeled, so I doubt that having those problems publicly announced would really be in your best interest. Remember, your reputation is worth more than the price of any rabbit.
I purchased several rabbits at an auction once, only to find that one had butting teeth. I was so disappointed. Being still relatively new (yes, if you are thinking that I've made every mistake in the book, you are right!), I didn't do a thorough check of the rabbit before the auction began. Someone succeeded in passing on their problem, while making a 50% profit in the process.
Other ways to donate include sponsoring the sanction for a show. Generally, these specialty club sanction sponsors are for fair shows or other shows run on a shoestring. Sanctions don't cost much. The most expensive is about $25 for both open and youth - Holland Lops. Others are just a few dollars; Dutch - youth, for example, is $6. A club I belong to is currently asking for specialty club sponsors for our charity show. We did that for our picnic show, too. Both shows have virtually no budget. I sponsored a sanction for a fair show this year, too. It's a great way to help a show be sanctioned for your breed when it might not (or would not) otherwise be.
Some or perhaps many clubs, especially new clubs or clubs that have suffered setbacks (such as a snowstorm or hurricane occurring on the day of the show), appreciate the donation of awards. It is a constant struggle to secure meaningful awards at a cost that allows the show to make a small profit or even just break even. Consider donating an award as a way of advertising some hand-crafted item your sell.
(And need I say that we want clubs to make profits - profits are needed to front the costs for bigger and better shows in the future since airline tickets, sanctions, and many other costs occur before the show.)
Aside from donations of money or items, most clubs need contributions. From what I've seen, there's an overabundance of ideas and opinions (and complaints). What most clubs lack is a broad base of people who are willing to pitch in, set up, do the paperwork, do the work on the day of the show, tear down, clean up, and then wrap up all of the details. A lot of work goes into each and every show.
I left home at 1:30 p.m. yesterday and returned home at half past midnight last night. I attended a meeting for a club that has 40 members. There were the predictable six members there, discussing, deciding, and volunteering. Oh, sometimes we have eight. I don't want to exaggerate! We spent a good amount of our time talking about how to get broader participation - not just names on the roster. Wouldn't it be lovely to have a couple dozen truly active members in a local club?
The bottom line is this: we all get a lot out of our hobby. It is a wonderful, wonderful hobby. But each of us should ask ourselves whether we are contributing in proportion to all we gain. Contribute sound animals and stand behind them with integrity. Contribute raffle items generously. Contribute your time and your talent and your effort along with your ideas and your opinions and your criticisms. Just think how much more wonderful our hobby would be if everyone did these things!
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 4:10 PM
