HRN Volunteer Meeting Minutes, 2/8/09

Attendees: Sharon Rose, Andrew, Erica, Justin, Melissa, Tricia, Bill, Diane, Beth, Linda, Katie, Shannon, Jillian, Tom H., Tom M., Barbara, Suzanne, Liz, Matt, Caleb, Ashley

Secretary: Ashley

Items Discussed

Adoptions: 171 adoptions in 2008, which is a new record.

Membership: 100–110 members; many don’t renew.

Newsletter: Next newsletter will be out the door in two to three weeks. Emily will be helping assemble the content for newsletters moving forward to balance medical, care and feel-good articles, as well as news and facts. Shannon lays out the content. Ashley proofreads. Please submit articles you’ve written to Emily, Shannon or Suzanne.

Flyers: Contain general HRN information; volunteers can hang them in libraries, at work, etc. Take some!

Ways to Increase Adoptions:

1) Post videos of foster buns on the website.

2) Blog about foster bunnies.

3) Post good pictures of foster bunnies.

(Ask Emily/Erica/Tricia for help if you need it.)

YouTube/rabbitnetwork: You can subscribe and watch videos of HRN buns.

Bunsitting: Shannon coordinates. An ongoing, successful fundraiser that brought in approximately $3,000 last year through a lot of requests. Thank you to all who volunteered and remember that any expenses incurred are tax-deductible.

Norfolk Rescue: 13 rabbits caught so far. Thank you to all who have caught and housed Norfolk buns. Several were pregnant and there are still more to catch. (Suzanne will contact Tara to continue the effort.)

Ed. Days: Diane coordinates. Last year we ran approximately 25 Ed. Days. Ed. Days are essential for exposure and education. Our ability to do Ed. Days depends on our ability to staff them. Upcoming Ed. Days will appear in the newsletter.

Present Ed. Day Opportunity: Animal Spirit once per month. (Bill, Liz, Matt and Sharon Rose volunteered.)

New Ideas/Locations for Ed. Days: Daycare center (Liz); Blue Bunny bookstore, which will also donate custom artwork for Flatbread fundraiser (Liz); Arlington coffee shop (Bill).

Policy: We don’t reach out to family’s to adopt HRN bunnies specifically for children or as family pets, but hosting an Ed. Day where families with children will be present is an opportunity to set realistic expectations and reinforce who needs to be responsible for a pet rabbit. Having a rabbit present at Ed. Days and age-appropriate books, such as Smudge Bunny by Bernie Siegel, can be helpful.

Petco Update: Petco has stopped selling rabbits and they gave us 60 lbs. of pellets. Matt is sending them a letter to inform them that he will patronize Petco again as a result of their decision to suspend the selling of rabbits. Is there a possibility to partner with their foundation/conduct Ed. Days? How often? Are there people near the Peabody Petco who are willing to run Ed. Days? Should we investigate the Cambridge Petco for Ed. Day opportunities? (No identified volunteers.)

Yankee Candle: Tricia coordinates. Flyers, sign-up sheets and packets for this fundraiser are available. You can also email a web link to your friends and they can place an order if they’re interested. 40% of each sale goes to HRN. The Yankee Candle fundraiser is also a Facebook event.

Facebook: HRN has a Facebook group that you can join. Erica is the admin. We need to put a link to this group on the HRN website. (Erica will add the link.)

BunSpace: Karen will be managing.

MySpace: Does anyone want to manage our MySpace presence? (No identified volunteer.)

Craig’s List: Is anyone interested in posting pictures and bios of foster buns, articles, etc., on Craig’s List? An HRN email address can be created for this. (No identified volunteer.)

Google Ad Account: Our Google ad account is at $50 and will pay out at $100. We should consider posting on more pages, i.e., blog pages. Please email Matt if you see objectionable ads – it’s possible to block categories and companies.

Blog Q&A: Doing well, with two emails every week or two; a lot of questions from the UK, where there are fewer rabbit-related resources.

HRN as a Resource: Our website is one of the most-used rabbit sites in the U.S. Our website and our responsiveness on the Hotline have given us an excellent reputation. A recent out-of-state adoption was the result of how helpful we were, especially in contrast to other resources.

HRN Volunteers: We are volunteers but we need to act like a business, respond within 24 hours, ask each other for help if we have too much to do, and recognize that even incremental progress is a good thing so that we can interact supportively and without judgment.

Why Catch Domestic Rabbits? Possible answers:

1) They’re ill equipped to survive on their own.

2) They are an invasive species.

3) Many strays have injuries, mites or other medical issues, and they’re not okay outside.

Giggles Comedy Club: HRN can pick a night from Sunday through Thursday (group split on whether Thursday or Sunday would be better) and receive a portion of ticket sales. To break even, we’d have to sell 35 tickets, which can be sold in advance. Possible Red Sox ticket raffle. If there is enough interest, we’ll move forward. (Jillian will run this event.)

HRN Calendar This Year: Tricia and Tommy coordinate. 185 calendars sold this year, which is 3x more than last year, with a $362 profit. We sold a lot online. Leith Pettwerks sold 40; VCA Wakefield sold some but some are missing; John at Wild Bird sold 3 and matched. 12 left over – $5 for leftover calendars ($3 if slightly damaged). Thank you to Shannon for her help.

HRN Calendar Next Year:

1) We can bid the job. (Shannon will get a quote.)

2) Please submit hi-res horizontal pictures of HRN buns for next year.

3) Can we use facts instead of quotes? Can we include the HRN name, website and logo?

4) Can we sell calendars on Google and/or Yahoo shopping? (Matt will investigate.)

5) Tommy has tried selling on Craig’s List…try again?

Shaw’s Receipts: In 6 months we’ve made $350. Mail receipts to HRN P.O. Box or Beth.

Shelter Contest: HRN has received the $1,000 won during the contest!

HRN Email Lists:

1) Volunteer – low-volume, task-oriented.

2) Chat – open discussion.

3) HRN – Suzanne posts the monthly e-bulletin, which contains current HRN news and info. About 350 people are on the HRN list. People can join this list when they fill out an adoption contract.

E-bulletins and Press Releases: Is anyone interested in taking over the e-bulletins and/or writing press releases? (Bill volunteered.)

Training Notes: Emily is writing training notes for the Hotline and for Foster Homes. Please send her suggestions if you have any.

Private/Public HRN Websites: Private site is for volunteers and is meant to facilitate volunteer communication. Public website is more up-to-date. Email Erica or Emily if you want something added to the website.

Elections: The Board has been expanded to five people: Suzanne, Shannon, Tricia, Emily and Melissa. Voted in by unanimous approval.

Hotline: Please encourage the adoption of Erica and Andy’s buns in particular so that they can be foster-free by June 1. Mary (the Rabbit Advocate) is a new Hotline volunteer.

Extra Cages and Pens:

1) Does anyone have storage space? (Bill can store extra pens.)

2) Should we sell some?

3) We still have to pull some in from Cheryl’s.

4) We should keep approximately 5 on hand for foster homes and bonding.

5) Emily needs a pen that is smaller than 42 inches.

6) 30-inch pens are good for rescues; 24-inch pens are good for bonding.

Petfinder: Tricia continues to update Petfinder.

Foster Home “Support Group”: Email Erica if you’d like to be invited to this online group that discusses foster home questions, concerns, etc.

Shannon’s Foster Rabbits: If there is interest in Shannon’s foster rabbits, please refer people to Suzanne.

Flatbread Fundraiser: Flatbread’s policy is one night per year per charity. Our set-up wasn’t ideal this year, so next year we’ll have more lighting, maybe a better table location. Should we consider postponing this year’s Flatbread night because of the economy? Last year we received a lot of refusals to donate for the auction but the fundraiser was still our best yet, so we’ll go ahead with this year’s.

Benefit Nights/Events: As we’re brainstorming about fundraising ideas, please keep in mind that some involve bringing a flyer to take advantage of the benefit. Historically, these have been less successful because people lose or forget the flyer and then the charity gets nothing. Liz will investigate fundraiser options with JP Licks and Ben and Jerry’s.