Quarterly Report August 2025

Official / General

  • 3 new per diem employees were hired- Amy, Jeanette and Kerry. They all started the middle of July
  • Shelter manager quit without notice Jun 30. The rec for a new shelter manager and hiring a part time vet is ready to publish. 

Financials

  • The federal tax return Form 990 for 2024 was filed on 6/11/2025. The MA Form PC was filed and fee paid on 6/13/2025.
  • The Year-to-date comparison (July 2025 vs July 2024) shows an increase of $25k generated by Fundraising events compared to the prior year. There was a decrease of $6k earned this year from interest income due to lower cash balances. Although medical expenses increased by $8k, Medical sponsorships totalled almost $31k in July.

Adoptions

241 adoption as of 8/26/2025

Fundraisers

Condo Sponsorships – $2601 – May 18th 2025 – August 26th 2025. There are currently 16 monthly donors at $50 each and 2 monthly donors at $100 each for a total of $1000 / month. 

Our first-ever Bunny Block Pawty was a tremendous success, far surpassing expectations. While we prepared for approximately 250 attendees based on advance responses, more than 1,000 people joined us for the celebration. Thanks to the dedication of our volunteers and the generosity of eight Dedham businesses and organizations who opened their spaces to us, we were able to manage the large crowd with professionalism and enthusiasm. To date, the event has raised $9,379 in donations, with additional funds expected from t-shirt sales and a pending donation from Big Bear Espresso. We anticipate even greater collaboration from our local partners as we plan next year’s event. A week after our event, volunteers participated in a recap meeting to go over ways we can improve for next year. 

Medical Sponsors – These are announced and promoted through social media storytelling as well as our newsletters. We continue to share updated stories with the donation links to meet our goals. 

Calendars are in! We increased the price to $20 and are committed to selling each and every copy. So far with minimal promotion, we have sold 66, bringing in $1,581, including additional donations and shipping ($5/calendar).

We started a new partnership with Blue Rabbit Ceramics in Dracut, MA. Every 3 months we are hosting a clay workshop for the community. These are bunny-themed projects while bunnies run around the studio. HRN receives 50% of the sales. Our July workshop brought in $725. We are planning a workshop for the end of Sept/Oct and a Dec drop in ornament making workshop.

While occurrences have slowed, HRN remains committed to Bunny Yoga as interest grows. We have partnered with Westford Marathon Sports to host quarterly sessions in their store, with space for 20 participants per class. Upcoming dates include Sept 28 and Oct 19. Looking ahead, we are seeking additional venues interested in offering Bunny Yoga on a regular basis, helping us promote local philanthropy and activism while reducing the planning burden of securing spaces and instructors.

A new partnership with Tiny Tile Mosaics in Chelmsford, MA is in the planning stage. We are looking at creating bunny trivets Nov 8th. Similarly to Blue Rabbit Ceramics, we take home 50% of proceeds so the business can recoup material costs. 

In July, HRN hosted a Meet the Breeds event with a “pay what you can” admission model. The event welcomed our community to learn about and interact with over 12 unique rabbit breeds – all rescued – and raised $380 through 36 tickets sold. Beyond fundraising, this event served as a meaningful way to connect with supporters, highlight our beautiful shelter space, and demonstrate the high-quality care we provide for rabbits.

Prime Day spoiled our shelter bunnies this year. In July, we heavily promoted our Amazon wish lists for the entire 4 day sale and brought in well over $4,000 worth of donations to our facility.

Services (Spa Days, Bunsitting, Bonding)

Spa Days & Nail-trim clinics

  • Bunny Block Pawty Spa Day held June 29th at TLC studios in Dedham. $1910 raised + ~$200 in cash donations, 67 buns groomed
  • Westford Spa Day held August 9th at the shelter, $1970 raised, 94 buns groomed.
  • Next Spa Day scheduled for September 13th in Boston. Tickets are sold out, $910 raised.

Bunsitting (as of 08/26/2025)

  • 118 paid requests for this quarter totaling $26,690
  • 25 requests are scheduled up to 12/28 with 6 open requests
  • 9 bunsitter sitter discounts were given totaling 50 days 
  • 4 new sitters were onboarded and 12 asked to be removed from the group. Bunsitting can always use more help
  • Implemented new bunsitting request system. All open requests are now listed on a GoogleDoc with their corresponding pdf request files so sitters can easily see what requests need to be filled and have all relevant information available to them.
  • Created a Google form to collect emergency contact information for all sitters (and bonders) in the event that they cannot be reached

Bonding  (as of 8/25/2025)

  • 3 virtual bonding consultations totaling $115
  • 7 in-person bondings (4 successful, 2 pairs did not bond, and 1 is currently in progress with some promising signs that they will bond) for a total of $3160
  • There is a 7 person waitlist (3 asked to hold off for now so I am actively looking to schedule 4). Additionally, we have 1 in the process of scheduling for next month and 1 that just had a virtual consultation and may use the bonding service if things do not work out at home
  • I was able to onboard one new bonder, Kimberley Farina, and she has already had 2 successful bonds 

Grants

MAC Grant- we used all the funds and the final report was submitted.

Graham Grant- have not spent any money yet.

Monthly Donations

Subscriptions- Not counting the condo sponsorships

Monthly  

Bringing in each month $1259

2 for $100 / month

12 for $50 / month  

1 for $35 / month

10 for  $25 / month

2 for $20 / month

21 for $10 / month

4 for $5 / month

1 for $4 / month 

Shelter 

  • Working with volunteer Nils B. to upgrade shelter security system.
  • Daria has taken over training new shelter volunteers. We are holding 2 orientation sessions per month. A complete shelter database is being created to streamline training and shelter operations. You can view it here. 
  • We didn’t have a list of our shelter volunteers, waivers and applications were not in Petstablished. We are working on fixing all of this.
  • 3 Per Diem/hourly Employees were hired. They are all working out well. Having employees handle things has provided some nice consistency at the shelter.

Clinic

  • Job Rec for a new vet to be hired will be posted tomorrow.

Foster Homes 

  • The foster committee hosted another foster home workshop in July, it was a small group but great to put the faces to names and they  learned a lot and asked great questions!
  • The foster committee held 2 separate mandatory virtual meetings with foster homes.  We went over foster home protocols such as their roles in the adoption process, vet visits, contacts etc.  
  • Kari will be stepping down from the foster committee, although she wants to still be involved with educational programs. We will discuss as a team who we might like to invite to join us.  (Likely 2 additional members)
  • We have a foster home appreciation party on the schedule for Sunday October 5th, that we need to start planning for

Hotline

  • Everything is running smoothly on the hotline. We’ve had a few additions/departures: 
    • Orla O. and Katherine V. were onboarded
    • Theo C. is taking a break (unsure if he will come back)
    • Indigo K. is leaving (will find other remote volunteer work for them)
  • Worked with Lauren and Sara to add ‘In Foster’ banner to bunny profiles. This has really helped the team when discussing bunnies with applicants.

Outreach, Volunteering & Events

  • Events attended:
      • August 2: Meet-and-Greet/educational event at Psycho Bunny store in the Wrentham Outlets. Received several volunteer applications and about $50 in cash donations.
    • Upcoming events: 
      • October 5: Pet Rock Fest at Lancaster Fairgrounds
      • October 18 – 19: Boston Veg Food Fest at Reggie Lewis Athletic Center
  • Volunteers: 
      • Daria S. has started running shelter volunteer orientations and managing new shelter volunteer applications
  • Other outreach:
    • HRN has officially launched a monthly community meeting and education series. Meeting begins with ~10 minute update on HRN events, things we need help with, and important fundraisers. Nikki L. will be doing these community meeting portions beginning in August. Then an HRN volunteer gives a 1 hour class (including Q&A) on a subject they’re passionate about. Classes are “pay what you can” and attendees must register via Zeffy. The majority end up donating a few dollars. All attendees then get a link to a recording of the presentation.
    • Past & upcoming classes:

Date

Topic

Presenter

Notes

Donations

Registrants

6/19/2025

Behavior

Nikki L.

  

$585

75

7/17/2025

Diet & husbandry

Lauren S.

  

$420

46

8/28/2025

Bonding 101

Rosie M.

  

$715

77

9/25/2025

Bunny enrichment

Kari O.

      

10/23/2025

Caring for elder buns

Christie T.

Confirm date (may need help with Q&A)

    

11/16/2025

At-home health checks

Liz H.

Hybrid class – hands-on demo at shelter & livestreamed

    

12/7/2025

Grooming – beyond basics

Suellen C.

Hybrid class – hands-on demo at shelter & livestreamed

    

1/22/2026

E.C. for laypeople

Michelle K.

      

2/19/2026

Bonding trios and more

Dawn O. & Linnea S.

Confirm details/date

    

 

  • Social Media Metrics:

 

Intra-Meeting Board Decisions

Board agreed to give Lauren a $2000 year raise (end of May)