August 28, 2016--DCIN currently finances all of its activities through donations from individuals. Because DCIN is a tax-exempt (501c3) organization, donations are eligible as charitable deductions on US federal, state, and local income tax returns to the extent allowed by applicable laws.
There are many ways to donate to DCIN, including:
- Unrestricted donations/sponsorships to DCIN's general fund
- Associate/Affiliate programs
- Restricted donations/sponsorships on behalf of a particular cat or purpose
- Participation in naffles and other special fundraising events
- "In-kind" donations of diabetic and other supplies
1. Unrestricted Donations/Sponsorships
PayPal/Check/Money Order
You can donate cash to DCIN through PayPal or by check or money order. DCIN accepts PayPal donations at donate@dcin.info. Use the "Send money to friend and family" option to avoid fees on cash and checking donations. If you use a credit card, you can choose to pay the fee to maximize your donation to DCIN.
We've also developed this PayPal donation button to make it a bit easier (you can use this button to initiate a recurring donation, if you like):
You also can mail a check or money order to
DCIN
P.O. Box 21,
Minot, ME 04258-0021
2. Associate/Affiliate Programs
Amazon Associate Program
This post describes DCIN's participation in the Amazon Association Program. A link to that post and direct links to enter Amazon.com (shopping in the US), Amazon.ca (shopping in Canada), and Amazon.co.uk (shopping in the UK) to benefit DCIN are at the top right column of each page of this blog. In 2014, DCIN has been earning about $250/month on this program.
iGive
(On 11/23/17, we discovered that our iGive link goes to another rescue's page. Until we get re-registered on iGive, shopping through their start page will not help us. Sorry, and thanks for your support!)
iGive.com is an online shopping service that allows you to choose to donate a portion of your purchase from almost 1,100 online vendors to your favorite charity, which just might be DCIN. Some online sites that you may already shop and that are participating vendors with iGive are American Diabetes Wholesale, Pet Food Direct, and 1-800-Pet-Meds. As with the Amazon program, to benefit DCIN you must initiate your purchase from a participating vendor through the iGive site and not already have the item in the vendor's shopping cart. Also, iGive usually will not register a donation if you use a coupon code for your purchase.
If you already have an account at iGive, consider designating "Diabetic Cats in Need c/o Venita" as your cause. If you are not yet a member of iGive, you can use this link to join and designate DCIN as your cause. Since joining iGive in 2010, DCIN has earned $1,580. (Although Amazon.com is an iGive vendor, DCIN receives a greater portion of your purchase through the Amazon Associate Program rather than through IGive.)
iGive lists coupons and specials that may save you money on your purchases from participating vendors. You also can use the iGive Internet search engine and raise $.01 for DCIN for each of your searches. Enough pennies add up to a number of bucks. There also is an iGive toolbar that you can add to your Internet browser that includes its search function and to which you can add links for your favorite iGive vendors.
GoodSearch
GoodSearch.com gives annual donations to DCIN for Internet searching, shopping (although we do ask that DCIN friends continue to use DCIN's direct link to shop the Amazon sites--the donation percentage is better), local shopping and dining, and more. Sign up at GoodSearch with DCIN as your charity of choice.
3. Restricted Donations/Sponsorships
DCIN often requests donations and sponsorship on behalf of particular cats or purposes. We usually will create a YouCaring fundraiser that we promote on our Facebook page. Usually these are cats with emergent conditions (such as an emergency hospitalization) or a planned dental procedure, or cats in DCIN foster care or its Financial Assistance Program that have sizable needs.
You can locate DCIN's fundraisers by going to YouCaring.com and typing "Diabetic Cats in Need" into the search box. Please put the quotes around the name or you will get results for fundraisers unrelated to DCIN.
If we have not developed a YouCaring Fundraising page for a cat or purpose for which you would like to donate, use the instructions above for unrestricted donations to send a PayPal payment or check/money order and include in the PayPal instruction section or the memo line of the check/money order to tell us your restricted purpose.
Naffles and Other Special Fundraising Events
What is a Naffle? It is "not a raffle" that appears to be a raffle, but is in reality a give away with a request for donations. See the explanation here. DCIN has been networking to find artists and craftspeople to donate custom work to raise funds. For example, here is a blog page that describes DCIN's Naffle for a custom fantasy sculpture by Wicked Sairah.
DCIN also has other special fundraising events, among them an annual sale of Mismatched Socks and an annual contest for and sale of wall calendars. Again, we promote Naffles and other special fundraising events on our Facebook page.
"In-kind" Donations of Diabetic and Other Supplies
DCIN distributes a significant amount of diabetic and other supplies to cats in its fostering, shelter/rescue, and assistance programs. Besides testing supplies and syringes, DCIN has distributed fluids for SubQ administration (along with the necessary administration lines and needles), various OTC medications/supplements such as Miralax and L-Lysine, and catnip toys. If you have diabetic and other supplies that you would like to make available to DCIN-assisted cats, please email supplies@dcin.info. Sometimes we will ask a donor to mail the donated items directly to the cat's caregiver.
Other Information
DCIN's treasurer responds to all PayPal and check donations by emailing a receipt to the donor that satisfies the documentation requirements of the US Internal Revenue Service for charitable donation deductions. If you make an in-kind donation, please contact treasurer@dcin.info if you wish such documentation for your donation.
DCIN has the ultimate authority to use unrestricted donations at its discretion for purposes consistent with its exempt purposes. DCIN is very respectful of restrictions on the use of funds. However, if there is no longer a need for restricted funds (for example, if a cat passes), DCIN will contact the cat's caregiver about disposition of the restricted funds by reallocation to another DCIN-assisted cat or to DCIN's general fund. If the donation was recently made, DCIN will contact donors to determine their wishes for the disposition of the funds, which could include a refund.
DCIN gratefully accepts memorial donations for pets and people. We maintain a current-year memorial donation list on every page of our blog. When you want to designate a donation to DCIN as a memorial, please send an email to donate@dcin.info or include a note in your PayPal payment screen. We will inform the caregiver/family of the memorial donation. If you would like us to do something extra special, such as send the caregiver a card with photos of the cat that died, please email us.
DCIN welcomes donations subject to employer matching. To claim employer matches, procedures different from those described above often are necessary. If you would like to make a donation that will be matched by your employer, please email donate@dcin.info to discuss your employer's requirements.
DCIN encourages you to make plans for the care of your pets should they outlive you. Your attorney may suggest that you establish a trust for your pets' care. In establishing a trust (or other similar arrangements through a will), your attorney may ask you to identify a "remainderman" for any funds that are not needed by your pets. Your attorney may suggest that you designate a shelter or rescue as the remainderman for the monies set aside for your pets so that there is no conflict with the human beneficiaries of your estate. DCIN would be happy to work with you and your attorney should you wish to designate DCIN as the remainderman beneficiary of the lifelong bequest you make for your pets.
DCIN does not disclose the identity of the persons who donate to it, or the amounts or items donated except in the broadest terms. Should you wish to self-disclose your donation, we encourage you to do so, because we believe that charities benefit when peers know that others donate.
If you have any questions about DCIN's financial needs and the way you may be able to help, please email donate@dcin.info.
