Charities that help with emergency vet bills

Jason, that is so sweet of you and I really appreciate it. To tell the truth, it took me a full day to be able to answer your post, so I'd need to prepare myself to delve into those files. I do have some, but Jay did all the heavy lifting...filing legal paperwork etc. and I don't have that. I will look in my email files though and see if I have anything that might be helpful to you.
 
I completely understand, Ann, and please, take your time!! Just whenever you're emotionally ready. I can't even imagine :'-(

Realistically, it takes about 6 months to apply for and get a 501(C)3. Before I file, though, I need to have a board of directors in place and a general outline of the concept. A realistic time frame for filing would be early 2026, so there's PLENTY of time!
 
Jason_C said:
I've been researching and can't find any real charities like this, either. But in just a few days I've come across hundreds of posts from people that need emergency surgery, can't afford it, and can't find help!

I've talked to a few "higher-ups", and I really think that I can make this happen. Like you said, I honestly can't think of a better way to honor my Katy <3 I'm thinking of it on a nationwide scale, though, not just localized.

I've been self employed for about 30 years, and took my bootstraps business to a statewide level with 62 locations. And I've worked with local charities for almost that long! So I hope that I have the expertise to take this nationwide, but I'm not so proud that I can't see if I'm over my head and need someone else to help. In fact, the ideal situation would be for me to get it started and then hand it off to someone else, instead of me being the full time director.

The biggest challenge is that I think I'll need a panel of veterinarians that can review cases and determine (a) fair prices and (b) odds of survival, but finding vets that don't have a personal agenda will be a bit tricky. I realize that I'll need a variety of vets from all over the US (a fair rate in NC probably wouldn't be a fair rate in CA), so that part might take some head hunting and recruitment.

Right now it looks like I'm going to be moving in this direction :) My goal is to be ready to go to market in 2 years.
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So since it has never been done.... Maybe start at the state or smaller level then once the process and record is established expand. It would seem you almost need a state rep to coordinate with the local vets (and no state law etc.) Just a thought from someone that is not in charge of nothing (including Spitfire)
 
SheepOfBlue said:
Maybe start at the state or smaller level then once the process and record is established expand.
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Well, from my experience as a business owner, I learned the hard way: "start small, stay small" :-O It seems like every new business owner (including me with my first business) starts out with dipping their toe in the water to see how it goes, but that doesn't really work.

I started my first business with a $5000 credit card. The business did well, but in order to cover the overhead and pay myself I needed a 1000% ROI in the first year! That's a lot to ask for.

In comparison, my current business is my 4th business, and it's 22 years old. This time I just went for broke and threw everything I had into it! Because of that, a 10% ROI was more than enough to cover the overhead and to pay me.

Based on that, if I'm gonna do it then I'm going all in :-)

I heard back from some of the "big dogs" (haha) today, and they're very encouraging and putting me in touch with other people. So things are moving in a very positive direction right now!
 
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