Donating to Kindred Spirits There are many ways to help our patients (see Ways to Help), but the easiest and best way is donating funds. Money allows us to purchase what we need when we need it, including special order items and perishable foods. At Kindred Spirits every penny of your donation goes directly to the patients' care, i.e. food, formula, medicine, and/or veterinary supplies. No part of your gift is ever used for salaries (probably because we don't get them!), overhead, or fundraising (don't you hate donating to a cause, only to have them turn around and mail you a bazillion pleas for more? It's like your donation went for paper and postage and didn't help the actual cause.) Different non-profits spend different percentages of donations on the actual cause. Having 80% used for the cause is considered very good. We know of no other non-profit where 100% of donations goes to the root cause. Just another reason our work is so special.
By mail: Checks should be made out to: Kindred Spirits or Kindred Spirits Wildlife Center and mailed to:
Kindred Spirits Wildlife Center If your donation is in honor or memory of someone, please include the following information: For memorials, tell us the name of the person who passed away, the name and address of the person/family you want to receive notification of your gift, and their relationship to the deceased (e.g. spouse, parent, aunt, etc.). Please be clear who is who. In other words, don't just put "mother" because we won't know if the person who passed was the mother or the person receiving notification is the mother. While an error may not be a major issue under normal circumstances, when someone dies, everyone is quite raw and the slightest mistake can prove upsetting. If you want to mention a few things about the deceased, e.g. they loved watching and feeding the birds, it will help personalize the notification, but is not a requirement. Notification is sent on properly subdued stationery, along with a flyer about our work. The amount of your gift is not disclosed. In addition, you will receive a tax receipt and thank you note for your contribution. For honorariums, give us the name and address of the person being honored, as well as the occasion (if there is one). They will be sent notification on the appropriate stationery (or card), along with a flyer about our work. The amount of your gift is not disclosed. In addition, you will receive a tax receipt and thank you note for your contribution. Due to how busy we stay caring for our patients, it may be a few weeks before donations are acknowledged so please send them well in advance of the occasion. A special effort is made to send out memorials as quickly as possible due to the nature of the situation. Note: Unless you indicate otherwise, thank you notes are always sent. If you make a donation by check, it is not cashed until a tax receipt and thank you note have been sent. We feel it's just common courtesy. If your check is cashed and you have not received a thank you note, please contact us immediately. We take "thank you"s very seriously. It may take anywhere from two - six weeks for your check to be cashed (even after the receipt is sent). There are no branches of the bank anywhere close to us and since we (sadly) receive so few donations, it would be a poor use of time and gasoline to make the long drive to the bank for just one or two checks. We wait until we have several and then make a trip to the bank. We keep hoping the day will come when donations are so frequent weekly trips to the bank will be a must!!! Online: To make an online donation, just click the "donate now" button in the upper left hand corner of any page on our website. The site will take you step-by-step through the process. Because the organization overseeing the donations is also a non-profit organization, every penny of your donation is tax deductible. However, depending on how you make the donation, Kindred Spirits may not receive all of it. You will be given the option of adding a small handling fee to your donation which allows the organization funds to stay in business. For example, if you make a $50 donation to Kindred Spirits, they may ask for a $1.50 handling fee making your donation $51.50. Of that, Kindred Spirits receives $50 and the organization gets the $1.50. If you elect not to add the handling fee, it will be deducted from the donation we receive, i.e. we will receive $48.50 of the $50. You, however, can still deduct the full $50 on your taxes. Unlike companies that are paid by non-profits to raise money for them by phone and then pass on as little as 10% of the money collected, Network for Good does not solicit donations. It simply allows non-profits a way of taking donations online. The donation will appear on your credit card as having been made to Network for Good, not Kindred Spirits. They, in turn, send us a check. It is important to note your tax receipt will come from Network for Good and not Kindred Spirits but is used the same way for tax purposes. You will receive e-mail acknowledgement for your gift from us (provided you give your e-mail address). However, if you would like to also receive a handwritten thank you note, you need to contact us and provide your mailing address so we can do so. Network for Good does not give us that information. Donating online is fast and easy. Just click on the button to get started and your money will quickly be on its way to helping us keep the wild AND the life in wildlife!
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