How Can You Help Pet Charities?

Thousands of pets need your help each year

Pet charities work tirelessly raising funds to support lost, distressed, unwanted pets and animals.

There’s plenty of ways you can help charities and one is by donating unwanted goods to their charity shops and animal shelters located up and down the country.

Charity shops have become an important part of the pet charities revenue streams over the past twenty years, first gaining prominence after WW2 and growing in social importance ever since.

The public generously donates unwanted, good condition clothing, pet items and homewares which can be resold in their charity owned shops based all over the UK. For example, the PDSA has more than 120 shops nationwide to support their hundreds of veterinary outlets which help pet owners, sometimes when financially constrained or no local vet presence.

These shops are staffed by thousands of UK willing volunteers, who give their time free to devote to their treasured and preferred charity, raising millions of pounds to help finance these much needed organisations. Read more about volunteering.

Animal And Pet Charity Income

There are numerous fundraising ways that charities approach, all vying for much needed income. One of the largest areas is financial legacies left in wills, income earned and donations provided by charitable trusts. Many of the pet related companies such as insurers donate a proportion of earned revenue.

There are several charities that feature in the top 1,000 largest UK charity earners. They are The Royal Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals RSPCA, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, RSPB, The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, PDSA, Dogs Trust, The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, Cats Protection, The Donkey Sanctuary, Blue Cross, National Animal Welfare Trust, Battersea Dogs Home.

Numerous national and local charities run animal shelters up and down the country. They provide much-needed support to pets and wild animals in the UK. Pets, particularly dogs and cats can disappear from a loving home for no particular reason. They become strays and can be handed into local shelters. Yell.com will provide several local animal shelter address details.

These shelters provide much needed support to the pet community and welcome animal lovers to come and help with their pets on a volunteering basis. Without the thousands of volunteers, these shelters simply couldn’t afford to exist. The Cats Protection League will give you an idea of whats involved, or the FAQs page of The Dogs Trust.

Street people find comfort in owning a dog, creating strong bonds, but cannot afford expensive veterinary care when it is needed. Street Vet was founded in 2016 to help street dogs, cats and even rabbits, associated with Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. Vets donate their time and vaccinate, microchip, treat for lungworm and fleas, and have performed surgeries to keep street animals healthy. Street Paws provide free accessible veterinary care and emergency kennel space to animals living with homeless people in the UK.

Some charities offer the opportunity for the general public to sponsor an animal, providing them with regular updates about their animal, sending newsletters, photo updates and arrange special visits. This particularly works well for those who have busy lives and may not be able to own a pet or where the animal is large such as donkey sanctuaries. The Cats Protection League particularly use this marketing approach.

Gambling is big in Britain and Brits support numerous pet charitable lotteries operating in the UK. They are big earning income generators encouraging gambling but at most modest levels, subscriptions from as little as 50p or £1.00. Some lotteries are drawn weekly and jackpots monthly, and set-up under the Gambling Commission guidelines. Larger charities are licensed by the Gambling Commission under the Gambling Act 2005.

Christmas is an important time where Charity Christmas cards are sold up and down the UK. Whilst we move more and more into a digital age, more charity Christmas cards were actually sold in the UK, 2020, according to the Charity Retail Association. People realising the importance to stay in contact with other during a difficult pandemic year using cards as an important ‘cheer’ factor during difficult times. Cards can be bought from their websites direct where they will benefit more from the sale or from local supermarkets and retailers up and down the country who provide small donations from the sales.

It’s not all about the big charities, with local sponsored dog walks run by local groups, popular ways of raising funds and where funds are spent on local and UK pet charities as well as war-torn countries such as supported by the UK’s WorldBigDogWalk. 

Gift Aid is a government incentive introduced back in 1990, which can boost donation income by up to 25% for the charity, allowing charities to reclaim tax on a donation made by a UK taxpayer, meaning donations will be worth 25% more at no cost to the taxpayer. Higher tax payers can gain more relief. A simple form has to be completed that the charity provides at the time of donation of items in their shops, or available online, applying only to individuals and not eligible through company accounts.