Animal shelters require a lot of funds to keep their residents happy, healthy and clean. Good intentions alone can’t support such a valiant and selfless mission like this. You’ll need all the help you can get, especially when you’re an independent, non-profit organization like the Wisconsin Humane Society. Just recently, the organization launched a rather creative fundraiser wherein they gifted you with bad pet drawings in exchange for your $15 donation. And the public was so amused with their idea that they had to stop accepting donations after 36 hours of starting the event!
According to the Humane Society, they tend to around 40,000 animals every year. This is because they operate five shelters across the state. They have shelters in Milwaukee, Saukville, Racine, Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay. Naturally, ensuring that each shelter operates smoothly can be a challenge. After all, providing their residents with quality food, shelter and fun doesn’t come cheap! So in order to maintain their operations, WiscHumane decided to borrow a fun concept from a Baltimore-based animal rescue group for their fundraiser. They launched the event through Facebook, where they wrote:
Wisconsin Humane Society offered donors bad pet drawings in exchange for their support
According to WiscHumane’s Vice President for Communications Angela Speed, they got their cute concept from a similar campaign by BARCS, an animal rescue group based in Baltimore. “We reached out to them about borrowing their idea, and also to learn about how they made their campaign successful; we really appreciated their support and guidance!”
For reference, Baltimore BARCS launched their bad pet portrait campaign in 2019. Initially, they hoped that their campaign would yield at least 100 portraits and raise at least $1,500. But their drive immediately became viral, and their goal was shattered. In the end, BARCS’ volunteers had to draw around 750 drawings and were able to raise over $11,200! One of their staffers even upped the ante by getting a tattoo of the best bad pet portrait.
The bad pet drawings campaign broke Baltimore BARCS’ record in just 36 hours
The organization launched their fundraiser on February 25th. And to their surprise, they didn’t just get the attention of a couple pet owners but more than a hundred! It didn’t take long before donations and drawing requests flooded the group. There were so many requests that the group had to announce that “due to overwhelmingly amazing response”, they need to close the submissions.
“The volunteers who wielded crayons and colored pencils have been working tirelessly to get them finished. We had to close the campaign about 36 hours after we launched it, as we were so flooded with pet pics,” Speed said.
“February in Wisconsin can be a dreary month to get through, and we hope it brought a bit of unexpected joy to the hearts of our supporters.”
“Your questionable spending habits raised more than $12,000 for the animals at WHS. You all are truly incredible and surprised our wildest expectations. Our artists are working tirelessly to get the masterpieces back to you as soon as possible, though it may take days at this point. Thank you all so much for your outpouring of support for the animals!”
50 volunteers worked to draw all 700 submissions
Some definitely had artistic talent, while others didn’t really have the inclination
These quirky doodles are as amusing as they are endearing! Drawing is a challenging act, if you’re not really into it. In fact, it takes a lot of time and practice to develop and discover one’s niche. Animals make pretty challenging subjects, as their features are almost always unique. And judging from the efforts of WiscHumane volunteers, it’s clear to see that they did their best to recreate the pet shown to them. Keep scrolling to see more of their not-so-bad pet art that raised a whopping $12,000:
There are many simple portraits
This isn’t the organization’s first time organizing a fund raising event. In fact, they organize events like this on a regular basis. They’ve already got events lined up for March! In addition to their calendar of events, you can also check our their awesome “virtual rehoming” option. This option allows owners looking to re-home their pets to create a profile that potential new foster families can check out. Visit their website for more information.
While others were more detailed
Another interesting fact is that a large percentage of the fundraising event’s donors were people who had previously adopted rescues from the organization. WiscHumane gives refuge not only to dogs and cats but also to small animals and exotics like guinea pigs. They also offer numerous other services geared towards improving the overall welfare of animals, like spaying and neutering, and even training pets!
Despite the difference in artistic skills, the volunteers all managed to capture the pets’ happiness
Some of these bad pet drawings would fit right in the Pop Art era
Source: Wisconsin Humane Society