Virtual Strut Your Mutt

PUTTING THE “FUN” IN FUNDRAISING, ALBEIT FROM A DISTANCE

Even without in-person celebrations, there was much to cheer about during Strut Your Mutt 2020. Sure, the pandemic meant we couldn’t hold our annual dog walk and festival in cities around the country. But canceling the event altogether simply wasn’t an option. Nope, no way.

Strut Your Mutt has been a critical way for Best Friends Network partners to raise funds each year. In fact, some organizations raise their entire year’s operating budget through the event. So, even though we couldn’t have in-person activities, we set up the fundraising structure for our partners online, as always, and gave them tools to engage donors. Like so many things in 2020, the limitations imposed by the pandemic ended up encouraging creativity and even revealed some unexpected benefits.

NorCal Boxer Rescue, for instance, actually saw an increase in participation, with 158 people joining their online fundraising team, versus 134 in 2019. The group usually participates in Strut Your Mutt in San Francisco, but since the in-person event wasn’t happening, people who live far away could sign up to contribute without feeling like they were missing the party. Rebecca Genauer of NorCal Boxer Rescue says, “I’m not at all sure we could have seen that kind of growth otherwise. It was a blessing in disguise for many groups.”

Dave Norris, the president of Pug Rescue of Austin, says, “It’s a difficult time to ask for money, but we owed it to all the animals we save to ask anyway.” He found that without the in-person walk, his organization be

The limitations imposed by the pandemic ended up encouraging creativity and even revealed some unexpected benefits.

came more resourceful in connecting with fundraisers and donors online. “By not taking our foot off the gas pedal,” Dave says, “we were able to raise as much as last year for our dogs.”

Of course, Strut Your Mutt isn’t just for dogs. Shadow Cats has been a top fundraiser for years, and 2020 didn’t change their level of enthusiasm. Sheila Smith of Shadow Cats says, “We absolutely love that it was virtual. For the cats, it pretty much has always been that way, since we could never bring them.” (Being cats, she notes, they much prefer the virtual event.) As usual, Shadow Cats remained one of the top fundraisers for weeks leading up to the final day.

While it was an unexpected curve ball that the public and our partners couldn’t gather together, walk together or celebrate together, Strut Your Mutt’s 2020 success is proof that we are still in this together, even when we are apart, for the animals.