Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Parker, Colorado Resident Initiates Monthly Giving Challenge


For Immediate Release
Denkai Animal Sanctuary
Floss Blackburn
www.denkaisanctuary.org
info@denkaisanctuary.org
(970) 217-1457

Parker, CO Resident Initiates Monthly Giving Challenge For The Animals!

In lieu of the recent press releases regarding eighteen Arabian horses
displaced due to a horrific divorce (http://denkaisanctuary.blogspot.com/),
Parker Resident Kathy Zaffore has issued a Monthly Giving Challenge for
donors. Her letter follows below;

Dear Fellow Supporters of Denkai Animal Sanctuary,

I received an email from Floss a couple of days ago addressed to all of us
who are concerned and active at some level with Denkai. She outlined the
current financial struggles and asked for our time and dollars to meet the
immediate needs for not only the creatures large and small who call Denkai
home, but also for other animals in need who have found a way to reach out
to Floss and Denkai – and therefore all of us – for help.

Let me say here that I have never met Floss, nor have I visited Denkai.
Nor did Floss ask me to do this letter. It is simply my response to her
appeal.

I live south of Denver and care for my own menagerie – a dog, cats,
horses, and the many wild critters who drop by for help now and then. I
learned about Denkai about a year ago through news articles and I contacted
Denkai for more information. I made an initial contribution and was amazed
at what happened. Floss worked hard to keep me involved. She informed me
several times a week about the activities at Denkai. She invited me to
participate at many different levels. She included me in campaigns to save
not only the lives at Denkai but those in many other communities, too. She
engaged me in a way that few CEOs of organizations do (and as a CPA, I have
worked with a lot of organizations). It was both responsible and
responsive, and demonstrated her desire to not only pay the bills, but to
sustain her organization for the long haul. If you do not know – THAT IS
RARE. A lot of people care about animals, and many start what they cannot
finish. Few stand up to the day in and day out demand of operating and
SUSTAINING a thriving sanctuary. It is a lot of work – caring for
animals AND raising the buckets of money that makes it all possible. Two
more-than-full-time jobs. And she is apparently doing both exceptionally
well.

She won me over with her business-like approach, which encouraged me to
give more. And then a few months ago, I chose to include Denkai in my
AUTOMATIC MONTHLY GIVING plan. Automatic monthly giving does a few
important things:
• The organization, in this case Denkai, knows
how much it can count on each month for its
operational expenses – THIS IS BOTH
ENCOURAGING AND CRITICAL
• Because you are giving automatically by credit
card, you DO NOT FORGET to give even when you
are on vacation (the critters do not take a
vacation)
• Your giving will appear on your credit card
statement each month which provides an
acceptable receipt for the Internal Revenue
Service (unless you give $250 or more! And if
you do that, Floss will happily jot you a
personal receipt, I am sure!)
• You will stick to your plan and accomplish
your giving goal each year while providing
vital funding to an organization you love.

Today, if you are not already giving regularly in some capacity, I would
like to challenge you start an automatic giving program on behalf of
Denkai. Here is how it works:

Go to www.denkaisanctuary.org and click on Donate Now at the top left
corner of the home page. You will end up on Network for Good. Follow the
instructions and sign up to give the same amount every month - $10, $20 or
more. Add a dollar or two to defray the expense of credit card donations.
That is all you do. Simple! And so incredibly effective. Your monthly
commitment will encourage Floss to continue with the work she is doing on
behalf of animals for all of us.

One last note – I am not a wealthy person, but I believe in supporting
animal causes and well-run local organizations. My current gift is $100
per month (plus a few defraying bucks). I am prepared to add $1 to my
monthly gift for the first 25 people who sign up to automatically give $50
or more per month for at least one year. I will count on Floss to let me
know, and perhaps add the challenge to her blog.

My best to the Denkai community.

For the animals,
Kathy Zaffore
Parker Colorado


I, Floss Blackburn will personally keep track of these donations and report
them back to Kathy and to the giving community. Thank you in advance for
your support, it means the world to these special animals.

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