The Lollipop Guild is another way to benefit the animals in our care by fundraising to earn prizes and acclaim!

Set up a team, come up with a fun name (we encourage Wizard of Oz or animal puns), and set a fundraising goal. 95% of the moneys raised through the Lollipop Guild will go directly to support the animals in our care. Start telling your friends and family about the reasons that you support Homeward Pet and encourage them to support you in your fundraising goals. Feel free to share which of the animals at Homeward Pet inspires your fundraising efforts. Compete or collaborate with your friends to earn fun prizes for hitting different fundraising levels.

You can participate whether or not you walk or run in the 5K event. Although, we do hope you’ll come out that day and celebrate with us. 

On the Donate/Fundraise page, choose Become a Fundraiser.

On the page you land on, you will have the ability to put your own information as an individual fundraiser.

• Your Individual Fundraiser Name = your name
• Fundraiser Goal = We've started you out with $250 but you can change it.  This is how much you think you'll be able to raise.  You will be able to change this as you realize how awesome you are at fundraising.
• Tagline = why you love Homeward Pet, why you're fundraising, or some other quote.  Not required.
• Custom Fundraiser Link = could be your name or something easy to tell people.  Because Run Sign Up uses this for all their races, your name could already be taken.  We recommend trying something like "hpac-yourname"
• Personal Message Heading = A title to Lead in to the story below
• Personal Message to Display = We've put in Marina's story but you can change this to whatever you want.  If you adopted from us, you could put your adoption story.  If you are more connected to the cats, put in the story of your favorite feline.  Or leave the Marina story but add a paragraph at the beginning about why this is important to you.  Your friends and family will feel most connected if you personalize this.
• Team Fundraiser = This is the place where you decide if you want to be a solo fundraiser or part of a team. The money you raise is always credited to you but, as a community, we can always raise more - and you can compete against other teams for the honor of being top Fundraising Team. Think cat shifts against dog shifts. Or Team Ace versus Team Bobby... 
  • If a team has already been created that you want to be a part of, choose that team from the drop down and join it. 
  • If you are the first one in and want to create a team for others to join, toggle the Create a Team Fundraiser to yes and come up with a fun name.

Once you're all done filling in all the boxes, click on Set up Fundraiser to finish your entry.  If you created a brand new team, send a note to your friends and family to join your team.  They will go through all the steps above except toggling the Create a Team Fundraiser to yes.  They'll simply choose your team name from the drop down.

Easy Peasy! 

We are still finalizing this year's prize line up.

Last year we offered shirts, stadium bags, stadium blankets, water mugs, jackets and much more. You will have the option to opt out of receiving fundraising prizes if this is not something that motivates you. For some people, it gives them goals to move toward - and then they gift their prizes to the people that helped them reach those goals.

We are also looking for sponsors to sponsor the prizes for a fundraising level so that 100% of your fundraising will go toward the animals in our care. If your company is interested in partnering with us in this way, please email alora@homewardpet.org to discuss options for sponsoring a Lollipop fundraising prize.

• Broadcast your fundraising effort on social media. We suggest reminding people once a week.
• Add your fundraising link to your signature on all emails.
• Send an email to all your friends and family with personal testimony for what Homeward Pet has meant to you.  Include photos of your own pets or the ones you work with in the shelter.
• Create a QR code of your personal fundraising link that you can carry with you.  As you talk with people at the coffee shop, grocery store, parent groups, school, etc. give them the option to scan the code and make a donation right there.  Feel free to email pr@homewardpet.org or pop by Kim's desk at the shelter W-F if you need help setting this up.
• If you have a desk job, make a little flyer with the qr code to have at your desk for drop ins. "I'm raising money for homeless pets, please donate."
• If you participated last year, wear your shirt and answer questions about it with an opportunity to donate.
• Offer a matching day where you personally match all donations that come in that day.
• Offer a dozen cookies to people who donate on a particular day.  Sometimes you can entice people who've already donated to donate again!