Q: We are taking in an average of 20 kittens in a week. How can we find more fosters?
A: There are several great online resources that can help your organization find and recruit new foster home volunteers.
If your shelter or rescue has signed up and been approved to use Adopt-a-Pet.com, you can use the Adopt-a-Pet.com Volunteer search tool to find and contact local foster home volunteers for the type of pet fosters you need:
http://www.adoptapet.com/ shelter/volunteer/search
(Note: You need to be logged in to your Adopt-a-Pet.com Shelter/Rescue account to use it.)
How to use the tool:
On the Adopt-a-Pet.com Search for Volunteers page, select a mile radius from your zip code, the type of pet, if you need them to be 18 or older or can work with under 18's with a responsible adult, and then scroll down to the question for:
Who can provide a foster home for... (check all that apply)
Checking the types of pet(s) will limit your search results to just those fosters, i.e. people who said they'd like to foster male kittens. Then click search to see a list of results.
We've heard that organizations have a better response rate if they contact each volunteer directly, from within their own email program. Click the volunteer's name in the results to see their profile including their email and phone number. If you email them directly, you can include links and perhaps a photo of representative pet photos. However the tool also lets you can email all matching volunteers at once from within the tool. If you do that, you will not have a record of who you emailed, but that email will come "from" your account login email address, so you'll get any replies directly to your regular email inbox. We suggest you keep the email simple, like, "Reply to this email if you can foster kittens!" Then when the volunteer replies, you can let them know if you have an application or orientation to fill out, or to call you, or however you normally handle and screen new foster volunteers.
You may also like our foster puppy and kitten behavior and care guides for fosters at:
Free Download: The Puppy Manual
Free Download: If You Find Baby Kittens
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