The Social Petwork

If you own a pet or are an animal lover of any kind, then this cause should be important to you.

My story:

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge proponent of animal rescue and adoption. As an owner of three rescue pets (one of whom is featured above), the issue of euthanasia in shelters is very near and dear to my heart. 

Last month, I tried to rescue a few really young, really adorable puppies who were all going to be put down after only 2 weeks in a high-kill shelter in North Carolina. During this process, I found it incredibly difficult to both find and contact the animal services available in my area. By the time I I figured out a responsible, cost effective way to transfer them to a no-kill facility, a rescue group had shown up and spent hundreds of dollars to transfer the puppies to a facility in Pennsylvania -- even though I had been willing to do it for free. What a waste of resources! I thought to myself: 'there has to be a better way to help these shelters and animals.' 

The problem:

Scattered and scarce, animal rescue information is nearly impossible to find, creating a huge communication gap between low-budget, high-kill animal shelters and the people who want to help.

Although local governments collectively spend approximately $2 billion per year on aid for animal shelters, nearly 2.4 million healthy, adoptable cats and dogs—about one every 13 seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year- clearly money isn't the problem! The core issues are communication with and accessibility to local animal shelters and rescue groups around the country.

My solution:

I am working to launch a non-profit website called 'The Social Petwork' to fill the gap in the market. The website would provide a resource for low-budget animal shelters to get their information out to the public for free, while making it as easy as possible for people to donate to and adopt from these shelters. The value of this website would be extensive and comprehensive: It would be a "one-stop-shop" destination for anyone interested in adopting from or donating to shelters. Directly on our page, users could search around our easy-to-use interactive map, find information on any and every animal service in their area or fill out a form to adopt or donate --simplifying their interactions with local animal shelters and rescue centers. Ultimately, I see this website increasing donations and promoting spaying/neutering practices in an impactful way, relieving some of the financial pressure on local government budgets so that they can spend that money elsewhere.

Now this is where you come in!

I have been invited to be one of twenty entrepreneurs to pitch my idea at a conference of potential investors at Ideafest in Danville, VA on Friday, February 27th for a chance to win prizes totaling $10,000 and 25 hours of consulting.

The problem is that I need to purchase professional mock-ups or "wireframes" of what my website would be like when it is fully fleshed out and pay incorporation fees so that I can officially and properly file any grants I may acquire. These fees total approx. $3,000 but any amount would help me reach my ultimate goal of $10,000 to fully launch the site!

If I can get this money by February 27th and make progress on launching the company, the business model I have developed ensures that it will generate enough revenue to be self-sustaining- I just need your help to get started!

Please support me and donate! Every dollar counts!

If you have any questions or would like more information on the venture, please feel free to contact me! I always appreciate input and advice!

I am so grateful for any and all support!