Maddie's Fund Customer Service Granting Program

View Winners!

MADDIE'S FUND® will award $51,000 to
shelters or rescue groups for good
customer service.

Put your Best Face Forward and Win!!!

Do you take care of adopters as well as you take care of animals? Maddie's Fund and Petfinder.com believe that good customer service saves lives. The first step in good customer service is to capitalize on the public's enthusiasm for adopting by responding right away when initial contact is made. The second step is to make a potential adopter's experience positive and helpful.

We hope our cash prizes will encourage you, shelters and rescues, to assess your customer service and entice you to improve it if it is lacking.

PROGRAM DATES

July 12, 2010 through September 17, 2010

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS

• Rescue groups – Check your in-box!
  Each week, an "adopter" (really a representative from the Petfinder.com Foundation!) will e-mail randomly selected Petfinder.com member rescue groups with questions about an available dog or cat posted on your website. If you provide helpful information about that animal within 24 hours, your group wins $500. Each week 3 rescue groups will be awarded $500.
  
  
• Shelters -- Answer the phone!
  Each week, an "adopter" will call randomly selected Petfinder.com member shelters with questions about an available cat or dog posted on your website. If a live person answers the phone and provides helpful information about that animal (or connects the caller to someone who does), your shelter wins $500. Each week 3 shelters will be awarded $500.
  
  
• Be there live with a winning smile!
  An "adopter" will visit one randomly selected shelter in a different state each week. If the "adopter" reports that the experience at your shelter was positive, pleasant and helpful, your shelter wins $2,000.
  
  
• Second Chances:
  Each group who was selected to take part in the email or phone parts of the contest, but did not receive a prize will receive a letter from the Petfinder.com Foundation letting them know that they were initially selected but were not eligible to receive the award. This letter will outline good customer service standards and announce the Second Chance prizes of $250.00 for a phone call and $250.00 for email. The groups will be selected at random from groups who did not qualify for the initial prize. There will be two $250 phone call winners and two $250 email winners.
  
  

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible you must be a U.S. Petfinder.com member in good standing.

Shelters and rescue groups contacted for emails, phone calls and in person visits will be selected at random each week, until all cash prizes have been awarded for that week.

WINNER NOTIFICATION

If your shelter or rescue group follows the above guidelines, you will be immediately told at the end of the email, call, or visit that you have won. Funds will be distributed to you that week.

Shelters/rescue groups that were not successful in winning the prize will be contacted by Petfinder.com Outreach staff with information and helpful suggestions for improving customer service and increasing adoptions.

WINNER POSTING

Maddie's Fund and Petfinder.com will post the winning shelters and rescues each week at http://www.petfinder.com/admin. We will also enumerate how many shelters and rescues we e-mailed, called and visited each week.

Get ready to put your best face forward with customer service...

For a list of good customer service resources, go to:

http://www.maddiesfund.org/Resource_Library/When_Adopters_Show_Up.html

Grant Winners:

Week 1 Winners:

E-mail ($500 each):
K & C Pet Rescue and Adoption Inc., Jacksonville, FL
Lonely Hearts Animal Rescue, Frederick, MD
Recycled Love, Baltimore, MD

Phone ($500 each):
Humane Society of Charles County MD, Waldorf, MD
Humane Society of Greater Miami, North Miami Beach, FL
Pike County Humane Society, Waverly, OH

In-Person Visit ($2,000):
Old Bridge Animal Shelter, Old Bridge, NJ

Week 2 Winners:

E-mail ($500 each):
Hope's Rescue, Ohatchee, AL
Save A Pooch, Custer, SD
Happy Paw, Arab, AL

Phone ($500 each):
Delaware SPCA, Newark, DE
Lakes Region Humane Society, Ossipee NH
Humane Society of the Black Hills, Rapid City, SD

In-Person Visit ($2,000):
Lake County Animal Adoption Center, Crown Point, IN

Week 3 Winners:

E-mail ($500 each):
Feline Friends Inc., Feeding Hills, MA
Las Vegas Cocker Rescue, Nellis AFB, NV
Collie Rescue League of New England, Whitingham, VT

Phone ($500 each):
City Of LaGrange Animal Shelter, Lagrange, GA
Westfield Animal Shelter, Westfield,MA
City of Elko Animal Shelter, Elko, NV

In-Person Visit ($2,000):
Chatham County Animal Shelter, Pittsboro, NC

Week 4 Winners:

E-mail ($500 each):
The Litter League, Phoenix, AZ
K-9 Homefinders & Rescue, Inc., Albany, OR
Faith's Hope, Philadelphia, PA

Phone ($500 each):
Maricopa County Animal Care & Control West Valley Animal Care Center, Mesa, AZ
Jefferson County Animal Control, Barnhart, MO
Curry County Animal Shelter, Gold Beach, OR

In-Person Visit ($2,000):
Humane Society of New York, New York, NY

Week 5 Winners:

E-mail ($500 each):
GRR Midwest, Frankfort, KY
Ellens Rescue, Parkersburg, WV
Forgotten Angels Sanctuary Inc, Griswold, CT

Phone ($500 each):
Ohio County Animal Shelter, Hartford, KY
Central Minnesota Animal Care & Control, Sauk Rapids, MN
Milford Animal Control, Milford, CT

In-Person Visit ($2,000):
Spotsylvania Animal Shelter, Fredericksburg, VA

Week 6 Winners:

E-mail ($500 each):
Second Chance League, Fairbanks, AK
Yakima Valley Pet Rescue, Yakima, WA
Pet Pride, Fairbanks, AK

Phone ($500 each):
Gastineau Humane Society, Juneau, AK
Town and Country Humane Society, Papillion, NE
Metro Animal Services , Puyallup, WA

In-Person Visit ($2,000):
Animal House, Fort Collins, CO

Week 7 Winners:

E-mail ($500 each):
Dog's Wish Rescue, Metairie, LA
Heroes For Homeless Animals, Madison Heights, MI
Wyoming Australian Shepherd Rescue, Sheridan, WY

Phone ($500 each):
Cheyenne Animal Shelter, Cheyenne, WY
Alger County Animal Shelter, Munising, MI
Contra Costa Humane Society, Pleasant Hill, CA

In-Person Visit ($2,000):
SPCA Hancock County, Trenton, ME

Week 8 Winners:

E-mail ($500 each):
Feline Rehome and Rescue, Little Rock, AR
Pets Are Worth Saving Inc. (PAWS), Anna, IL
Bridging The Worlds Animal Sanctuary, Santa Fe, NM

Phone ($500 each):
Van Buren County Animal Control Shelter, Clinton, AR
Livingston County Animal Control, Fairbury, IL
Humane Society of Greenwood S.C., Greenwood, SC

In-Person Visit ($2,000):
South Utah Valley Animal Shelter, Spanish Fork, UT

Week 9 Winners:

E-mail ($500 each):
Mix-n-Match Rescue, Iowa City, IA
Teddy's Rescued Paws, Memphis, TN
Selina Memorial Animal Rescue, Whitehall, MT

Phone ($500 each):
Loess Hills Humane Society, Inc., Glenwood, IA
Great Falls Animal Shelter, Great Falls, MT
Bristol Animal Shelter, Bristol , RI

In-Person Visit ($2,000):
Oklahoma City Animal Welfare Division, Oklahoma City, OK

Week 10 Winners:

E-mail ($500 each):
Prairie Paws Rescue, Jamestown, ND
Tubu Animal Rescue, Princeton, WI
Mississippi Animal Rescue League, Jackson, MS

Phone ($500 each):
Humane Society of the Palouse, Moscow, ID
Columbia County Humane Society, Portage, WI
City of Vicksburg Animal Shelter, Vicksburg, MS

In-Person Visit ($2,000):
All Gods Creatures Animal Rescue & Shelter, Columbus , KS