There are lots of ways to help save big cats from abuse and abandonment. Some are free and some have a cost.
WAYS TO HELP FINANCIALLY
DonateSponsor a cat / Become a member
Leave a Legacy: Remember the cats in your Will
See how we spend your money here http://bigcatrescue.org/about/finances/
Here at Big Cat Rescue, literally 100% of your donations are spent directly ON THE CATS!!! We are able to adhere to that strict policy because the other sanctuary expenses, administrative expenses, salaries etc come out of tour fees and other sources of income. We are extremely serious about donations being used JUST FOR THE CATS!
Because of adhering to that strict policy regarding donations, and all of the other ways Big Cat Rescue is transparent in our operations, we have earned Charity Navigator‘s highest 4-star rating for “sound fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency” EVERY YEAR since we were first evaluated by them in 2010. Here is a quote directly from their rating letter “Only 7% of the charities we rate have received at least 4 consecutive 4-star evaluations.” Big Cat Rescue has done it for all these consecutive years.
WAYS TO HELP AT NO COST
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
With an operating budget of approximately $3.5 million/year, of course Donations and Memberships are critical to our ability to care for the cats. We cannot exist without this financial support. But you can make a very significant difference in other important ways as well. There are many ways to support our cats and help end abuse that cost nothing. Some are actions you can take or avoid. Others are ways to make purchases you already make in ways that result in funding for the sanctuary.
Watch & Share our Videos
When you share our videos you ARE HELPING!!
Yes, watching and sharing our videos is really HELPING Save Cats!
Sharing our videos is helping introduce more people to Big Cat Rescue, the cats, and our mission through your own posts. When you share our educational videos and others watch it YOU are helping spread the word and helping teach others about important cat issues.
Sharing our videos is encouraging social sites to show our postings to more people. Example, when a video on Facebook receives a lot of attention Facebook will then put it in even more people’s feeds which further increases exposure for the video. On YouTube when a video gets a lot of attention YouTube will sometimes even add that video to the suggested videos on the side of the page which also increases viewership.
The Google Ads that display on the YouTube videos are actually raising a little bit of money for the cats, so every time you share one of our videos for your friends and family to watch YOU are not only helping pass on our mission and giving your friends something either educational or fun to watch, but you are also helping raise funds for the cats. Sometimes, when people watch a “Just For Fun” video that YOU have shared they will go to our channel and watch additional videos. Again, this helps the cats and our mission.
Learn more about this at: bigcatrescue.org/share-youtube-video/
Post a Review
Please post your reviews at Facebook, Google Places, TripAdvisor, Yelp and Charity Navigator, as that helps others know about us and helps counter balance the 1 star reviews that animal abusers fraudulently post on those sites to bring down our overall ratings.
Other Actions you Can Take
BECOME AN “ADVOCAT”
Be a Big Cat Rescuer!
Sign up for our emails and action alerts and never miss an opportunity to help a cat in peril here
Sign up below to find out how you can get involved, no matter where you live.
You can make an enormous difference by signing up to receive our email alerts and taking action by voicing your support for legislation and your opposition to abusive exhibits in our easy online system.
Click here to learn about becoming an Advocat.
To see current issues and take action now visit CatLaws.com.
One of the biggest impacts that animal lovers can have is to guide the conversation when it happens. This is how we do it:
1. Set up google alerts for words like tigers, cubs, lions, zoo, circus, fur, etc.
2. Sort through the results daily and find the ones that are really about cats and not Tiger Woods, the Detroit Lions, etc. and read the articles.
3. Join the conversation and steer it in the right direction. ie: explain why people shouldn’t attend circuses that use animals, or wear real fur or how having your picture made with a cub results in lions and tigers being over bred for that purpose, exploited and then discarded or warehoused.
Don’t bother getting into debates with the animal abusers and don’t make it personal. Just deliver the facts so that people who don’t know the issue can understand what they can do to end the abuse. Everything you need to know about what to say is here: http://bigcatrescue.org/abuse-issues
We continue to be closed to the general public. However, we have a limited ability to provide small private tours. Donors of $500 or more per year may schedule to come with one additional guest. Donors of $1000 or more may bring three guests with them. All guests must be at least 10 years of age. Our tour guides are vaccinated and we ask that you and any guests be vaccinated as well. If you experience any COVID symptoms in the ten days prior to your tour please contact us to reschedule. Masks are optional. Do not bring any pets with you (may seem obvious but it happens.) To schedule a visit email Howard.Baskin@BigCatRescue.org.
Volunteer on site at the sanctuary.
Volunteer remotely by becoming an “Advocat”. Help stop abuse and support better laws by joining thousands of other big cat lovers in making our voices heard.
Become an Intern for three months.
Send us items on our Wish List.
Join our Legacy Society to remember the cats in your estate planning.
See how you can investigate and expose abusers. Be a Saber Tooth Sleuth. When you see big cat abuse take photos and post them and your report on 911 Animal Abuse site
Use your Social Networking to help build awareness by linking to us from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok etc. and watching and rating our cool videos on YouTube.
Watch and Share Our Videos
See our Wish List
Shopping for Gifts or Things you already Buy
You can help at no extra cost by making purchases you would otherwise make in ways that generate donations to Big Cat Rescue. Looking for gifts or items you need for yourself? Please consider these alternatives:
Big Cat Rescue Online Gift Shop: Shop in our online Gift Shop
Big Cat Rescue eBay Store: Sign up for alerts for our eBay auctions here
Social Networking for Big Cats
If you have an account at MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, Photobucket, AOL, or any of the myriad of social networking sites, you can help promote Big Cat Rescue. Add us as a friend, watch, rate and embed our videos, or post photos of our cats with links to our site. Your visitors will love it and you will be helping to save the big cats!
It’s a great way to support the cats at no cost to you!
Big Cat Rescue’s sites:
Adding us as a friend on your social networking site helps raise awareness for the cats. Liking, commenting on, & sharing our posts are all actions that really do help us reach more people.
- FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/bigcatrescue Like Us and add our donation app to your page!
- Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/bigcatrescue/ Join the fun
- Instagram https://instagram.com/bigcatrescue
- Twitter https://twitter.com/bigcatrescue
- BigCatTV.com This is our main YouTube channel where you will find all of the produced videos of the big cats.
- DailyBigCat.com is where you will find all of our live walkabout videos and Explore.org video clips of the cats
- BigCatCams.com is where you will find all of our Explore.org, Verkada and Nest cams of the cats you can watch 24/7!
- Tumblr https://bigcatrescue.tumblr.com/
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/BigCatRescue
- SnapChat @BigCatRescuer
Help the Cats by Sharing our YouTube Videos
Sharing our videos is helping introduce more people to Big Cat Rescue, the cats, and our mission through your own posts. When you share our educational videos and others watch it YOU are helping spread the word and helping teach others about important cat issues. The Google Ads that display on the YouTube videos are actually raising a little bit of money for the cats, so every time you share one of our videos for your friends and family to watch YOU are not only helping pass on our mission and giving your friends something either educational or fun to watch, but you are also helping raise funds for the cats. Sometimes, when people watch a “Just For Fun” video that YOU have shared they will go to our channel and watch additional videos. Again, this helps the cats and our mission. Again, here are the link to all of our YouTube channels: 1) BigCatTV.com, 2) DailyBigCat.com and 3) 360BigCats.com
Actions to Avoid
You can help by NOT doing the following and discouraging others from doing so. Click to see more about each:
– Don’t go see the new white tiger cub on display. Details on white tigers
– Don’t attend performing acts or traveling exhibits containing big cats. Why not?
– Don’t participate in offers to pet or have photos taken with a cub or adult big cat. Why not?
FUNDRAISE FOR BIG CAT RESCUE
Several times a week someone will call and ask us to promote their product or gig to our millions of fans, in exchange for the vendor giving us back some small percent. That is always more advantageous to them than to us, and most of the time we see no meaningful contribution to the cats. We have to post many, many fun, fluff pieces to our fans, so that on the rare occasion when we ask them to donate, or take action for the cats, they see our posts and will care enough to act. Promoting other people’s products and gigs, just detracts from the good will we are working to build up to really benefit the cats.
A lot of people ask if they can use our images or logo to promote their products or gigs to their own fans, and we will do that on limited occasions, with donors who have already proven themselves to us, or with those who have audiences that are far larger than our own. It is a case by case basis, and if you think you’ve got some amazing cred and want to help the big cats, you can email Brittany.Mira@BigCatRescue.org with all of the details that might make us want to take a chance on you doing what you promise. Because there is so much opportunity for fraud, and so many people will be contacting me and asking if you really do have permission, it is a huge hassle for us, so there are very limited exceptions.
True Fundraising The Matters
Some people really do want to raise funds for the cats and are not looking to benefit themselves in the process. We make that easy for you with Facebook Fundraisers. You create your own fundraiser, promote it to your own fan base and the money goes directly to Big Cat Rescue. That helps the cats the most. Thanks from all of us at Big Cat Rescue if this is the option you choose.
If you are doing a fundraiser for the cats through Facebook Fundraisers and would like photos of the cats to use on those fundraisers please contact lawanna.mitchell@bigcatrescue.org and let her know what you are doing.
See how easy it is to setup a Facebook Fundraiser. Here is a link to a page with step by step instructions and screenshots of each step. It’s really easy and quick to set up. http://bigcatrescue.org/facebook-fundraiser/
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