There's no doubt 2020 gave us a lot to learn between setting our shelters up on zoom, conducting virtual adoptions, and wildly fluctuating intake numbers....to name a few. We're so excited to be attending this year's HSUS Expo to learn about the innovation, creativity and collaboration in our industry that resulted from changed circumstances. Here are the 5 sessions we'll be attending when we're not hanging out at our booth:
Good marketing - be it active social media, donor engagement and events, or visibility on adoption websites - is the most important business activity in driving positive outcomes. There's no better expert on digital communications and shelter pet marketing than Caitlin Quinn, COO of Heartsspeak, so we're going to be there.
Did you know that the percentage of US households that have pets grew 4% in 2020? While this huge increase in demand for pets is fueling growth in the large pet care industry, shelters have been seeing decreasing populations (yes!). We're coming up on an era in which we'll have to reimagine the role of the physical shelter, including how and where people can humanely acquire their pets. We're excited to see the data that will be shared by Petsmart Charities because these are uncharted waters. We'll then head right over to.....
In this facilitated conversation, we're hoping to learn about more specific regional trends in pet adoption (ie: where the most help is needed) and the ways animal shelter programs are already responding.
It's no secret that animal shelters are complex organizations with A LOT going on. We have a lot of respect for speaker Greg Lucas who has pioneered the easiest-to-use animal management system in the industry - Shelterluv - by keeping the UX simple, which has enabled Shelterluv to be nimble and adaptable in a volatile year. As such, we're excited to hear about the future of measuring impact on animals in our community outside of the shelter.
This is the most important session at the HSUS conference. 40% of people in the US identify as non-white, and the US is diversifying faster than ever. We cannot fulfill our mission to help families and their pets without doing the hard work of tearing down and rebuilding our organizations and processes to be more inclusive, better reflections of the communities we serve.
Don't have your tickets to Animal Care Expo 2021 (online) yet? You can get them here ($79 for advance rate, and group discounts are available)