Alicia pointed out:
>In cases like these outright donations to 501c3 organizations are the
>safest & best way to go.
>
>Alicia Drakiotes, director
>www.ferretwise.org
 
YES, and with the recipients being 501 c3 those donations are also tax
deductible.
 
If you want to help some of the shelters which are not 501 c3 and still
have tax deductible donations you can donate to Support Our Shelters
which is 501 c3 and exists to help ferret shelters, primarily by helping
with their veterinary bills:
 
http://www.supportourshelters.org/
 
It has a long and proven track record.  In fact, it began here on the FML
and you can read about it in the May/June issue of Ferrets Magazine.
 
Another group which began here is the IFC which currently has two subsets
to help ferrets and shelters when natural disasters happen.  One is ELF
(Emergency Relief Fund) and the other is a volunteer group, FERRET
(Ferret Emergency Response and Rescue Team).  The IFC is also 501 c3 and
also has a proven track record.  Here is how to find those places:
 
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
 
http://www.ferretemergency.org/
 
Of course, there are also shelters themselves, funds at locations which
support research such as universities which are helping improve ferret
veterinary care.  One of those (which can also be read about in the
current issue of Ferrets Magazine) is the effort to create a vaccine
against ADV, Aleutian Disease Virus.  Here is info from a recent post
from Danee DeVore (April 20?  21?):
 
>For anyone who wants to help, I will again provide the information for
>making donations.  For those in the US, money you donate may be tax
>deductible - depending on how you file.  Checks should be made out to
> "The Arch Foundation".  On the notations line, write "ADV Research" or
> "ADV Fund".  Mail the checks to:
 
>            Kate Pennick, Research Tech III
>            Dept. of Pathology -- Room 148
>            UGA College of Vet Med
>            Athens, GA 30602-7388
 
I am personally curious if any shelters plan to make dark sleeping boxes
for those with a lack of space, but don't know if those could be made
and sold affordably enough for many list members, including us.  If
bedding could be hung in them then they could be tall but thin, and
for the entrances could have black cloth flaps, or black tubing, or a
combination, and would help those whose ferrets are free roam or are out
of the cage during the day and need more dark places for sleeping then.
If a black tube could provide a slide exit from the top without losing
balance of the structure then it could be a toy, too, and would maybe
have additional air circulation, but I absolutely stink for being able
to visualize structures that actually work once they are tried, so
perhaps that would not work, or maybe it would need a flat base to be
stable.
 
-- Sukie (not a vet, and not speaking for any of the below in my
private posts)
Recommended health resources to help ferrets and the people who love
them:
Ferret Health List
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
AFIP Ferret Pathology
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
Miamiferrets
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
International Ferret Congress Critical References
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 5239]