>I am that shelter.  I have a MC for the shelter.  Just because I have a
>credit card, doesn't mean I don't use it responsibly - I do have a board,
>as well as other directors to answer to.  I find it somewhat insulting
>that because I have a credit card in the shelter's name I am painted
>running around willy-nilly charging things.  The credit card balance is
>paid off each month (or as close as possible) that a charge is incurred.
 
I'm sure that lots of shelters use credit cards, and I certainly never
had the opinion that he was mentioning any shelter in particular
(especially since there weren't any named in the discussion and because
I would have keyed in on your name since I know you)-- just that he was
giving some good advice in general for anywhere that people might be
inclined to get themselves into the headaches which debt can cause.  I
don't think that it at all meant to include people or places where the
cards are used wisely because obviously it doesn't apply there.  It may
apply elsewhere, though, and perhaps his word to the wise may help
someone else to whom it does apply avoid a terrible result.
 
Simple fact of the matter is that not all topics addressed apply to all
readers.  Even if they have some things in common that doesn't mean that
they have BEHAVIORS in common.  Many people with charge cards avoid debt
and pay them off rapidly -- even every month which is the best thing.
Similarly, many members of the FML give to help others so they should
not think that topics addressed to those who don't give are addressed to
them.
 
There is no reason to feel guilty about what doesn't apply or to take
things which don't apply personally, though I know what it is like since
I have some guilt now that we are in a situation where we can't do as
much as we used to do in money or in time.  I shouldn't, and I try to
remind myself that i shouldn't by remembering what we have done so far
and what we still can manage to do -- sometimes being so blunt about it
because I am hitting myself over the head with it to avoid misplaced
guilt -- but I do feel that way, anyway, and as a result I also do worry
about folks who haven't done things, yet, beginning to step in and pick
up whatever slack we left (and feel guilty about) through unavoidable
changes in circumstances.  I think that is an emotional response we all
understand, and I expect that we have all felt it at some time about
anything that we care about deeply.  The "funny" thing, of course, is
that the folks most likely to feel some guilt and to want to do more
usually are the folks who already are helping others, because those who
aren't helping may have taught themselves to avoid sharing burdens or
helping...
 
Anyway, I think that posts warning about the dangers of debt apply to
those who are at risk of having more debt than they can manage -- not to
those who are careful about debt, just as posts about the the importance
of giving apply to those who are not giving -- not to those who are
donating time or money.  I also suspect that if more of those who aren't
giving suddenly began to donate time or money, that we'd see far fewer
worried messages from shelters that are in danger of closing or having
trouble covering essential costs.
 
>The shelter is a business.  A non profit charity for ferrets, but it
>is still a business and that's how I approach the money aspect of it.
>I can't help the ferrets if I can't run my 'business' effectively...
 
>Ferret Haven "By-the-Sea" is not just about me - its about the 4 other
>volunteers that make up the board and directorship - and anyone who
>supports us through adoption, volunteering, donation or purchasing
>merchandise that we offer for sale.  The goal that we strive for each
>year is for the shelter to be self-supporting - so that whether or not I
>am employed (as was implied above) will not affect the survival or
>well-being of the shelter.
 
Lisa, I greatly liked your explanations about the budgeting and planning.
It was a learning opportunity.  I don't think that I have seen ones in
any detail on the list before, or had to skim past such things, or just
forgot them.  It sounds like there is a very careful approach used there
to avoid problems and that it works well to make the shelter work the
best for everyone.  In case anyone thinks that this works against special
emergencies, I can recall Lisa asking for info and sharing info on
exactly such situations here and elsewhere, so I think that I can safely
suspect that the chances of those are taken into account there, too.  I
have to wonder if further detailed sharing of such management information
may help other shelters avoid or reduce some problems and hope that
multiple shelters write about what has worked for them when (*IF*) the
people have the time to give to help others.  (I am not about to
volunteer the labor of others who are already working their tails off.)
Planning, labor, and donations are three important support structures for
a shelter.  All are important.  Maybe in these harder economic times a
wider spreading of the donation origins -- if folks who haven't donated
begin to do so given that we all have our limits -- and tips for more
effective money management can keep afloat shelters which otherwise may
flounder.
[Posted in FML issue 3990]