This is Georgia, and I want to thank everyone who jumped up and spoke on
our behalf, we really all appreciate receiving so many kind words and
offers of testimony.
 
The question of 'overhead' keeps coming up, so I'm going to take this
opportunity to express my version of how things are.  Not that my 'facts'
are different than Ela's or Judith's, it is only that I express myself
with my own little 'off the wall' vocabulary.
 
We paid the fee to become a 501c-3 corporation out of SOS funds.  We pay
the monthly checking account fee out of SOS funds.  We receive enough
money from TFS, which sells our coloring book for us, that both the items
mentioned were/are covered out of this income.  This means that none of
the donations from individual people are used to SOS operating expenses.
 
When one of us mails something, be it a package or an envelope, whoever
does the mailing absorbs the cost.  It's not like we are running a van
full of packages to the post office daily.  Judith has always said we
could be reimbursed for mailing expenses, and we have always declined.
It's our way of helping.
 
Before we became a 501c-3 corporation, anything we sold we encourged the
purchaser to make their check payable to a shelter on our list or that
shelter's vet.  We would then mail the check to the shelter, and they
would take it to their vet.  We didn't cash the checks and turn around an
write another one.  Until we became a 501c-3 corporation we didn't have a
checking account, if someone wanted to not select a shelter, they had to
make their check out to Judith.  We would still be very happy to receive
a check payable to a shelter or a vet, we don't 'require' that checks be
payable to SOS.
 
I think one of the critical facts here is we are not a 'fund raising
organization'.  We are 3 women who do the best we can to help shelters
who care for the homeless ferrets.
 
As for the NJ Xmas Rescue, it was requested by Anne that all donations
of money go through SOS.  Anne was up to her eyebrows in ferrets needing
baths, trims, vet attention, and food.  She didn't have time to open
envelopes and prepare deposits.  We were only doing what had been asked
of us, to handle the financial details.  The response to the NJ Rescue
was wonderful, and we received adequate funds to cover all the surgeries
needed.
 
When we have enough money to help the shelters, we do the best we can
and it is never enough to go around.  We check the last shelter list,
we contact the shelters with large numbers of ferrets shown and high vet
bills to see if their situation has changed.  Then we take the new stats
and try to work out an equitable distribution.  We always feel woeful
that we couldn't pay the vet bill for every shelter on the list.
 
Please, if anyone has a specific question you'd like answered, ask one of
us.  Or ask it on the list.  Well, don't ask Judith, she's on crutches
and can barely move, using the computer is agony for her!  And she's not
supposed to go near it!
 
I think I'm done now.
 
Georgia
[Posted in FML issue 3483]