Lisette has let Support Our Shelters know that, although she has been on the FML for some time, she really has no idea what S.O.S. is (or what Kouri's fan club is). If Lisette has no idea, then others of you don't know about the group, either. In fact, Lisette says 8 or 9 people have written to her to ask about us. So here goes. I joined the FML five years ago and soon noticed how very much the shelters were doing for the ferrets and how little support they received. I wanted to raise money for the shelters, but I didn't think anyone would give money to a stranger. Instead, I started the FML Shelter List to give people the information they would need about the shelters in order to support them. Their lack of financial support continued to bother me, however, so I asked for volunteers to work with me to raise money. I figured that the checks and balances provided by having other people in on the decision process would make people feel more secure in trusting us. Only Ela Heyn and Georgia Wood responded, all of us strangers to each other at that point. (Getting to know each other has definitely been one of our rewards.) Since 1997 we have sold grocery store coupon books, internet and long distance service, ferret coloring books, ferret warrior bumper stickers and ferret soap. Only the last three have been a consistent success. Ela makes soaps, Georgia came up with the idea of the bumper stickers, and we all came up with the coloring books (I think... one of us must have thought of it first). Recently, along came Sharon Bearden who liked Georgia's silly stories about her ferret Kouri so much that she started a fan club and began to raise money for needy ferrets on the club web site. Near the end of last year, I let good sense win over laziness and applied for 501(c)3 status from the IRS so that donors could receive tax deductions. Support Our Shelters can accept donations to a general fund or earmarked for a specific shelter. Now that shelter does not have to be 501(c)3 for the donor to receive a tax deduction. We can also receive matching funds. And as soon as we were an official non-profit, the NJ Xmas Rescue happened. The two shelters involved found it convenient to have S.O.S. handle all the accounting while they just concentrated on the ferrets and sent us the vet bills to pay. I still put together the FML Shelter List twice a year, and its purpose is still to encourage all of you to find a shelter near you and get involved. The introductory section suggests several ways you can support shelters directly yourselves. If you have any questions, please do ask us. Judith White <[log in to unmask]> Georgia Wood <[log in to unmask]> Ela Heyn <[log in to unmask]> [Posted in FML issue 3544]