OK, where to begin? On one hand, I'm usually a little cautious about breeder/shelters raising money myself. Gotta say, too, that something in the initial posts made me think that the fundraiser was for all of the Pennsylvania shelters that got slammed, not just any one. I may not have read carefully enough and that could have been my fault. In general, something about the ferret community reminds me of churches in the rich get richer/poor get poorer kind of way, even though that's kind of a weird metaphor. You know, there are the big guys who are already doing fine who do amazing fundraising with everybody flocking to them and donating for stuff like a new steeple or fancy choir robes, mission trips to Bermuda and the like. And the little guys with a few old ladies and taped together hymn books and condemned buildings who couldn't raise a buck to save their lives. People act suspicious. It's a sad (very sad) fact human nature that folks go for the flashy stuff, the winners. I don't mean to carry the analogy too far--I know that all shelters are overworked and that they all need whatever they can get, and I don't want anyone to go under. I'll help any fundraising effort that I can. I just have a real fondness for the little guys. They're the backbone of the rescue and shelter business and they get passed by so much. They fold so much, especially lately. That's what's so great about SOS and CMF. There's no specific message I'm trying to hammer through here, really. Just musing. It's also a shame that shelters need all those "click on this link to shop and we get ten percent" links. I wonder; would people rather do that, and buy something they really don't need or especially want just so the shelter will get a little? Just take half of the money you were going to spend and GIVE it to the shelter straight up. You save more, they get more, everybody wins. What's so hard about that? [RN] [Posted in FML issue 5212]