Newsletter. The animals are at the center of every decision. Your new Board of Directors has a number of immediate goals:

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1 Update to the Membership and Supporters Newsletter Quarterly Edition August 2013 Your new Board of s has a number of immediate goals: The care of the animals and the successful placement of animals in a forever home is the ultimate goal of your new Board of s which is comprised of a group of committed animal lovers who will donate their time and expertise to make the HSDR a stronger organization. Your new Board has a wide range of experience and a commitment to work together to build a stronger organization. We would like to introduce ourselves through this communication and invite you to contact any one of us to share your ideas, concerns, questions or opportunities to work together to build on the success of the HSDR. Your new Board of s has a number of immediate priorities, all of which will be centred on the care of the animals. The financial results of the past two years need to be reversed so that we are raising a sufficient amount of money to maintain the quality care that the animals receive and deserve. A new communication strategy is being developed so that our various communication avenues (website, newsletters, Facebook and Twitter) are aligned, consistent, and more frequent to keep you aware of new developments. Our state of the art building is a wonderful place for the animals until they find their forever home so one focus will be on ensuring the building is operating as efficiently as possible to reduce operating expenses and to ensure the building provides a safe and healthy place for the animals, volunteers, and staff. New Board of s On June 24 th, at the Humane Society of Durham Region s (HSDR) Annual General Meeting (AGM), a new Board of s was elected by the membership. Your new Board of s is honoured and excited to have been elected and has been hard at work over the past month. The new Board would like to acknowledge and thank the previous Board for their hard work and the success they achieved BUILD ON THE SUCCESS ACHIEVED BY THE PREVIOUS BOARD; ADDRESS IMMEDIATE ISSUES THAT WILL IMPROVE ANIMAL CARE; STRENGTHEN THE ORGANIZATION SO IT CAN PROVIDE ENHANCED ANIMAL CARE; AND ENSURE THE ANIMALS ARE AT THE CENTER OF EVERY DECISION. The animals are at the center of every decision To ensure the animals, like Seth (above), are at the center of every decision, an Animal Care Committee has been established. This committee, chaired by Cindy Bennett and Janet Bucheler, also includes a previous Shelter Manager and veterinarian who owns a clinic in Durham Region (Andrea Chapin). The current Shelter Manager and volunteer President are also ex-officio members of each Board Committee. Additional committee members with direct animal care experience are being recruited to add even greater strength to this committee. The focus of the Animal Care Committee is to ensure appropriate animal care protocols are reviewed and improved where appropriate, staff and volunteer training is implemented, connection with other community resources is established or enhanced, and support to the current Shelter Manager to ensure appropriate animal care decisions are made in the best interest of the animals in the care of the HSDR. 1

2 Introducing your new Board of s that has been elected to carry out the mission of the Humane Society of Durham Region. We are excited to be involved, we are engaged to make a difference, and we welcome feedback from the membership on how we can work collaboratively to improve the HSDR and the care of the animals. You can reach any of your Board of s at firstname.lastname@humanedurham.com (ex: jamie.hall@humanedurham.com). We are also pleased to re-introduce the recent hiring of Garth Johns as the new HSDR Manager at the beginning of June, Garth brings a wealth of management experience to his role and has already made significant contributions in a very short period of time. Staff and volunteer engagement has increased, issues identified by staff are being addressed, and Garth is working to establish important protocols and strategies to improve the operations of the HSDR. A Message from Jamie Your Volunteer Board President Humane Society of Durham Region Board of s and Manager BACK ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT) Treasurer Vice-President Shelter Manager President FRONT ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT) Secretary Len Butticci, President & CEO, BW Underwriting Services Inc., (insurance services company) Robert Lauder, Owner, Podium Media Group, (Marketing services company) Doug Edwards, CEO and founder, ES3, (industry leading TV technology company) Garth Johns, Retired Executive, Hospital & Public Sector Dave Whitaker, Owner, TPA Inc. (project management firm) and Durham Business Offices (office hoteling business) Jamie Hall, CFO and Vice-President, Human Resources, MS Society of Canada Jodi Hewett, Judicial Secretary assisting Criminal Court Judges & Justices of the Peace Cindy Bennett, retired from banking industry Janet Bucheler, retired from running own business with 15 employees I am very excited about the year ahead for the Humane Society of Durham Region (HSDR). I have volunteered with the HSDR in various ways since 2009 and joined the Board in March of this year when there was a vacancy. I have been involved in the charitable sector for more than 13 years and bring experience in the areas of finance, HR, fundraising, and IT to my position as the volunteer President. Realizing that it is a significant change when almost an entire Board of s changes at an AGM, I would like to take this opportunity to address a few important items to the HSDR and the commitment from your new Board of s. There is one thing I know for certain from my volunteer experience with the HSDR, the animals trust that someone will look after them. All they have is trust that everyone involved has their best interests at heart. As human beings, we have a responsibility to put the animals first. 2 Wendy Duncanson, Owner, Impact Bookkeeping

3 Finance An update on the HSDR s financial position. There have two media reports in the past month that have highlighted the annual operating deficit for the HSDR over the past two financial years. The media plays an important role in profiling the HSDR and engaging the community to support the animals, like Rocky (above), so we can continue Executive Advisory Team s Role An effective team that has been empowered by the membership. to care for them in the best possible way. The financial statements presented at the AGM on June 24th showed that expenditures have exceeded revenue by $57,133 in 2012 and $61,271 in Reversing these operating deficits, or getting the HSDR out of the red and into the black, is an immediate priority of your new Board of s and we are convinced that we will accomplish this. To do so, we need your help by continuing to donate to the HSDR and continuing to attend the various fundraising events that we will be very proactive in promoting. The animals need you to continue to donate and attend our fundraising events. Changes to the membership structure are in the works to make it more beneficial to become a member, which in turn, will help generate additional revenue to support the animals. To help reverse the financial position now, you can make an online donation by going to this website: and clicking the Donate Now button. There are six members of the Executive Advisory Team who were elected to your new Board of s. The Executive Advisory Team has invested a lot of time and energy to assist the previous Board of s. Six members of the Executive Advisory Team were elected to represent you on the Board of s and they are excited to continue their work and implement many of the suggestions that have been made over the past year to make the HSDR a stronger organization. In addition to the Executive Advisory members, two new members of the Board of s are very active volunteers at the HSDR. The ninth member is the President, Jamie Hall, who joined the Board in March when there was a vacancy. Collectively, the nine Board Members and HSDR Manager have dozens of animals and have shared stories that demonstrate a deep passion for animal care. All of the new Board Members are volunteering their time because they want to make a difference in the lives of the animals that are entrusted to the HSDR. We know that the animals, like Bellagio (above), are counting on us, and on you, for their current and future care. 3

4 New Management Staff and volunteers importance to the HSDR. Your new Board of s has delegated the responsibility of managing staff and volunteers to the Manager, which is where the dayto-day management of staff resides. Garth Johns has engaged the staff, and the Board has received very positive feedback following his hiring. To help staff and the Board get to know each other, we recently spent a day working at the shelter to clean up the gardens around the HSDR building and to clean up and organize the inside of the building. A gardening club is being established to help maintain the gardens year round and we welcome volunteers to help out on this front. We understand the important role that staff and volunteers have in caring for the animals and how incredibly dedicated these people are. We look forward to working with and supporting the staff and volunteers so they can continue to provide the best possible care for all of the animals, like Carla (right). Animal Adoptions Finding the animals their forever homes. As previously stated, all of your new Board of s are animal lovers with many of their own animals. Our focus will be to increase the number of adoptions, so animals like Kiwi (above) find their forever homes, and to focus every effort possible on solving each animal s needs. One example of the focus on increasing adoptions is the use of short videos to profile the personality of the animals on Facebook. If you have not seen any of these videos, please check out Facebook where a video profiling a new animal is being posted every day. 4 Volunteer Committees Introducing six committees to the HSDR. Six operating Committees of the Board have been established to expand the number of volunteers involved in stewarding of the organization and making it stronger. Each Operating Committee is chaired by a member of your new Board of s. The Board Committees include: Animal Care, Communications, Finance, IT & Facilities, and Governance resulting in a collective network of about 40 volunteers ready to make the HSDR stronger so it can enhance the level of care for the animals. Given the significant link between fundraising and providing care for the animals, the entire board has agreed to be on the Fundraising Committee in addition to their responsibilities as board members. Questions or Concerns? Your feedback is always welcome! If anyone has any specific concerns, your new Board of s welcomes feedback directly from the membership and is committed to increasing the level of communication and information sharing with the membership. The future of the HSDR is very bright! We are excited about tackling the challenges in front of us and working with your new Board of s to enhance the level of animal care. Our ability to care for the animals has never been stronger. The animals need your continued support!

5 A Revitalized Focus on Fundraising and Donations The operating deficit from the past two years needs to be eliminated. Your new Board of s will look for efficiencies that can reduce expenses without impacting animal care. The primary direction to eliminate the operating deficits will come from a revitalized focus on fundraising, donations, and memberships. While the federal and provincial governments played a significant role in the HSDR securing its current location, for which we are very grateful, the HSDR does not receive government funding for the ongoing operations of the shelter or the care of the animals. The single largest expense of the HSDR is for direct veterinary care to look after the animals. In 2012, the amount spent on veterinary care was $314,060 (compared to $313,431 in 2011). This represents 39% of all expenditures in 2012 (36% in 2011) and includes spaying and neutering animals before they are adopted and medical care to address illnesses or injuries. Donations and support of HSDR fundraising events generates the funding to provide this medical care for all animals in the care of the HSDR. Rather than establishing a fundraising committee that involves one or two Board Members, the entire Board has committed to being involved in fundraising events and we are pleased to announce the following events that are in the planning stage: Does your doggie love the bathtub? Come meet your volunteer president who will be running the Wash it for the Animals Dog Wash at the WalMart at Taunton & Brock in Whitby on August 10th. For the addicted AND casual golfer Please contact Jodi Hewett or Cindy Bennett to participate in the 10th Annual Swing it for the Animals golf tournament on September 12th. Stay tuned for details of the 1st Annual Gala Dinner Wine & Dine for the Animals that will take place in November. This is just a snapshot of what your Fundraising Committee is working on right now. As details of these events are finalized, updates will be provided via Facebook, the HSDR website, and by . Your ongoing support of these events is critical to ensure the continued high-quality care of all animals entrusted to the HSDR. Partnership with CanadaHelps.org We are excited to share the details of our recent partnership. Scan to Donate Our partnership with CanadaHelps.org provides a processing portal to allow for online donations. With CanadaHelps.org, general donations can be made online from the convenience of your home. As well, any individual can set up a personal giving page to raise funds for the HSDR online donations in lieu of wedding or birthday or anniversary presents, in memory of a loved one, or for any event or any reason that an individual would like to support the care of animals at the HSDR. Donors receive their tax receipt electronically within seconds from CanadaHelps.org and the funds are electronically transferred to the HSDR bank account. We will continue to build on the ability to make online donations to make it easier to help support the care of animals at the HSDR. CanadaHelps.org transfers 96% of every donation electronically to HSDR s bank account and takes care of the credit card fees and tax receipting for the 4% they retain. You can make an online donation by going to this website: and clicking the Donate Now button. 5

6 Membership Currently, there are approximately 500 members of the HSDR. A large number of members participate in a monthly giving program, make periodic donations, or financially support one or more fundraising events. Each membership fee provides additional financial resources to the HSDR to directly care for our animals until their forever home is found. It also provides revenue to care for future animals and to improve the HSDR s operations to better care for animals in the future. Managing Our Finances Part of our commitment to moving the HSDR from the red to the black, from operating deficit to operating surplus, is regular monitoring of our financial results, the revenue raised, and all expenditures. The Finance Committee, chaired by Treasurer Len Butticci, will meet a week in advance of every Board meeting so that the Board is well aware of our financial position at each and every meeting. The Finance Committee has already met to streamline the number of bank accounts and implement some immediate financial processing changes to make the operations more efficient. BUT, what s in it for you! Why should you continue to be a member? Stay tuned for enhancements to the membership program that will provide you with benefits for becoming and remaining a member. Your new Board of s is committed to transparency and accountability to the membership. We realize you have many options to consider in deciding on donations or membership purchases. Your new Board of s believes that you are entitled to know how your donation or membership fee has been spent to care for the animals and we believe you are entitled to regular updates on the successes of the HSDR and the major challenges that are faced on a regular basis. We also want to ensure you have an expanded opportunity to be aware of what is coming up and how you can participate in the activities of the HSDR to enhance the support of the animals. How will we do this? Communication...Communication...Communication Communication will be significantly enhanced through the work of the Communications Committee, chaired by Vice-President, Doug Edwards. This will include work on branding of the HSDR to better explain our mission and vision and what we do. If you have looked at the website lately, you will have seen some exciting changes already implemented to better profile the animals in our care, like Makita (above), that are looking to be adopted. If you haven t viewed the new website yet, please visit it today! As well, stay tuned for additional changes still to come as well as a more integrated approach to our various communication streams (Facebook, Twitter, website and newsletters). 6 Our commitment to you is as follows: Keep you informed on a more frequent basis; Communicate with you more often (as the last newsletter was sent out in February); Enhance the website so there is greater awareness of the work and the activities of the shelter (watch for the launch of the new website before the end of 2013); Engage the membership and the community in more events and activities to greater support the care of the animals entrusted to the HSDR; and Deliver value for your membership The success of the HSDR depends on you and the community at large. Collectively, we can build on the success of the HSDR to date and make the organization significantly better, raise additional funds, improve animal care, serve additional animals, increase the number of adopted animals, and enhance the lives of the animals that are adopted and the families that they will join. Future newsletters will be distributed on a quarterly basis with short 1 to 3 page updates being sent out in between as e-blast updates. We have a large number of addresses and will be reaching out to the membership for more so that future newsletters can be sent out via . If is not an option, we will still mail out newsletters but we want to use as much as possible so that donations can be spent directly on animal care instead of going to Canada Post. Please help us to achieve this goal by providing your address for future mailings to jamie.hall@humanedurham.com.

7 Future Enhancements to Animal Care A number of very exciting initiatives are already underway to enhance animal care. If you have visited the HSDR, you know there are outside areas on the east side of the HSDR for the dogs to get some exercise and fresh air. If you are dog lover, you know that some dogs need to run more than others and some dogs, like Bosco (left), can never have enough space to run. We are delighted to announce that a 55 foot by 120 foot dog run will be installed on the south side of the property that will provide a significant area of property for dogs to chase tennis balls, or Frisbees, or have an extended area for training. This project is possible because of the incredible generosity of a volunteer who wishes to remain anonymous. Your new Board of s is working with this volunteer and a local fencing company to finalize the details of this project. The goal is to have this project completed before the end of September and the media and public will be invited down to share in the excitement of opening the doors to an incredible dog run that will be used to exercise and train the dogs as well as allowing new families to interact with dogs available for adoption to get to know each other and make the transition smoother. When animals are rescued or surrendered to the HSDR, it is understandably a very stressful situation. Animals react in different ways to stressful situations and it is important to ensure the right resources and appropriate skills are engaged to understand the animals and help them adjust to their new environment and determine the best future family for each animal. To assist with this process, the Animal Care Committee has recommended increased training for staff and volunteers and the use of behavior assessments in situations where animals are demonstrating aggressive behavior or struggling to adjust to their new surroundings. If you are not a regular visitor to our Facebook page, please check in regularly as it is updated daily for new animals looking to be adopted and the important announcement of adoptions that have happened. As mentioned above, a recent initiative includes short videos that show off the personality of the animals available for adoption, which go far beyond their picture. Our website ( will be updated much more frequently and has an increased focus on the animals available for adoption so we also encourage you to check this on a regular basis. If you have visited the HSDR over the past few weeks, you may have noticed that the temperature in the building is not ideal. The animals, as well as the staff and volunteers, have been struggling with a building temperature that is higher than it should be (as was the case last summer as well) and air flow that is not optimal in all areas. Your new Board of s has identified this as a priority issue and has Kamik (above) - Sometimes an animal has a very specific situation that requires additional medical care or specialized tests. Given the most recent financial situation for the HSDR, this can be a challenge. Kamik, a beautiful black lab, presented this exact challenge for the HSDR. Kamik s story was communicated via Facebook with a link to an online giving page set up with CanadaHelps.org and an incredible community took care of the rest. In just over a week, $2,700 had been raised to ensure Kamik received the tests deemed necessary by a veterinarian and he is doing much better. We hope the next news will be to announce his adoption. pulled in contractors with the relevant expertise to address this situation as soon as possible. The IT and Facilities Committee, chaired by Dave Whitaker and including Manager Garth Johns, has spent a tremendous amount of time meeting with specialized contractors to address the issues and prioritize the repairs that are necessary to properly care for the animals. The building design is state of the art but the benefits are only achieved if it is operating effectively. Some improvements were immediately made while others required additional investigation and second opinions. We are confident that the building will be operating at full efficiency within the next few weeks. Staff and volunteers have already expressed their appreciation. In summary, it is an exciting time ahead for the HSDR. We invite you to be part of the dynamic changes that will be taking place. We know the animals hope and trust that you will continue to support them. We will build on the success of the HSDR together and we will ensure the HSDR becomes a stronger organization that enhances the care provided to animals and increases the number of adoptions so that more animals like Boots (left) can find their forever homes! HSDR needs you so that the only red ink involved with the HSDR is the red ink used in the picture to the left. Thank you for your continued support from your Volunteer Board of s, Jamie, Doug, Len, Jodi, Cindy, Dave, Janet, Robert and Wendy 7

8 The Humane Society of Durham Region Phone: Website: Wentworth Street Whitby, ON L1N 0H9 Charitable registration #: RR0001