Hey there, animal lover! Thank you for wanting to help homeless pets in your community. The SPCA of Northern Nevada and other animal rescue and shelter organizations welcome all kinds of support, including donations, volunteering, and spreading awareness. Below is a guide to the different ways you can help pets in northern Nevada or wherever you live.
Donate
There are many ways to give to animal welfare organizations in addition to sending a check. Below are several different ways you can donate to make an impact on the lives of homeless pets.
Your vintage jeans, old picture frames, and unused china set can help a pet in need! Many organizations rely on revenue from a thrift store to save lives, including ours!
You can donate your previously loved items to our thrift store, located on 75 E. Moana Lane. Or you can shop with us--our thrift store accounts for 40% of our life-saving budget, so it makes a big impact!
Food, bedding, cleaning supplies and more are all an important part of caring for pets while they wait for a loving home. Check the Amazon wishlist of local animal shelters to find what supplies they need most.
When you order through our Amazon Wishlist, all items come directly to our adoption center! And we always appreciate the thoughtful messages you send with them!
You can also drop off items for our dogs and cats right here at our facility! We are always in need of food, treats, toys, gently worn blankets, towels, pet carriers, and dog and cat beds.
Monetary donations give us the flexibility to put funding where it is most needed at the moment, whether that’s medical care, our ringworm program, or paying our passionate and hard-working staff.
You can even make automatic monthly gifts with our Circle of Love program. It's like a subscription to save lives!
Donations of any size are greatly appreciated as we could not continue our life-saving work without your generosity!
If you have an old, broken-down car sitting in the garage, consider giving it to an organization. You can donate your car to us through DonateCarUSA.com. They will come pick up your car and all proceeds go toward helping pets.
Business or Corporations: Become a Sponsor!
Businesses can partner with our organization to make an even greater impact in our community. Not only can you contribute to us financially, but we welcome collaboration in the form of events, social campaigns, volunteering and more.
Legacy Gifts
Legacy planning, often done through a will or formal designation, is an important life step and makes a profound impact on a cause that’s close to your heart. Learn more about legacy giving to the SPCA of Northern Nevada by clicking below.
Volunteer
Volunteering is a rewarding way to give your time to the animal welfare organizations helping pets in your community. There are multiple opportunities for volunteering within almost every organization, including ours!
Fosters take in underage animals, moms and babies, and pets with medical or behavioral needs until they are ready to be adopted! Fostering is a rewarding experience, and can take much less time and space than you might expect. If you would like to open your home to pets in need, fostering is for you!
Volunteers keep homeless pets happy and healthy by giving them much-needed cuddle time and exercise while they wait for a loving home. With the SPCA-NN you can even take the dogs out for day trips, which gives them the chance to leave their kennel and explore Downtown Reno or Lake Tahoe for a day. Even a small amount of time spent out and about can reduce the stress levels of dogs in the adoption center. Once you’re done hanging with the dogs and cats, you can help the team out with dishes, sweeping, and more!
Fundraising events help animal welfare organizations increase awareness and support for their work. We have many fundraising events throughout the year that help us fund our lifesaving programs. Each event relies on volunteer help to keep things running smoothly. It’s a fun way to engage with your community while helping homeless pets!
Our organization and our partners have a number of programs aimed to help people and their pets, and we need help spreading the word. Whether it’s pinning up informational flyers at local businesses or posting them on social media, you can help us get the word out as a volunteer or by following and sharing our posts on social media. Together, we can make sure everyone in our community has access to the assistance they need.
Independent Events
Help homeless pets in your community and plan an event of your own at your school, place of work, neighborhood, or other group. You can coordinate a donation drive, fundraiser, and more to benefit local animal rescues and shelters! Contact Nayla at nayla@spcanevada.org if you are planning your own event in northern Nevada!
Academic Requirement
You can complete academic requirements or service learning projects for your school, college credit, service learning class, club and/or organization, with SPCA-NN in a variety of different ways. Complete a volunteer registration form and reach out to our volunteer manager directly for more information about available opportunities!
Support our Partners
Many businesses partner with and donate to animal welfare organizations. Some of our sponsors include Wild River Grille, H&R Block in Lemmon Valley, Lithia Reno Subaru, and Whitney Peak Hotel and more. By supporting those businesses you also support our mission. Find a full list of our sponsors here.
Shop our Merch
Represent your love for animals while also supporting rescues and shelters! Many animal welfare organizations like ours sell branded items to raise funds for their work. Our merch line includes cozy pullover and zip-up hoodies, stylish beanies, fun face masks, and more! You can purchase merch at our thrift store, and view items and pricing here.
Spread Awareness
Educate:
Understand the importance of vaccines, spaying and neutering, ways to prevent animal abuse, and what to do if you ever lose or find a pet. Once your knowledge is strong, you can help by educating others! Look for opportunities to spread awareness about how we can help our furry friends thrive. You can read more about these topics in the Humane Education section of our website. https://spcanevada.org/services/humane-education/
Social Media:
Spread awareness of animal-related issues and causes through your social media channels. The best way to start is by following your local SPCA or Humane Society, and spreading the word about any events, information, or adoptable pets they share.
Don’t forget to follow us!
Written by Ana Hurt