Crated dog
They melt a heart, love unconditionally, stand by their owners and yet animals often end up alone, abused and unwanted. Animal shelters are a way to give back to those able of giving so much to their human companions. However, starting a shelter is challenging and the first major challenge, apart from raising money, is finding a site where the local government and immediate neighbors will welcome the shelter.
Instructions
Organizing and Locating a Shelter
1. Decide if your shelter will be an animal-rescue shelter, a no-kill shelter, a taxpayer-funded rescue center or a privately funded shelter. The differences can be vast as a public shelter is funded by the taxpayer and works in conjunction with the state. As such, it's relatively easy to acquire property.
A rescue shelter, which takes in all animals, often has to put animals to sleep to make room for new ones. These shelters are not limited to any specific types of animals and will need staff who can handle many types of animals and are experienced with more than common domestic pets.
Private rescue centers and privately funded shelters all can be more exclusive and find it easier to get property since they rarely deal with livestock and larger animals.
2. Set up your company. You will need to be a registered company or a registered charity; in the U.S. this means you will probably become a 501(3)c, which is a non-profit organization, even if you have a cute name like "Little Critters Rescue." This designation makes you eligible to register property as belonging to a tax-exempt company or charity.
3. Get a zoning map. Go to your local clerk of courts and ask get a map that shows locations suitable for housing of a kennel or livestock. Identify areas that are most appropriate to your mission. An enclosed shelter will usually, for zoning purposes, qualify for more locations than a shelter that accepts livestock and houses them outdoors.
4. Engage a real estate broker. Someone who knows these zoning restrictions can also often help in the process and can assure that later problems are avoided by ensuring the land is suitable for the purpose of rescuing animals. It's probable that you will have to pay a broker a percentage of the purchase price when you close on your property, so make her earn her fee.
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