I’m not normally one to participate in such shameless self promotion, but I’m willing to do it for a good cause. My birthday is April 6 and I want you to help me celebrate!

As an ASPCA Ambassador, the ASPCA helped me set up a fundraising page for my upcoming birthday. In lieu of birthday presents, I’d like my friends and family to donate to the ASPCA, and help me reach my birthday fundraising goal of $250.  

Click here to view my fundraising page and make a donation.

Times are tough for our four legged friends as well as the non-profit organizations dedicated to finding homes for an increasing number of homeless pets. Donations are shrinking and populations are rising.  A study of current giving trends conducted by Dogpile.com found that Americans who typically give to charities are cutting back on their donations by nearly half from last year, and they expect that animal charities will suffer among the most compared to other organizations and civic causes. The situation is compounded by the fact that nearly one in five Americans has had to give up a pet – or know someone who has – due to financial hardship.

Additional information from the Dogpile.com Study:

• Animal welfare organizations appear second on a list of charities that will suffer the most this year. They fall just two percent below The Arts, Culture and Humanities.
• Four in five Americans studied are concerned about animal welfare and 62 percent claim they’re dedicated to animal welfare causes, but they can’t afford to give to animal welfare charities.
• Eighty percent of people surveyed agreed that if they knew there was a way to donate money to charity through their actions – instead of actually spending their own money – they would do it. And, 91 percent said they would give more money to organizations and civic causes if they were in a better place financially.

Now more than ever, organizations like the ASPCA are in need of our help and are getting creative to bring in funding.  Do you have something to sell or donate? If you want to support a worthy cause, forget ebay and craigslist.  The ASPCA has set up a Facebook application for buying and selling  items with proceeds to benefit the ASPCA. 

If your heart is in the right place, but you can’t afford to make monetary donations, buy or sell something at the ASPCA Marketplace. In the meantime, spread the word! Post a link to the marketplace on your Facebook profile and encourage your friends and family to do the same.