Animal lovers are passionate about saving dogs, cats, and other pets. Now, one business is helping animal-welfare organizations worldwide create product wish lists and fundraising campaigns.
CUDDLY, a mission-driven fundraising platform, works with over 2,100 different animal rescues helping crowdsource financial and product donations from their 250,000-person donor base to help the rescues take care of, and, in many cases, save the lives of animals.
“Unfortunately, so many of the pets on our site are actually victims of abuse and neglect,” says Bridget Bowhay, CUDDLY’s director of content and social media, noting animals often have
physical injuries like broken legs, emaciation, and mange. Other animals have cancer, dental problems, heartworm, and more.
People can connect daily with CUDDLY on social media, where they see the animals and learn about the need. Donors can contribute to a specific animal or they can sign up through a monthly donor program called CUDDLY Club, where the organization can distribute the funds as needed.
Making a difference
“We have a lot of animal rescues who have actually been able to increase the number of animals they take in and, more than that, really expand their efforts to make facilities for themselves,” she says.
That’s exactly what happened to John Flores, founder of iPittytheBull, a pitbull rescue in Southern California. He’s worked with CUDDLY for the past three years, crediting them with raising over $30,000 to help with 30 dogs. For example, funds paid for one dog to have a softball-sized tumor removed; raised the money for him to build a smaller rescue facility; and paid for an isolation room for puppies who are sick or nursing.
Flores is grateful for CUDDLY, saying the group can fundraise for his charity and others more than they can do themselves.
Over the past six years, CUDDLY has crowdsourced $20 million to help improve the lives of animals. They’re looking forward to helping more animals survive and thrive.
Says Bowhay: “We’re like a hub for all of these wonderful animal rescues who are spending every day sacrificing so much out of their own lives so that they can make the world a little bit better.”
