Meet the Dog and Cat Homes using supporter lotteries to offset rising costs

Mobile Lotteries were launched by GiveCircle in 2022. As the name suggests, these are fundraising lotteries which supporters can enter using just their mobile phones. After launching with Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter, GiveCircle is now partnering with 20 animal rescue charities across the country.

We caught up with Chris Bray from Newcastle Dog & Cat Shelter, Gillian MacAuley from Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, Fi Harrison from Birmingham Dogs Home and Cheryl George from Hope Rescue to learn what challenges the Homes have been facing and how Mobile Lotteries are helping them.

We’re looking forward to carrying on the conversation at the ADCH Conference. You can visit the GiveCircle stand or catch up with some of our partner charities there!

What challenges has your Home been facing over the past couple of years?

Chris Bray: “Like many other dog and cat homes, here at Newcastle Dog & Cat Shelter we have been feeling the pinch of the cost of living crisis. In particular, we have seen energy bills, vet treatments and staffing costs rise due to high inflation. These are all completely unavoidable costs as they are all essential for us to be able to provide care for animals from their first day up until they leave the shelter into their forever homes.”

Fi Harrison: “As well as our own costs rising, we have found that the general public are also struggling. This has resulted in record numbers of dogs arriving with us here at Birmingham Dogs Home, whereas the number of adoption enquiries has dropped as people tighten their belts and have concerns around the costs of dog ownership. This has meant that dogs need our care for longer and this demand for our services pushes our costs up even further.”

Why did you choose to start a Mobile Lottery?

Gillian MacAulay: “After a challenging few years and post-pandemic drop in fundraising income, we needed to identify new ways of generating income for the Home. Lotteries appeal to a wide range of people and help to attract a new audience that may not have previously supported Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home.”

Cheryl George: “At Hope Rescue, we’re a small team, so we liked that GiveCircle were able to run social media ads on our behalf to encourage supporters to join our lottery. This meant that we could focus on our work providing care to dogs who need us.”

Chris Bray: “A key consideration for us was that we were able to start and grow a Mobile Lottery without having to put funds in. GiveCircle covered all of the upfront costs, meaning that there was no risk to us.”

How has your Mobile Lottery performed so far?

Chris Bray – “We now have 3,000 weekly players of our lottery. Over the course of a year, these players are worth almost £160,000 of reliable, recurring income to us. This is really helping us to offset rising costs and continue to offer care to animals that need us.”

Gillian MacAulay – “We’re absolutely delighted with the support received from everyone so far. We launched almost a year ago now and in 2023 alone, recruited over 1,500 players raising a whopping £73,800. We are excited to grow the lottery programme even further this year and raise vital income for the dogs, cats and people who need us.”

Cheryl George – “We already had a Direct Debit based lottery, but within a couple of months of launch we had more players on our Mobile Lottery. We now have 1,200 weekly players, moving forwards these players will generate over £63,500 for our rescue centre each year!”

Fi Harrison – “We’re the newest Mobile Lottery here, having launched at the start of 2024. So far, we have attracted over 600 weekly players in just a few months. This is already worth over £30,000 of income every year and we’re confident that these figures will continue to grow like they have for the others.”

If you think that Mobile Lotteries could help with challenges you’re currently facing, GiveCircle will be exhibiting at the ADCH Conference. Come along and say hello if you will be there!