Dave Crandall Portfolio

MSPCA Walk for Animals

The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) is a nonprofit organization which protects animals, relieves their suffering, advances their health and welfare, prevents cruelty, and works for a just and compassionate society. The 2002 Walk for Animals hosted by the MSPCA raised money for area shelters. I was contacted to develop a business plan for the walk and grow the revenue from the previous year. The event proved to be a great success. With a stagnant economy decreased consumer spending, the walk managed to generate a substantial amount of revenue for the MSPCA. After expenses the walk revenues showed a 170% growth.

Several factors contributed to this success. Below are some of my major contributions for to this years walk:

I introduced a new form of revenue for the walk through registration fees. A preregistration fee of $20 and a event day registration fee of $25 allowed the MSPCA to identify the serious participants in the walk. Overall walkers saw little problem with the registration fees and the shelter was able to capitalize on money for the walk from every person.

Major corporate sponsorships were hard to come by in the current economy. Because of this I worked individually with numerous companies to work out barter relationships for walk supplies and general shelter supplies.

I also developed and hosted a website specifically for the walk. This allowed users to find needed information at all times. This website became a part of the walk and online registration processes allowed users to donate directly to the MSPCA. I also optimized the site for search engines. Google.com, Yahoo.com and Lycos.com show the site as the number one result for "Walk for Animals". "MSPCA walk" brings the site to number one on Google and Yahoo.com and to number three on Lycos.com. These optimizations allowed for the walk to receive more exposure in an internet focused environment.