When London-area animals are in distress, the Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre helps them recover, regain their health, and eventually soar, skip, or swim back into their natural habitat. Like most not-for-profits, it’s a costly endeavour.
This winter, thanks in small part to students in Ivey’s Social Enterprise elective, Salthaven founder and director Brian Salt and his team were able to launch a new fundraising initiative and achieve record donations.
As the organization grappled with ways to secure the funding needed to treat the thousands of animals in need, the HBA Social Entreprise Class examined Salthaven as a “live” case looking for ways to help the organization raise awareness and secure more funding. Salt joined the class to share his story and hear students’ thoughts and ideas.
To make the case even more memorable, he did not come alone.
“I remember the Salthaven discussion because Brian brought in some of the 'tenants' of Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation including a beautiful falcon,” said Social Enterprise student Cynthia Liao.
Amid the discussion, led by Professor Rob Mitchell, a student suggested that offering a tangible, ‘sponsor-an-animal’ campaign might attract donations, which hit a chord with Salt.
By Christmas, the Salthaven Critter Care Packages for owls, deer, bats, and eagles were available online as a unique, sustainable, and fun gift idea.
Salt expected a two or three per cent response rate when they launched, but was ecstatic when Salthaven netted almost $40,000 in donations over the holiday season.
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With the Critter Care program underway, expansion and education projects are next on the horizon for Salthaven. And Salt is looking forward to bringing these topics to the next group of Social Enterprise students.
“These kids today, because of the internet, live on a more global plane than we do,” he said. “They’re thinking about it because they’re already living it.”
As for students, having the opportunity to use the hard and soft skills they’ve gained in the classroom and apply them to help real people is, as Liao put it, “inspirational.”
“It was clear that the entire class wanted to help him succeed,” she said.
“I was thrilled to see the impact of the idea that our class had recommended to Salthaven,” Classmate Alysha Li added. “It feels great to know that the tools that we are learning in class can be applied to challenges faced by businesses every day.”
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