I've had a busy time since we last spoke. I spent a very productive evening last week at a meeting for all charities who have runners in the London Marathon, and learning about all the new plans for next year, as well as having a bit of a gossip with some other charity workers. Apparently the highest amount raised by a single runner last year was over £29,000! A phenomenally good effort, but if you think you can better it, feel free to sign up for a Gold Bond place on our team. We'd love to have you.
We are all winding down now after the excitement of Horn stuffing days. We stamp, stuff and label every envelope by hand to make sure you lot all get a copy of the magazine, so hopefully you feel it is worth all the effort. Henry and I then have great fun pushing trolleys full of postal sacks through Borough market to the post office, making ourselves really popular with the post office workers there. Despite our best efforts though, some copies do come back with the wrong address on. If you do move house, please remember to let us know. After all, you wouldn't want to miss out, would you?
Hx
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Friday, 19 October 2007
Post#88: Our new magazine is here
Hello all,
Henry here. The magazine has been printed, and despite some stationery-related mishaps of my own device, we've sent out all the copies. So if you think you should receive it and you haven't by next week, let me know and we'll see what the problem is.
One problem may be that you're no longer a member of Save the Rhino, a benefit of which is subscription to the magazine. Since it's a brilliant issue this time, if I do say so myself, you really do want to receive a copy. Sign up as a member by going to our website and clicking on the 'Support Us' tab - you get tons of benefits, and your money goes to a great cause, and it's a mere £3 per month. Come on.
To all the current members - thanks as ever for your really important, continuing support, and I hope you like the magazine. Let me know what you like about it, or if you have any ideas for next time.
Back soon.
Henry here. The magazine has been printed, and despite some stationery-related mishaps of my own device, we've sent out all the copies. So if you think you should receive it and you haven't by next week, let me know and we'll see what the problem is.
One problem may be that you're no longer a member of Save the Rhino, a benefit of which is subscription to the magazine. Since it's a brilliant issue this time, if I do say so myself, you really do want to receive a copy. Sign up as a member by going to our website and clicking on the 'Support Us' tab - you get tons of benefits, and your money goes to a great cause, and it's a mere £3 per month. Come on.
To all the current members - thanks as ever for your really important, continuing support, and I hope you like the magazine. Let me know what you like about it, or if you have any ideas for next time.
Back soon.
Wednesday, 17 October 2007
Post #87: Stuffing the Horn
Hi, it's Cathy. Today the new issue of The Horn arrived, our lovely magazine that comes out twice a year, and it's full of great articles from the projects we support. So tomorrow is set aside for stuffing - we'll all be sitting round the table, with piles of labels, stamps and envelopes in front of us, and then Santa-like (yipes, another Christmas reference already) we'll drag sacksful off to the Post Office.
We decided we need some suitable music to accompany The Horn stuffing, and so the challenge was on to find some animal-related tunes. The playlist so far: Gorillaz, Howlin' Wolf, the Leningrad Cowboys, the best of the Eagles, Eek-a-mouse, and Youssou n'Dour's album, "The Lion". That's quite a mix...
If you want to be sure of getting your copy of The Horn, then make us a nice donation, sign up for the London Marathon, or become a member. Our website, www.savetherhino.org has all the details.
We decided we need some suitable music to accompany The Horn stuffing, and so the challenge was on to find some animal-related tunes. The playlist so far: Gorillaz, Howlin' Wolf, the Leningrad Cowboys, the best of the Eagles, Eek-a-mouse, and Youssou n'Dour's album, "The Lion". That's quite a mix...
If you want to be sure of getting your copy of The Horn, then make us a nice donation, sign up for the London Marathon, or become a member. Our website, www.savetherhino.org has all the details.
Monday, 15 October 2007
Post #86 - Christmas already?
Cathy here, a little freaked out because in our fortnightly action points meeting this morning, there were two mentions of Christmas. Blimey, I've got so much to do before the end of October, let alone 25 December, yet we're talking about it already.
Reason being that we've decided to get some sexy new merchandise - some Save the Rhino logo'd recycled fabric shopping bags - perfect for the High Street and even better for New Bond Street. Think I'll be buying a few myself, nothing like being a walking billboard for my favourite charity.
And a kind person has offered us lots of rhino greeting cards to sell and raise money for the cause. How nice!
So it's not quite tinsel round the pc time, but it's all looking a bit real.
Reason being that we've decided to get some sexy new merchandise - some Save the Rhino logo'd recycled fabric shopping bags - perfect for the High Street and even better for New Bond Street. Think I'll be buying a few myself, nothing like being a walking billboard for my favourite charity.
And a kind person has offered us lots of rhino greeting cards to sell and raise money for the cause. How nice!
So it's not quite tinsel round the pc time, but it's all looking a bit real.
Friday, 12 October 2007
Post #85: Friday 12 October - The Good Life
Phew! It's Friday. I have spent the day sorting out our finances and running to the bank, which was terribly exciting. I am contracted to spend every Monday and Friday on admin, which seems to be neverending. Who knows how Henry did it all before the internship came along, but at least now he has more time to be on the phone chatting to the Inland Revenue.
It has been a busy week, as I have been writing my first proposal for funding. We apply to various trusts and charities for funding for projects, and need to get across how important and beautiful these animals are, and why they need saving. It is my job to get funding for one of our projects in Namibia, who need money to look after their camels.
The camels are used by the Save the Rhino Trust in Namibia to patrol the rugged terrain, and track the population of black rhino they are protecting. Unfortunately, the lions in the region appear to have started to view the team as a ready supply of food, and we need to find some secure housing to make sure the camels are safe for the night. At the moment, only the trackers stand between the lion and dinner, which isn't a pleasant situation!
A lot of the projects use innovative methods like these to do their job in sometimes pretty hostile terrain. Although I may have a lot of fighting with our database in this job, at least I have a warm lion-free bed at night...
Hannah x
It has been a busy week, as I have been writing my first proposal for funding. We apply to various trusts and charities for funding for projects, and need to get across how important and beautiful these animals are, and why they need saving. It is my job to get funding for one of our projects in Namibia, who need money to look after their camels.
The camels are used by the Save the Rhino Trust in Namibia to patrol the rugged terrain, and track the population of black rhino they are protecting. Unfortunately, the lions in the region appear to have started to view the team as a ready supply of food, and we need to find some secure housing to make sure the camels are safe for the night. At the moment, only the trackers stand between the lion and dinner, which isn't a pleasant situation!
A lot of the projects use innovative methods like these to do their job in sometimes pretty hostile terrain. Although I may have a lot of fighting with our database in this job, at least I have a warm lion-free bed at night...
Hannah x
Thursday, 11 October 2007
Post #84 - Thursday 11 October - Talk to me!
Henry here. I'm back!
It's my first blog on blogger, which we're using because it's totally interactive and you, the reader, can post comments on our entries. If I'm entirely honest, my previous blogs on everything from writing our monthly ezine to Save the Rhino's current VAT situation haven't met with a fantastic response from you, the audience. Even that piece on charities reclaiming tax from a couple of months ago, which I thought was a barmstormer, resulted in very few emails to my inbox. I'd like that to change please, starting today.
As well as being here to entertain the general public with stories of working behind the scenes of a small charity, I want to speak to others in the charity sector. I don't think we share information enough, and we could make things easier by asking each other for advice. For example, I've just started claiming Gift Aid on membership payments, and it's taken me months of wrangling with HMRC to sort it out. I'm sure it doesn't have to be that hard - and I'm sure there are hundreds of us out there who have had to do the same thing from scratch.
So let's get talking, charities. And you too, non-charity people. Let's use this interactivity to start something cool.
It's my first blog on blogger, which we're using because it's totally interactive and you, the reader, can post comments on our entries. If I'm entirely honest, my previous blogs on everything from writing our monthly ezine to Save the Rhino's current VAT situation haven't met with a fantastic response from you, the audience. Even that piece on charities reclaiming tax from a couple of months ago, which I thought was a barmstormer, resulted in very few emails to my inbox. I'd like that to change please, starting today.
As well as being here to entertain the general public with stories of working behind the scenes of a small charity, I want to speak to others in the charity sector. I don't think we share information enough, and we could make things easier by asking each other for advice. For example, I've just started claiming Gift Aid on membership payments, and it's taken me months of wrangling with HMRC to sort it out. I'm sure it doesn't have to be that hard - and I'm sure there are hundreds of us out there who have had to do the same thing from scratch.
So let's get talking, charities. And you too, non-charity people. Let's use this interactivity to start something cool.
Wednesday, 10 October 2007
Post # 83: Wednesday 10 October - My first blog!!
Hi, Fiona here, the new Events Manager at Rhino HQ. I can’t believe I’ve been here 2 weeks. The time has just flown by - learning all about the projects we support, the different rhino species, how to use the databases in the office, all the previous events and most excitingly all the events we have coming up!! There’s so much going on and it’s good to be getting really stuck into it all now.
Cathy and I had lunch with Chloe Chick today, who is one of our patrons and also was the founding member of 3 Peaks 3 Weeks (Mt Kili, Mt Kenya and Mt Meru). It was so lovely to meet with her after reading all about the challenge and hearing so much about her. We talked all about the upcoming 3 Peaks 3 Weeks Film Premiere which is taking place at the Royal Geographical Society in March 2008. I’ve seen clips from the film but can’t wait to see the whole thing. It looks like it’s going to be very emotional watching the team struggling on the climbs but what a sense of achievement when they make it to the peaks! To watch it for yourself just click here. Tickets will be on sale soon so keep an eye on our website.
Fiona
Cathy and I had lunch with Chloe Chick today, who is one of our patrons and also was the founding member of 3 Peaks 3 Weeks (Mt Kili, Mt Kenya and Mt Meru). It was so lovely to meet with her after reading all about the challenge and hearing so much about her. We talked all about the upcoming 3 Peaks 3 Weeks Film Premiere which is taking place at the Royal Geographical Society in March 2008. I’ve seen clips from the film but can’t wait to see the whole thing. It looks like it’s going to be very emotional watching the team struggling on the climbs but what a sense of achievement when they make it to the peaks! To watch it for yourself just click here. Tickets will be on sale soon so keep an eye on our website.
Fiona
Tuesday, 9 October 2007
Post # 82: Tuesday 9 October - VAT evasion!
Hi, Cathy here. I should have been at a VAT and charities seminar this afternoon, hosted by Saffery Champness, the lovely people who are helping us to go VAT registered and thus reclaim lots of even lovelier money. But a meeting with a potential funder this morning threw up lots of questions that I have to find answers to, and quickly, and I'm also supposed to be writing the Annual Report for 2006-7, so that we can get it printed in time to mail out to donors etc with the next issue of our magazine, The Horn, next week. Henry is at the VAT seminar so hopefully he will come back with all the gen...
Meanwhile Petra has been inducting Hannah and Fiona in all things rhino - what the five species look like, why they're endangered, and what field projects we support to help conserve them. Hannah's now in week 6 and Fiona in 3, so about time they found out what makes us tick!
Meanwhile Petra has been inducting Hannah and Fiona in all things rhino - what the five species look like, why they're endangered, and what field projects we support to help conserve them. Hannah's now in week 6 and Fiona in 3, so about time they found out what makes us tick!
Monday, 8 October 2007
Post # 81: Monday 8 October - Trusts and Foundations galore!
Hi - a very happy Petra here.
We have finally been sent the Directory of Social Change's new books of UK Trusts and Foundations. These beauties list all grant-giving bodies in the UK, together with information about their funding preferences, contact details, lists of previous year's beneficiaries and a lot of other useful information that makes life easier if you are planning to approach a Trust for project funding.
They call it the fundraiser's bible, and I can't think of a more fitting description. I was actually a bit lost for a while after we'd given our old books to Duncan Purchase of the Zambezi Society to take with him to Zimbabwe and before the much-awaited new edition arrived.
I've already started reading volume one, trying to find funders that might warm to saving rhinos. I'm on page 24, so another 853 to go and more updates to follow, no doubt!
Petra
We have finally been sent the Directory of Social Change's new books of UK Trusts and Foundations. These beauties list all grant-giving bodies in the UK, together with information about their funding preferences, contact details, lists of previous year's beneficiaries and a lot of other useful information that makes life easier if you are planning to approach a Trust for project funding.
They call it the fundraiser's bible, and I can't think of a more fitting description. I was actually a bit lost for a while after we'd given our old books to Duncan Purchase of the Zambezi Society to take with him to Zimbabwe and before the much-awaited new edition arrived.
I've already started reading volume one, trying to find funders that might warm to saving rhinos. I'm on page 24, so another 853 to go and more updates to follow, no doubt!
Petra
Friday, 5 October 2007
Post #80 - Jennie's last day :(
Hi! Jennie writing (membership volunteer). Jennie’s last day at Save the Rhino! Booooo. New job at PETA! Yaaaaay! Whatever. I think getting paid for your work is over-rated. Ha ha. Boy will I miss the SRI office. Everyone has been so great, and it’s rare to find an office with such a friendly and lively bunch of people. And they all love rhinos! What more could you ask for? Doing volunteer work here has given me the experience I needed to get my new job with PETA, where hopefully rhinos will fit into the animals that I will be helping to save. Maybe at my new job I will be able to stop rhino-skin handbags from becoming the next big thing. You know all the movie stars and fashion icons love the leathery toughness and lovely, wrinkly greyness of the rhino-skin handbag, complete with fly zipper accessories (made from real flies!). I will definitely have to put a stop to that in advance. My favourite part of my volunteer work has been organising SRI’s picture collection (where I got to see photos of some of the rhinos and other wildlife at various SRI projects in Africa, busses stuck in the mud, giraffe’s posing for the camera, and various friends of SRI looking tipsy at fundraising events), doing various research projects on a wide variety of subjects, and personally lending a hand in bringing in new members for Save the Rhino. With an easy-to-use membership database up-to-date and running, I think my time is done here. I hope to work closely with SRI in the future, as my ultimate goal is to run conservation projects of my own. So in the future, they may see me riding past on a white rhino and waving hello. I heart Save the Rhino!
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