[Dailydrool] Reminder from the Moderators regarding fundraising

[Susan Green]

The Moderators find themselves in a difficult situation. We are all very supportive of fundraising for rescue organizations and try to cooperate in any way we can. We also feel an obligation to try to provide a safe community and protect the Droolers from possible scamming. Subscription to the Daily Drool Digest is open to the public. There is no screening process. Therefore, there is always the possibility that someone could post that they are having a fundraiser of some sort, whether it is selling goods directly to buyers or donating a portion of their profits, to a rescue organization. We have no way of monitoring these activities, of assuring the buyers get what they are paying for, or that the monies are actually going to a legitimate rescue organization. We also see posts from people who solicit donations or conduct fundraising to pay for their own vet bills. It seems that we are getting more and more of these posts and that is concerning, especially when the requests come from new Droolers or those who have never posted before. We have, and will continue, to allow an initial announcement and a final reminder for special circumstance fundraisers, set up through separate websites, that Droolers post for fellow Droolers who have extraordinary events or needs related to their bassets. We will continue to reject posts from individuals soliciting funds for their own use and needs.  We recently have rejected several posts from persons who have said they will donate a percentage (from 10% and up) to a rescue organization from sales from their commercial business. We are aware that this is a gray area in the Drool Rules (which prohibits commercial postings) and we don’t want the Daily Drool Digest to decline into a fundraising and Craig’s List type of format that focuses only on fundraising efforts. 

After much discussion, the Moderators have decided to let these posts go through and simply say LET THE BUYER OR DONATOR BEWARE. We have no control over merchandise delivery, actual donations made to rescues, or accuracy of information provided in these posts. The posts should be limited to a single announcement and a reminder announcement just before the end of the fundraising effort. If complaints are made to us and/or we discover that the sales report/donation report and donation has not been made to the rescue designated, the person posting the fundraiser will be De-Drooled. We continue to encourage Droolers to post items for auction on Hounds Bay with beneficiary of the auction specified, whether rescue or personal. Initial and final announcements of items posted on Hounds Bay are most welcome. Hounds Bay is located on the Daily Drool website which is owned and operated by Nancy Gallagher. Nancy sets the rules for the website and Hounds Bay. 

Drool on! -- The Moderators
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