How to raise money for a service dog

Tell your story

Difficult as it may be, it is important to tell your story. This allows your reader to feel connected and take interest. When writing your story, be yourself. Write in a way that you communicate on a daily basis, because your initial donors will most likely be family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and your community. They already know you and how you communicate. So be yourself.

You can also convey your story with compelling pictures and video. There will be opportunity for you to use all three during your fundraising campaign, so take advantage of all mediums available. If at all possible, get a picture of the service dog that will be trained. People love to share pictures of dogs.

Set a goal and share it

Service dogs do not come without costs. Because of their specialized training, initial costs of obtaining a service dog can often cost thousands of dollars, not including the ongoing cost of care including vet bills. This can become a financial strain.

Be specific and upfront about the figure you need to raise for your service dog, and feel free to share your goal. People who contribute like to keep track of your campaign and how close you are to meeting or exceeding your goal.

Working out your figure: training costs vary based on each individual client's actual needs and condition, and the cost will vary upon service desired, location and how soon services are required. Call 1-855-885-6262 to talk through what your program would involve, or read the service dog FAQs.

Social networking

Facebook and Twitter are powerful tools. Canines 4 Hope suggests, at the very least, setting up a Facebook account for your service dog fundraiser. Have fun with it, tell your story, post frequently, giving updates on your campaign. You can even set up events via your Facebook page.

Give updates about your efforts to raise the funds for a service dog and how you expect your dog to help you. Post pictures of yourself with your service dog on your blog and on Facebook. Pictures allow people to put a face to the story. Again, if you do not have pictures, contact your service dog trainer and request a few pictures.

Set up a service dog fundraiser campaign online

Now that you have your story in writing, your goal set and your social media page for your service dog set up, it is time to make it easy for people to donate to your service dog fundraiser. In a few simple steps, you can create a service dog fundraising campaign online that allows people and groups to make a direct donation to your service dog fundraiser.

There are plenty of crowdfunding sites online. We might suggest:

• YouCaring.com
• GoFundMe.com
• FundRazr.com

This is where you tell your story. Upload your pictures and hook up the social media pages that you just set up. These sites make this easy: follow their step by step instructions and you will be set up to raise funds in just a few short minutes.

Be sure to update your progress often on the fundraising site. People like to see how their donations are benefiting your cause. Let them know how your campaign is going, and how specifically their funds are helping you reach your goal.