1 Sahir Moolji | Florin Lasc | Bryan Huynh | Leann Le | Mitchell Ho Proposal Prepared for t he Dallas Chamber of Commerce Presented by + 2 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................... 4 1.1. Objective of Proposal ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 4 1.2. Scope of the Problem ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 4 1.3. Petco’s Vision ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 4 2. Background ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ 5 2.1. Why South Dallas? ................................ ................................ ................................ .............. 5 2.2. Partnership with Spay Neuter Network ................................ ................................ .......... 6 2.3. Our Goals ................................ ................................ ................................ .............................. 7 3. Proposal ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 7 3.1 Outline ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 7 3.2 Drives and Events ................................ ................................ ................................ ................. 9 3.3 Education ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................. 10 3.4 Ad Campaign ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 1 1 3.5 Spay and Neuter Benefits ................................ ................................ ................................ 1 1 4. Staffing ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 1 2 4.1 Volunteers ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................ 1 2 4.2 Public Speakers ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 1 2 4.3 Campaign Ad Manager and Team ................................ ................................ ................... 1 2 5. Budget ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 1 2 5.1 Campaign Ads ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 14 5.2 Campaign Team ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. 14 5.3 Spay and Neuter Drives ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 14 5.4 Total Budget ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ 14 6. Targeted Questio n s and Answers ................................ ................................ .................... 15 7. Authorization ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 16 8. References ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ 17 3 List of Figures 1.1 Timeline of Grant Donations ................................ ................................ ............................. 5 2.1 Annual Dog Bites in Dallas ................................ ................................ ................................ 5 3.1 Save the Strays’ Timeline ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 8 3.2 Photograph of a Drive ................................ ................................ ................................ ........ 10 3.3 Spay and Neutering Benefits ................................ ................................ ........................... 11 5.1 Save the Strays’ Budget ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 1 3 4 Introduction 1.1 Objective of Proposal Our main goal is to reduce the amount of stray dogs on the street which will ultimately reduc e the amount of stray dog attacks. This proposal will explore the upsurge of the stray dog issue in South Dallas, identify the key groups that are impacted, describe how pet overpopulation plays a role in this issue, and explain our plan and how it will ben efit the vulnerable South Dallas community and dogs. 1.2 Scope of the Problem On May 2, 2016, homeless veteran Antoinette Brown was roaming the streets of South Dallas, a place she thought she would be safe. To her dismay, she was approached by a pack of vicious stray dogs with one goal in mind: to tear her apart. Witnesses described the attack as haunting. “Somebody help me,” they could hear her shriek ( “911 Calls,” 2016 ). The dogs devoured Brown’s body “as if they were ‘eating a steak,’” her family describes ( “911 Calls,” 2016 ). Days later, it was confirmed that she had passed away from the life - threatening injuries sustained. This is just one of the many reports that illustrate the need for a vigorous change within the South Dallas area. One would believe that after such a tragedy, it would be of high priority to prohibit this from happening again. Unfortunately, since Brown’s attack in 2016, there have been nine additional fatal dog attacks. The fear instilled upon the South Dallas community is ve ry alarming. The health and safety of citizens are at risk. As a result, steps must be taken in order to mitigate this issue. Our main purpose is to save not only the vulnerable dogs but also the suffering community. 1.3 Petco’s Vision We are Petco, the second leading pet specialty retailer in the United States ( “Total Revenue,” n.d. ). Our efforts to benefit the Dallas area are supported by our history of providing for the pet community worldwide. Just recently in 2017, we exceeded $200 million invested i n animal welfare efforts ( “200 million,” 2017 ). Here are some of our notable contributions to the state of Texas: 1. More than $2.5 million donated to animal welfare organizations in the Houston area following Hurricane Harvey ( “200 million,” 2017 ) 2. Multiple d onations to the Guide Dogs of Texas (GDTX) in order to help visually impaired Texans receive service dogs. 5 In light of our constant presence in the state of Texas, the Dallas Chamber of Commerce can be certain that we are committed to helping the Dallas community. An investment in the Save the Strays project will yield the return of a significant improvement in the community while showcasing that the Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to solving issues that endanger the city. Background 2.1 Why South Dallas ? According to the Dallas News, the police department in Dallas decided to perform a census to count how many dogs were walking around between the times of 6 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. They found 136 loose dogs and only one of those was in N orth Dallas. In this census, they also found that in the N orth, about 80 percent of dogs were spayed or n eutered, whereas in the S outh , there are about 15 percent of dogs that are not spay or neutered. A study found that around 8,700 loose dogs co uld have roamed S outh Dallas any day ( Hallman, 2018 ). Some are not even strays. Many owners in S outh Dallas keep their dogs on a leash for hours on end outdoors, making them want to escape and run loose. Along with Figure 1 .1 A timeline showcasing Petco’s grant donations to the GDTX Figure 2 .1 Annual dog bites in Dallas 6 the increased amount of dogs that are not neutered or spayed in Dallas, this may cause an increase of stray dogs in Dallas as they have their own puppies. It has also been established that most of the dog bite attacks have been located in poor neighborhoods and S outh Dallas has one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods ( Mervosh, 2016 ). Since 2005, Texas has led the nation in total fatal dog attacks at 58 deaths ( “U.S. Dog,” 2018 ). So, by finding this information, Save the Strays can attack the problem head on by focusing in on an area that has prominent amounts of stray, non - vaccinated dogs. It will also be beneficial working in this area where most attacks occur. 2.2 Partnership with Spay Neuter Network To maximize Save the Strays’ potential, we have chosen to partner with the Spay Neuter Network (SNN), a nonprofit that is dedicated toward solving pet overpopulation via spay/neuter services. Since their formation in 2003, they have “ sterilized more than 200,000 dogs and cats and administered more than 350,000 vaccinations” (“About Spay,” 2019). Their efforts have allowed them to outperform other organizations in North Texas with more than 25,000 animals sterilized per year (“About Spa y,” 2019). Additionally, their main focus targets the exact audience we are seeking to help: low - income pet owners (“About Spay,” 2019). Since the stray dog issue is primarily a South Dallas issue, it is important to recognize that these neighborhoods have below - average income. The SNN has made it a goal to not only provide these residents with access to little to no cost services but also to educate them on “proper pet handling” (“About Spay,” 2019). Their focus in the South Dallas community has yiel ded a program that offers free spay/neuter services to the most impoverished areas. The Southern Dallas Spay/Neuter Surge project aims to “alter more than 100,000 Southern Dallas pets at no cost between 2017 – 2019” (“About Spay,” 2019). As a result, we plan on using their strengths to complement ours. At Petco, we are prepared to use the size of our business in order to bring awareness to the spay and neuter services offered by the Spay Neuter Network via education and marketing events. T heir involvement with the South Dallas community and ability to provide them access to the low - cost services are key in our reasons for partnership. Together, we will be able to spread our goal of trying to save the stray dog issue. 7 2.3 Our Goals Save the Strays’ main goal is to decrease the amount of stray dogs in S outh Dallas by promoting spay/neuter services in order to prevent pet overpopulation . By doing so, the number of attacks in the community will also decrease. This will not only decrease the amount of stray dogs but also decrease the likelihood of more loose, non - vaccinated dogs that would continue to have puppies. Another goal that our company has is to raise more awareness on the matter. Right now, police have begun giving out citations to people if they are seen not taking care of their dog well; however, around 44 percent of these citations go unresponded (Aasen, 2018 ). Pitch : Petco’s mission is to find dogs home, spay and neuter, and spread awareness on the issue to help low - income com munities reduce the number of strays and improve public safety. Proposal 3.1 Outline Save the Strays’ main goal is to reduce the number of stray dogs in the South Dallas community – an issue that this community is all too familiar with. We will accomplish this indispensable task by raising awareness regarding the low - cost spay and neuter services offered to the community and educate the members on the importance of these procedures. Through our partnership with the Spay Neuter Network, we will e nforce our campaign that consists of marketing their affordable services, advertising and sponsoring events and drives, and educating the community on the importance of spay and neutering. These actions will enable us to raise awareness of the services and the numerous benefits they have. Specifically, we will be able to educate the community on how they will help mitigate the overpopulation of dogs which will directly benefit the stray dog issue that South Dallas is witnessing. Coupled with the help of ma ny volunteers, we at Petco envision a dedicated, committed team working on the various aspects our campaign. This section will layout and explain the specifics regarding our events and drives, educational efforts, and how we plan on advertising. We will al so highlight the effects and benefits associated with the spay and neuter services before transitioning into information regarding our staffing and budget. 8 9 3.2 Drives and Events Events will take place from April 2019 to February 2020. They will consist of clinic drives for pet alteration and wellness for free to residents in certain areas or at an affordable cost for those not eligible. We will host drives to have these procedures done as well as coordinate engagement events for residents with our volunteers and nonprofit partner. With a combination of both spay/neuter and awareness efforts , we hope that we can make a difference to alleviate the overpopulation problem of stray dogs in S outh Dallas. Figure 3 .1 A timeline of Save the Strays’ projected schedule throughout 2019 - 2020 10 3.3 Education Our staff will routinely interact with pet owners who have never heard of spay / neuter or who have misconceptions about the procedures. Many people are unaware that pet s can begin reproducing as early as four months depending on breed ( “AKC’s Guide,” n.d. ). In partnership with SNN , our efforts are focused on community outreach and edu cation on the resources available to reduce the number of roaming dogs that are susceptible to diseases such as rabies. We will concentrate in areas most in need such as Southern Dallas where SNN recently opened their first Dallas clinic. Through a strong educational initiative, we hope to reduce the number of roaming dogs, lower shelter intake, and make our city safer. Our team of coordinators and volunteers will engage in community outreach to deliver the importance of spay/neuter and provide information on free to affordable services. We will speak at schools, churches, set up information booths at community events, and develop partnership s with community organizations. At these family friendly gatherings, we will provide information to the public on iss ues that they might not be aware of , such as local laws, responsibilities of the owner, resources available, and on all aspects of responsible pet ownership. We will have fliers with important information and free promotional items, such as a collar or lea sh. Figure 3.2 Photograph of a Save the Strays drive 11 3.4 Ad Campaign We will run a Hulu and Facebook ad campaign with various forms of advertisements, such as banners and videos. We will target users by location so that our advertisements reach the people that we are trying to help and benefit. After they click on it, a pop - up will appear to enter their email so that they can sign up to a newsletter. We would like to keep track of how many people engage with them to evaluate our success. 3. 5 Spay and Neuter Benefits The surgical procedure of spaying and neutering, typically performed by a veterinarian, renders the animal incapable of reproducing. So, what are the benefits behind spaying and neutering surgeries? Well , according to the Spay Neuter Network, there are six core advantages. ¬ Public Health and Safety : These procedures will reduce the chances of dog bites and the spread of rabies, infection, or other fatal diseases from occurring. ¬ Financial : Spaying and neutering is financially cheaper than having to care for puppies. It is obvious that a one - time cost for the procedure is more cost efficient than having to worry about the expenses to care for infectious or cancerous dogs. ¬ Behavioral Issues : Altering these pets can help prevent many troublesome behavioral issues. It will decrease escapism, marking, and aggression. ¬ Economic Development : Unfortunately, areas with higher rates of unaltered pets tend to have a larger number of loose, roaming animals , ultimately discourag ing business development and economic growth. ¬ Health : Spaying or neutering your pet helps prevent infections and cancer. Overall, spaying and neutering c an prevent the pet overpopulation and euthanasia problem s in South Dallas from further developing . It will also help your pet live a happier, healthier, and longer life Figure 3.3 Benefits associated with spay and neutering 12 Staffing As for our staffing, we will be mainly working with volunteers to help us achieve our goal. We are looking to work with two veterinarian volunteers who will be in charge of performing the procedures. On top of this, we would like to find around 60 volunteers to help run and set up at the volunteer drives we are going to host. 4 .1 Volunteers We will be relying heavily on animal - loving volunteers to assist with all aspects of our campaign . Our dedicated volunteers will work once a week to ensure we have all our needs met. They will work on assisting in operations at clinics, drives , and events. We will be using a volunteer website where they can apply for certain days and tasks. 4 .2 Public Speakers At these events, we would like to join forces with the volunteer public speakers at Petco and the nonprofit organization. Their main purpose would be to help educate t he public on the procedure and benefits associated with spaying and neutering. They will work with community organizations to develop relationship s with them and the people involved. 4 .3 Campaign A d Manager and Team W e will need to hire a campaign ad manager and fund a campaign team of four workers. Their role is to oversee our campaign and make everything run smoothly. They will manage our ad campaign parameters and track how well it is performing , as well as the day to day operations There are two main dates that the campaign team will prioritize. We will focus on our campaign primarily on August 26 th, which is National Dog Day , as well as the entire month of November as it is National Adoption Awareness Month. Budge t For the Business Gives Back project, o ur total budget for our proposal is $3 62 , 0 40 and this was split between staffing, advertising, and the pet drives we plan to host. For staffing, we are planning to be very reliant on volunteers as we will need two v eterinarian volunteers, a public speaker volunteer, and 60 assistant volunteers. We also plan to have one campaign manager overseeing the operation along with a campaign team. 13 Save the Strays Budget Advertisements 46% $168,000.00 Campaign Ad 20% $71,640.00 $362,040.00 Clinical Services 14% $50,400.00 Drives 20% $72,000.00 Expenses Projected Yearly Cost Hulu $120,000.00 Facebook $48,000.00 Total $168,000.00 Projected Yearly Cost Campaign Manager Salary (average) $55,000.00 Campaign Team Salary (average) $16,640.00 Total $71,640.00 Projected Yearly Cost Spay/Neuter Services (average) $18,000.00 Vaccination Fees (average) $13,200.00 Rabies Testing $19,200.00 Total $50,400.00 Projected Yearly Cost Cost per Drive $36,000.00 Free Clinical Services $12,000.00 Shirts $18,000.00 Miscellaneous Fees $6,000.00 Total $72,000.00 Total Budget $362,040.00 Campaign Ad Clinical Services Spay and Neuter Drives $362,040 Advertisiments Total Budget Budget Breakdown 46% 20% 14% 20% Figure 5.1 Budget breakdown of Save the Strays 14 5.1 Campaign Ads For the budgeting part of the proposal, we first researched the most effective way to market and advertise our campaign. Unlike traditional platforms , such as commercials on normal television, we decided to use Hulu and Facebook as a means of advertising. When creating a budget for advertising, companies like Hulu and Facebook set pricing by CPM. CPM stands for c ost per m ile and that represents the cost per 1,000 impressions. Hulu’s average CPM is roughly $15 - $17/CPM while most television stations can cost up to $60 - $70 CPM ( Patel, 2017) We plan to allocate roughly $120,000 year towards Hulu ($10,000/Month) , generating roughly 285,000 - 400,000 impressions. For Facebook , the cost was $8/CPM and we plan to invest $48,000 per year ($4,000/Month) to generate roughly 500,000 impressions (Gotter, 2018) . Our overall total budget for advertisements is about $168,000 per year. 5.2 Campaign Team The second part of the budget is the campaign team. We plan to hire a campaign manager to oversee the whole operation. They will be in charge of making sure there are enough volunteers, organizing the pet drives, as well as communicating with our affiliate d non - profit organization . Working alongside the campaign manager will be four part - time workers to assist any needs that the campaign manager needs. The average salary for a Campaign Manager is about $ 55,000 per year (“Average Campaign,” n.d.) For the ca mpaign team, we plan to pay $10 per hour for 8 hours a week. This will cost an estimated $16,640 per year. 5.3 Spay and Neuter Drives The last part of the budget is the physical drives that we plan to hold. We are planning to allocate roughly $3,000 per drive and plan to host one drive a month. The $3,000 per drive will include free clinical services we plan to provide for stray dogs tha t get adopted, T - Shirts for volunteers (which also have our logo on it for advertisement), as well as $500 in miscellaneous fees that might be needed. Our plan is to also focus on two major times in the year: National Dog Day on August 26th and National D o g A wareness M onth during the month of April. Our plan is to host a drive at least once a month (three during the month of April) and an additional drive in August for National Dog Awareness D ay. 5.4 Total Budget In conclusion, our total yearly budget is roughly $3 62 , 0 40 and it will be allocated towards staffing, advertising, and hosting animal services drives. We plan to spend $168,000 towards advertising, about $ 71,640 towards campaign staffing, and a combined $ 122,400 toward our spay and neuter drives and clinical services. 15 Target Questions and Answers 1. Why is it important that you focus on altering pets in high risk communities rather than stray animals? ¬ In order to address the problem at large , we have to focus on the unaltered dogs of owners that have the potential to escape in search of a mate of attack someone. 2. What is your target number of audiences you hope to reach with the advertisements? ¬ With an effective ad campaign that speaks directly to the audience , we hope to achieve 500,000 impressions on Facebooks and 285,000 - 400,000 impressions on Hulu. 3. How will your effort help those that are not pet owners in those communities? ¬ In Dallas , there is a loose dog crisis I n order to solve the problem , we have to help those most in need. By getting pets spayed/neutered in high risk communities , less dogs will reproduce . As a result, there will be less dogs on the streets, shelters, or euthanized. In return , this will reduce the number of dog bites. 4. Almost 50% of your projected budget is for advertisement, how confident are you that this will spread the awareness that you hope for? If it doesn’t, wouldn’t it be a waste of money? ¬ The ads would be targeted to a specific audience to make sure that those in below - average income communities are aware of the solutions to the problem that they face. We are confident that this campaign will motivate people to take action to be part of the solution. Once they become informed on the benefits of spa ying and neuter ing, we are confident that they will take advantage of the free services. As a result, we feel that our advertising will convince people to line up and have alterations done on their pets. Money will not be wasted long as we continue fixing animals and helping the community 5. What will suggest that the proposal will help solve the problem of stray dogs in South Dallas? ¬ We will closely monitor our progress by evaluating various metrics , such as dog population size, dog welfare, prevalence of zoonotic diseases, feedback from local communities, and measures of whether understanding of responsible ownership is translating into responsible behavior. 16 AUTHORIZATION February 12, 2019 With the authority to grant such permission, The Dallas Chamber of Commerce hereby authorizes Petco to proceed with the proposal implementation of “Save the Strays”. This proposal is created in response to Businesses Give Back. The Chamber of Commerce agre es to fund the project for the amount of $ 340,640 ______________________________ _____________________________ Director Signature Date ______________________________ Please Print Name Petco Team ______________________________ _____________________________ Sahir Moolji Mitchell Ho ______________________________ _____________________________ Leann Le Bryan Huynh ______________________________ Florin Lasc 17 References Aasen, Eric. Following Loose Dog Attacks, Dallas City Council Strengthens Its Dog Ordinance , Kera News, 28 June 2018, www.keranews.org/post/following - loose - dog - attacks - dallas - city - council - strengthens - its - dog - ordinance. Accessed 7 Feb. 2019 About Spay Neuter Network. (2019). Retrieved from https://spayn euternet.org/lifesaving - network/about - snn/ AKC's Guide to Responsible Dog Breeding. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.akc.org/breeder - programs/breeder - education/akcs - guide - responsible - dog - breeding/ Average Campaign Manager Salary. (n.d.). Retrieved from h ttps://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Campaign_Manager/Salary FY 2017 Dallas Animal Shelter Data , Socrata, 30 Oct. 2017, www.dallasopendata.com/City - Services/FY - 2017 - Dallas - Animal - Shelter - Data/sjyj - ydcj/data. Accessed 22 Jan. 2019 Gotter, A. (2018, May 22). The Complete Resource to Understanding Facebook Ads Cost – 2017 Benchmarks. Retrieved from https://adespresso.com/blog/facebook - ads - cost/ Hallman, Tristan. "Why does Texas seem to have so many loose dogs?" Curious Texas| Dallas News , Dallas News, Apr. 2018, www.dallasnews.com/life/curious - texas/2018/04/26/texas - seem - many - loose - dogs - curious - texas - answer Accessed 23 Jan. 2019. 18 Mervosh, Sarah, et al. Dallas Morning News , May 2016, interactives.dallasnews.com/2016/stray - dogs/. Accessed 25 Jan. 2019. Mervosh, Sarah. Nearly 9,000 dogs roam southern Dallas , Aug. 2016, www.dallasnews.com/news/news/2016/08/04/study - nearly - 9000 - dogs - roam - loose - southern - dallas - bites - spike - 15 - percent - year. Accessed 24 Jan. 2019 911 Calls: Antoinette Brown Begged ‘Somebody Help Me’ While Pack of Dogs Fatally Attacked Her. (2016, June 07). Retrieved from https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/911 - Calls - Antoinette - Brown - Begged - Somebody - Help - Me - While - Pack - of - Dogs - Devoured - Her - 382133081.html Patel, S. (2017, November 02). Inside Hulu's growing ad - sales research team. Retrieved from https://digiday.com/media/inside - hulu - growing - ad - sales - research - team/ 200 Million Invested in Lifesaving. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.petcofoundation.org/partner - story/200million/ U. S. Dog Bite Fatalities: Breeds of Dogs Involved, Age Groups and Other Factors Over a 13 - Year Period (2005 to 2017). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dogsbite.org/dog - bite - statistics - multi - year - fatality - report - 2005 - 2017.php