5 Things We’re Thankful For At Faunalytics
For animal advocates in the United States, Thanksgiving can be a bittersweet occasion. On the one hand, it’s a wonderful opportunity for contemplation, rest, and thankfulness. But unless you’re lucky enough to spend the day with vegan friends and family, celebrating Thanksgiving often means witnessing the consumption of turkeys and other animal products (and having to re-explain your veganism to that aunt who somehow never seems to get it). This year, Thanksgiving looks different for many of us during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. One thing remains constant, however: this day officially marks the final stretch in the endless marathon that is 2020!
What a year it’s been. Animal advocates faced new and complex challenges, from fundraising during a global crisis to conducting “virtual advocacy” in lieu of in-person campaigns. Though the year presented advocates with constant ups and downs, we were especially proud to see so many organizations come together to support Black Lives Matter, and the ongoing momentum to promote racial equity in the animal protection movement (speaking of which, have you read the Encompass Essays series yet?).
With the movement busy finding innovative ways to conduct effective campaigns, the Faunalytics team worked tirelessly in 2020 to support animal advocates with new resources and programs. For example, we added two hundred study summaries to our research library, completed seven new original studies, compiled two new editions of our Fundamentals series, provided personal support to over five dozen advocates and organizations through our office hours, and reached five thousand advocates every week through our email alerts.
As the Faunalytics team reflects on these accomplishments, we want to take a moment to recognize five things we are especially thankful for, as they helped us stay focused and motivated to continue working even during the bleakest parts of the year. We hope you’ll do us the honor of checking out the list below, because if you’re reading this blog, then we’re thankful for you, too!
5 Things Faunalytics Is Thankful For In 2020:
- Our Board and Volunteers: We want to take a moment to thank our one-of-a-kind Board members and committed team of volunteers, who dedicate their valuable time and skills to make sure we operate seamlessly every day. Each of you works behind the scenes to act as our librarians, writers, editors, investigators, analysts, advisors, morale-boosters, and all-around lifesavers. There’s genuinely nothing you can’t do, and because of that, there’s nothing we can’t do without you. Thank you for helping us empower animal advocacy!
- The Animal Advocacy Community: Let’s face it, where would Faunalytics be without the strong and passionate animal advocacy community? We sleep a little easier at night knowing that animals have you by their side working to make the world a better place for them, and we feel extremely fortunate to play a small part in your success. You’re truly the reason we do what we do, and we can’t wait to see the impactful campaigns you launch in 2021 and beyond.
- Faunalytics’ Donors And Supporters: Here at Faunalytics, we love to say that “Animals Need You, You Need Data.” Well, we can only provide that data because of our incredible donors and supporters! Your generosity enables us to continue providing our resources to fuel the animal advocacy movement. Whether you were a first-time donor this year or you’ve been with us for 20 years, you’ve made a real difference to animals and those who advocate for them in 2020, and today we celebrate you.
- Furry Fridays: Research shows that Fridays are 100% better when you get to spam your colleagues with endless photos of your companion animals. Enter Furry Friday, our weekly excuse to ring in the weekend with painfully adorable photos of the many Animals of Faunalytics: Bertha, Blue, Jazzer, Lulu, Raoul, Smokey, Soda, Stanley, Steve, and Sydney! We’re grateful to be able to bond with one another over photos of our beloved fur family (and even more grateful when our animals make a rare and exciting appearance during our staff video calls).
- Internet Spell Check: Because the only thing we check more than our data is how we literally spell the word data. Seriously, when you write about data as much as we do, it’s surprisingly easy to make the occasional typos “dtaa,” “daat,” or the fan-favorite “tada.” Thank you, Internet, for always pointing out our grammatical errors with squiggly red and blue lines. It’s safe to say that you always keep us in (spell) check!
If you’ve been grateful for Faunalytics’ resources and programs in 2020, then we hope you’ll consider making a donation to support our work this Giving Tuesday. You can donate through our website, PayPal, Bitcoin, or by mailing a check to PO Box 152703 San Diego, CA 92195. You even have the option to donate toward your favorite Faunalytics program, such as giving toward our Research Library, sponsoring an original study, or supporting our pro-bono office hours in 2021!
Whether you advocate, donate, or volunteer in the animal advocacy movement, thank you for all of the important work you do to help animals. On behalf of the Faunalytics team, we wish you a safe, happy, and healthy Thanksgiving!