Animal Advocates & COVID-19: Resources To Help You Weather The Storm

In these unprecedented times, as advocates are forced to find creative ways of promoting animal protection while coping with a global pandemic, it brings us joy to share stories of hope and positivity from within our community. For example, we’ve enjoyed learning that animal foster requests have risen as much as 90% across the U.S. and that plant-based protein is expected to grow in popularity by 2021 as consumers seek new ways to protect their health. These findings are a reminder that animal advocates continue to serve an important role in society, and that we are capable of rising to any challenge.

Speaking of hope and positivity, today is Giving Tuesday Now: a global day of generosity in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Here at Faunalytics, we want to do something special to celebrate this day and what it stands for. That’s why we’ve chosen to dedicate Giving Tuesday Now to our incredible community of animal advocates and the important work you do. Today and always, we are here to support your work with data, insights, and other resources to help you be more effective for animals. And now more than ever, animals need our help.

To help you find the best ways of working effectively during COVID-19, we’ve compiled a list of reliable resources specifically with animal advocates in mind.

Faunalytics Resources

Research

• COVID-19 awareness poll: We polled a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults to learn more about their understanding of the COVID-19 outbreak and its connection to animals. Among our findings, we discovered:
  • 16% of adults are aware that the outbreak started due to the wet market conditions that allowed the virus to jump from animals to humans. 
  • Although it’s important to educate adults about the link between animal agriculture and the virus at this time, we must approach our outreach carefully and include factual citations and sources for our information. 18% to 33% of participants believed a factual passage about animal agriculture and COVID-19 was offensive, misleading, or annoying, even though it did not contain a strong advocacy message.

• Faunalytics Donor Studies: As you tweak your outreach strategies in the coming months, it’s helpful to know who is likely to donate to your cause. Check out our Donor Studies to learn who donates to animal causes, including what they do, what they like, and who they are; who donates to non-companion animal causes (i.e. farmed and wild animal initiatives); and predictors of monetary and non-monetary support for animal charities. 
• Public Opinion On Wet Markets – Perspectives From Asia: A summary of a study done by WWF that looks at how people in Asian countries feel about the issue of “wet markets.”

In addition to these key studies, Faunalytics’ original research offers insight into many different advocacy issues and strategies. We encourage you to check out some of the other studies we’ve done to see how our results can support your needs.

Blog Posts

• COVID-19 & Animals (Cutting through the Noise): Our Content Director, Karol Orzechowski, breaks down the facts and myths of COVID-19 and explains how animal advocates can work to promote factual information to help animals while protecting the integrity of our movement.
• Fundraising In A Global Crisis: In true Faunalytics fashion our Executive Director, Brooke Haggerty, uses data to help educate advocates about the fundraising challenges we may face in this pandemic and how we can successfully weather the storm.

Other Faunalytics Resources

• Zoonoses Fundamentals: A comprehensive resource looking at diseases spread from animals to people. Though it contains a special emphasis on COVID-19, the resource looks more broadly at zoonoses in general, and the dynamics that speed up their spread.
• Office hours for advocates: If you’re looking for extra help with your advocacy during COVID-19, remember we have office hours! 
  • Our Content Director (Karol Orzechowski) is available on Tuesdays from 12-1 p.m. ET to help you find and make sense of existing research to inform your advocacy initiatives.
  • Our researchers (Dr. Jo Anderson and Tom Beggs) are available on Wednesdays from 12-1 p.m. ET to help you make sense of important advocacy research and to answer your questions about assessing your advocacy strategies.
• Facebook Live video: Our Communications and Development Manager, Casey Riordan, provides an overview of Faunalytics’ data, insights, and resources available to help you continue your important work during the global pandemic.

External Resources

The following list includes resources available through other animal advocacy organizations and trusted members of our community: 

• At Home Activism: Mercy For Animals compiled this portal of vegan-friendly recipes, restaurants, and activities to make it easier for consumers to support animals and vegan businesses while staying home.
• Best Friends COVID-19 Resources: Best Friends Animal Society put together this list of advice about fundraising and communications, organizational planning and operations, and grassroots advocacy. While it’s targeted at companion animal advocates, some resources are adaptable to other causes.
• Coronavirus and non-human animals: This blog post from Rethink Priorities delves into COVID-19’s impact on issues such as fishing and aquaculture, production and consumption of animal products, and plant-based eating, with some takeaways for advocates working in these areas.
• Coronavirus Research Ideas for Effective Altruists: This blog post from Rethink Priorities features important research topics for effective altruists to consider in the wake of COVID-19. The animal advocacy research ideas begin at number 33.
• COVID-19: Analysis, Resources, and How to Help: 80,000 Hours posted this roundup of essential facts about COVID-19, advice for taking care of yourself, and a list of organizations hiring and offering funding to support the anti-COVID effort. It’s written for effective altruists and though it’s not exclusive to effective animal advocates, some of the funding opportunities may be of interest.
• DEI and Farmed Animal Advocacy during COVID-19: The team at Encompass shared this important information about applying a diversity, equity, and inclusion framework within your organization’s culture and when communicating to the public about animal issues related to COVID-19.
• GFI Resources for the Alternative Protein Community: Good Food Institute shared a list of resources (i.e. funding opportunities, business advice, and networking sites) specifically for researchers, entrepreneurs, and students in the alternative protein/plant-based space.
• Nonprofits and COVID-19: The Council of Nonprofits released this diverse collection of advice and tools for nonprofits around the U.S. It contains federal and state-specific resources, funding opportunities, public policy and advocacy tips, technology tools, ways to prioritize equity during this time, and more.
• Remote Work Roundtables: Animal Charity Evaluators launched this series of roundtable posts about remote organizational culture, including hiring and onboarding employees, supporting a work-life balance, and fostering employee engagement.
• COVID-19 Articles Directory: Animal Advocacy veterans All Creatures have compiled a running list of thoughts, opinion, and analysis of the relationship between coronavirus and animals.

If you have any other resources you’d like us to consider for this list, please send them our way.

A special thank-you

Before we wrap up, we want to take a moment to thank our wonderful donors and our incredible team of volunteers. We can’t let Giving Tuesday Now pass us by without recognizing the valuable time and support you provide us every day. You are the soul of Faunalytics and the reason we’re able to continue helping advocates be effective for animals. Thank you for everything you do!

Wishing everyone a safe, healthy, and happy Giving Tuesday Now.