On May 20th, we launched a survey to find out what our community thinks about Animal Sponsorships. The aim of the survey was to get a feel for how popular this topic is and get some additional feedback or opinions. A total of 196 people took part in the survey, to which we are very thankful.

The results will be presented to existing and future partners of the Cecil Alliance Foundation in order to convince them of the importance of this specific project. We would also like to be transparent to you as a community and share the results.

The Results

At the beginning, only one third of the respondents (34%) stated that they had already supported an animal through a sponsorship. Of these respondents about half (52%) currently do so. Of all participants, 16% are engaged in animal sponsorships.

One third of the respondents who had never supported an animal in this way before were asked about their reasons through rating the following statements on a scale from 1 („totally disagree“) to 5 („totally agree“).

Many of the opinions entered in the additional text box addressed the lack of transparency and trust in dealing with donations:

“I don’t know where the money goes. Could be funding the CEOs Ferrari.“ ”It’s so oldschool, there needs to be a digital way to do it.“ “There’s nothing wrong with a sponsorship but I don’t trust most companies. I just don’t know for what my money will be spent.“ “Tracking and traceability of donations would help for sure. […] If I could sponsor an animal or a shelter knowing the funds were being utilized in a responsible manner, I would love to help out with the little ways that I can.”

When the people who are currently sponsoring an animal or have done so in the past were asked about their reasons, a clear picture emerged (scale from 1 = „totally disagree“ to 5 = „totally agree“).

The participants were then asked how much money they are spending or are willing to spend on a sponsorship for one animal per month.

When asked what they wish to receive in return for sponsoring an animal, 86% chose „regular updates about the animal“ followed by 61% who voted for „pictures and/or videos“. Physical gifts like toy animals, souvenirs or certificates are not very popular (19%).

Exotic or endangered species have a big advantage in relation to regular pets when it comes to sponsorships. 76% or the participants would pay more for an animal like a tiger or a panda than for a regular dog living in an animal shelter.

When asked about the most desirable animals, the most frequently named animals were tigers, elephants, lions, dogs, and cats.

Conclusion of the results

We believe the results show that there is great potential in the animal sponsorship sector, which is not fully exploited by current solutions.

Potential donors avoid current solutions mainly because of a lack of transparency, because the idea of such a commitment was not yet present and because the processes of an animal sponsorship are simply not known.

The Cecil Alliance Foundation and its partners aim to present an exciting solution in this sector that helps suffering and endangered animals as well as the organisations that care for them.