Dear ECIR Group Members

Today marks the beginning of our end-of-year fundraising campaign. Truthfully, I hate fundraising, but it’s necessary to keep our small-but-mighty non-profit going. So thanks to all of you who’ve donated to the ECIR Group this year.

Because of you we’ve been able to guide owners from 33 countries to help their horses, ponies, donkeys, and mules. Our amazing group of outreach volunteers has handled an average of 1,170 messages per month this year. We’re so lucky to have such dedicated volunteers! The truth is, despite the fact that the ECIR Group is run entirely by volunteers, we still have costs associated with what we do, so we have to raise funds.

Let me get down to business, and then I’ll give you a bit more information about the cool projects we’ve been working on this past year. To begin with, we are grateful for all donations! Some of you make one-time donations, either end-of-year gifts, in honor of a beloved equine, or because you feel moved to help. Some of you are donating to the ECIR Group monthly. Whether it’s $5/month or $50/month, this is the only monthly income we can count on and we’re very thankful for these recurring donations.

However, we’ve lost more than half of the monthly donors that we had at the beginning of 2020. Some of this is due to natural attrition and some, we know, is a result of the pandemic. We get it. And we know a lot of people are suffering right now. It’s a tough climate in which to raise funds. But -- if you’re in a position to help and willing to make a donation to the ECIR Group, please go here and choose how you’d like to support our work. https://bit.ly/2J5xhKo. And remember: Even $5/month is super helpful! Those small, but steady, contributions are our bread-and-butter income.

Now, onto the cool stuff: Aside from the 24/7 help we offer on our outreach group, we’ve been focusing on several projects this year, including some new research projects; overhauling much of our website; and an increased presence through Facebook, podcasts, equine publications, and traffic to our website. Look for letters from Dr. Kellon and from our Research Director, Dr. Kathleen Gustafson, in the next couple of weeks with more detail on our accomplishments in 2020 and our plans for 2021.

One HUGE project nearing completion (thank you, Nancy Collins) is the Case History project. We know that many owners get stuck when using this form and we can’t provide the necessary guidance to help their equines without this critical information. A better, more user-friendly form is key. This new form will be easier to use and will be available directly on our website, ecirhorse.org. The complexity of this project has required many more months of work (and expense) than anticipated, but we are now in the testing phase which means we’re almost there!

Despite 2020 being a tough year for everyone, the ECIR Group does have a lot of good news to report. Our eye is on the future and our goal is NO Laminitis!

We can do this. Giving Tuesday is today (but we’ll happily take your donation anytime!). Will you help?

With gratitude,

Fran Metzger in Texas July, 2005
Marketing Director, Fundraising
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Nancy C in NH 2003
ECIR Group Mod
for Fran M