We're testing with a small group of rescues, so if you're in a testing region you'll be matched to the one located in your area. Once we roll things out more broadly you'll be able to choose whether we share your foster profile with a specific rescue, all rescues in your city or those in your state.
There are no guarantees about how long you'll foster for, however we give you the option on your foster application to list which timeframes you're open to: -Short term (< 2 weeks) - in high kill states there will be more of a need for short term fosters than there will be in most states. In other states, if you select this option you're likely to only get contacted if a foster is going on vacation and needs someone to look after their foster animal while they're away.-Up to 3 months-Until the animal is adopted - this is the most preferred option from rescues since it's impossible for anyone to make guarantees as to when an animal will be adopted
You can indicate which animal you're interested in fostering through the Caim app, but it will be up to each rescue to determine if you're the right fit for that animal based on your foster profile. If the rescue doesn't feel you're the right fit they may request that you consider a different animal instead.Here are some examples of when you might not be the right match for a certain animal:-If an animal needs to be in a home with no young children, but you have children at home-If an animal needs to be the only pet in a home, but you have pets-If an animal is known to be a particularly challenging breed, but you've never fostered before or don't have experience with that breed
Each rescue is different, however most of the time we find that the rescue pays for everything that your foster animal needs. This includes any medications or procedures, food, leashes, crates, etc.We always recommend that you ask the rescue you're matched with what they cover to ensure you both are on the same page prior to you beginning to foster.
Most rescues request that you bring your animal to their adoption events in order to give them the best chance of being adopted as possible. We know that life happens and you may not be able to attend every one of them, but you should try your best to make them.In addition to events, your foster animal will be posted on the rescue's website for adoption. If people enquire about your animal then private meet-ups may be arranged.
Once an animal has been with you for a week or two, most rescues will ask that you write a description for them to post since, at that point, you'll know them better than anyone else.We're working on launching a library of resources within Caim, including some examples of great bios. Once that's live we'll let you know and you can use that as a reference. In the meantime, it's best if you check your rescue's website for examples of what they've posted about other animals and look to write a couple paragraphs in a similar style while ensuring it highlights your foster animal's personality, needs, quirks and their ideal home / environment.
Rescues want nothing more than for you and your foster animal to thrive. If there are any issues it's important that you notify the rescue right away so they can provide you with support to try and improve the situation. This may mean offering guidance based on what they've seen work in similar scenarios in the past or getting you some time with a trainer. If there's no improvement or things get worse then they may look to find a new home for your foster animal. Most rescues don't have a shelter facility to hold animals at, so they typically ask that you give them a bit of time to find the animal a new home.
The 3-3-3 Rule. Animals coming out of shelters have often been through a lot, and they may arrive at your home scared and overwhelmed. You're not going to see the animal's true personality when it arrives. They need time to acclimate and understand their place in your home. The Rule of Three breaks down the acclimation process for you.The first 3 days should be your animal's time to decompress and adjust to the huge changes they're dealing with. It's not uncommon for them to want to hide somewhere and not interact at all with you. Sometimes an animal may be overly jumpy and excitable because they're so happy to be out and don't quite know how to contain themselves. You'll likely have accidents in the home during this time as they may not be ready to brave stairs or go on walks. These first few days can be really hard and heartbreaking. You may feel like you aren't doing anything right or that you aren't 'clicking' with your foster animal. Be patient and give it time. This is a huge adjustment for you and your animal.After 3 weeks you'll feel like you have a very different dog. They're now familiar with you, your home, their place in your family, their routine, etc. This is when you start to see their true personality emerge. You've made it through the most difficult part and you and your foster animal are moving into a more comfortable and fun relationship. In some instances you may see new quirks appear around the 2-3 week timeframe. If this happens, these quirks were likely always inside of them but they're just now comfortable enough around you to show you that side of them. An example of a behavior that may pop up is separation anxiety... they feel so grateful for you and this new life, and if you leave they worry things may go back to the old way. If anything starts to arise just update your rescue - they've dealt with these things in the past and can offer great advice.Finally, after 3 months your animal knows you are their person. You'll feel like your foster animal is unrecognizable from the first day you got them (so document those early days!). They now trust you and are in a good grove with the household and their routine. It can take a lot of work to get here, but it's SO worth it. This is often when your foster animal shines their brightest and ends up finding their forever home. The handover to a new family is always tearful and hard. You'll feel like you're losing a part of you and the look on your foster animal's face when you leave them with a new family will break your heart a bit, but when you start to receive the updates from their furever family as they settle you'll feel so grateful that you got to be a part of their journey and that they're now safe. By letting them go it also means you're creating space to help save another animal.
You can find new fosters. We focus on finding you fosters so you can focus on rescuing animals. We recruit new fosters through channels that you may not be using today, such as paid advertising on different search engines and outreach to HOAs, apartment complexes and 55+ communities.You're able to access our resources. We support the care of your animals by providing fosters with best practices and answers to the most frequently asked questions.You can establish new partnerships. We connect rescues across the US to facilitate the transfer of animals from overcrowded areas to places where they’re safe and more likely to be adopted.
Nope – Caim is completely free to use. We know there are a lot of innovative technologies that exist which would allow shelter and rescue teams to operate more efficiently. Unfortunately, many of these are priced above what most nonprofits can afford. We believe price should never be the barrier to shelters and rescues being able to save more animals. For this reason, we incorporated Caim as a 501(c)(3) charity. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we’re able to maintain our platform and continuously add new features that partners like you can access at no cost.
Click here to request an organization account. Please note, you must first create an individual user account here before you can request an org account. Our team reviews all organization requests within 2 business days. You can upload info about your animals while we undertake our review, but you won’t be able to publish them for public view until we’ve moved your account into active status. This step is in place to ensure that any organization that does sign up is a 501c3 nonprofit.
1. Sign in to your user account then select ‘My Organizations’ 2. Select your organization from the list3. Select ‘Manage Organization’4. Select ‘Manage Animals’ 5. There are two options for uploading details about your animals. The fastest way is by copying the URL from Petfinder for your specific animal. This will auto-populate all of the details that are listed in Petfinder about this animal. If you don’t use Petfinder, you can manually input details via our standard form. Once finished with whichever option you use, click ‘Add / Update Animal’.6. Now this animal is saved under your account, but you must click ‘Publish Animal’ in order for the public to be able to view them. You won’t be able to publish an animal until your organization’s account is approved / moved into an active status. Once this happens, you can publish and unpublish whenever you please.
We don’t currently integrate with any shelter management systems, however we intend to do this in the future. Please let us know who you use by completing this form so we know which to prioritize.If you work for a shelter management company and are interested in partnering with us, please email us.
No, Caim does not screen any foster applicants. Our focus is on bringing new fosters into the rescue community. Once you receive a foster application from us, it’s your responsibility to do any screening that you would normally do (interview, home visit, etc.).
No, Caim does not conduct home visits. This is the responsibility of each shelter / rescue.
Short answer – no. Long answer… During our industry research and stakeholder interviews, a common complaint that came up was individuals needing to complete lengthy applications for every rescue in their area, even though all of the applications were essentially the same. It became clear that this is a barrier that prevents more people from signing up to foster. As a result, we’ve created an application which we require all shelters and rescues using Caim to accept as part of our terms of use. When building our application, we looked at 30+ applications from different rescues across the US and had multiple rescues review our application to ensure it covers all of the necessary fields. You can view a sample of our application and the details we request here. You're welcome to still have fosters sign your foster contract assuming it’s a separate, shorter file vs. the application, however you must accept our application if you wish to find new fosters using Caim. If we hear from people that you’re requiring them to complete a second application then your organization will be removed from our platform.
Absolutely – you can book a time for a demo here.
You can send us an email here with any questions you have, and we’ll follow up within 2 business days.
We’re about to wrap up our initial testing phase and are so grateful to everyone who's helped us get this far. In February we'll be opening up access to our platform so fosters across the US can start to use Caim. It's still early days for our organization and there may be some growing pains, but we're so excited to have people get involved from all parts of the country.With over 14,000 shelters and rescues across the US, it make take some time for us to establish relationships with a rescue near you. In addition to opening up access to our platform, we'll be rolling out a shelter directory so you can find rescues near you who need fosters, even if they aren't using Caim yet.We hate to make you wait, but we've paused onboarding new fosters and partners until we set our expanded site live next month. Please sign up on the form above which will add you to our mailing list so you'll be the first to know once everything is switched on next month!
