The Devoted Barn is a non profit organization, so it is expected that they will host fundraisers to support their cause and pay the bills. With animals it is somewhat easy be transparent about what their costs entail. Feed and care costs each month can be calculated. If vet care is needed, there are veterinary cost estimates that can be posted, along with receipts to show that the donations did in fact go to that specific animals care. The Devoted Barn is rarely that transparent when it comes to these things. They just post the dollar amount that they need and there is rarely follow up to show what the money went to. Because of this, plenty of people are skeptical that the funds are being used for the cause they were donated to.
Here are some examples of fundraisers that were posted, money was raised, and there were no updates after the fact.
Memorial Garden and Picnic Grove-
Here is a fundraiser for a memorial garden and picnic grove that were set to be completed in spring of 2021. There are options to purchase actual items which would be used in the memorial garden. This garden never came to fruition. Nowhere on the property is a space one could currently deem a garden. What became of people's funds that were intended for this purpose?
HundredX-
HundredX- Ran in February 2022. Supporters were asked to fill out 75 surveys each. The Devoted Barn apparently had the opportunity to raise up to $40,000. There was never a post saying how much was raised and what the plan was for the money. So how much money was actually raised from this hyped up fundraiser?
Devoted Dog Project-
This GoFundMe was created to raise money to house the dogs off site if/when a judge ordered them to be removed from the property. Almost $40,000 was raised for this purpose. With the facility they are at now, at a rate of $8k month, would buy them 5 months of time. It is not OK that these funds were used to pay attorney fees when the GoFundMe campaign doesn't stipulate that the donations would be used for that purpose. This is deceitful fundraising.
Sanctuary "Name an Area" Campaign-
This campaign asked for a lot of money in hopes to raise money for the sanctuary. The smallest donation amount available was $1,000 to have the honor of naming a Lifer dog run. There is not a single plaque on the property with anyone's name commemorating anything. Is this because nobody donated or because they didn't raise any funds with this project? We have been told that funds were raised and nothing was done to honor the people that donated.
Sunshine Memorial Piggyland-
Where are all of the wood burned names and sign? Did anyone get wooden coasters signed by Melissa Borden herself?
Other smaller fundraisers that happened recently were for socks, chocolate, bourbon, pasta...At no point when these fundraisers ended did The Devoted Barn post how much was raised. This just isn't standard for an organization asking for money.
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