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2012 Information Sponsors
Process
In fall of every year, the Marley Fund gives birth to a new edition of its annual educational calendar. The calendar is the heart and soul of our organization, with each edition featuring full color photos submitted by feline owners from around the country. Cat lovers will once again have the opportunity to purchase their own copies, while contributing to a charity that saves the lives of cats.
Every March a new season of patrons and entries begin. Cat lovers enter their felines until July 31. Then the project begins. There is so much work and energy that goes into each edition. From searching for the quality photographs entered (now with over 300 plus entries each year), to getting supplies necessary to print each edition to accommodate demand for an ever-growing fan-base, to distribution to over 150 pet stores and veterinarian offices throughout the state of NC to serving the web orders across the country. This is all for the betterment of felines, to give them a chance to live the lives they deserve and to prevent unnecessary grief of pet loss because you, the pet lover/owner, is educated.
The key to a winning idea was and is quality. We believe that promoting the image of an organization, and specifically the feline species and their concerns, has lead to our grassroots success. Without a quality product, we would not have reached the levels that we have to date. Our nationally acclaimed printing company, Liskey & Son Printing located in Norfolk, VA, has been the backbone of our project, our mentors and our biggest fans! Their knowledge of the printing business and high-end quality has brought our calendar each year to a new level. The calendar is made with what Liskey calls "professional grade printing." Liskey incorporates high-resolution color proofing, fine screen rulings and in-house binary.
In 2001, after speaking with Liskey about pricing, Marley Fund began soliciting major paper and ink companies for donations to keep costs down. Major companies across the nation now donate supplies to the calendar each year. Case Paper Company, Roosevelt Paper Company, GE Richards Graphics Supplies, Braden Sutphin Ink Company, Hostmann-Steinberg North America, Fuji Innovation, Meadwestvaco, Sabin Robbins and Bowater Paper Company have all contributed to production over the years.
Due to the immense cost of the publishing and the non-profit nature of the organization, the donations that are received are vital to the assembly of the calendar. Donors for all supplies must be solicited and received before the calendar can be printed.
For example, for every 2,000- 32-page, full-bleed, saddle-stitched, high end calendars produced, it costs approximately $5,000. Supplies necessary include 5,000- 100 pound gloss text, 25x37 inch, long grain sheets of paper, 20 pounds of ink, and plates and negatives, among other entities.
The calendar requires large amounts of each supply. Each year as we grow, the number of editions needed increases. For the 2006 edition, over 25,000 sheets of paper and over 88 pounds of ink were needed. For 2012, we have high hopes for our first re-order where over 50,000 sheets and approximately 170 pounds of ink will be needed.
After contestants are selected to be featured in the calendar, senior Marley Fund volunteers work to create an innovative calendar theme, work on text and editing and send their work to Liz Baroody, Liskey graphic designer. Baroody has been the lead designer on all Marley calendars to date. She works diligently with Marley Fund Founder Joy Eubanks to present a fresh annual presentation. Several proofs go back and forth, as well as discussion on how to create the most eye-catching arrangements. Each year it all comes together and all parties comment, "How are we going to be able to top this one next year?"
Eubanks said she's put a lot of effort into creating a beautiful and creative calendar, but her main goal is that someone who previously did not know about FeLV or FIV will read the calendar and take their cat to be tested. It's always the people who didn't know about feline leukemia who lose a pet to the disease. If one life is saved, it all will be worth it.
Our campaign is designed to promote awareness of retroviruses, address the need for testing to identify infection, understand prevention and to find responsible homes for those infected. Our goals are to change behavior through persuasion and education, to make FeLV and FIV adoptions mainstream and to stop the viral cycles of retroviruses—the number one killer of cats. Our main method to accomplish our goals is the annual Marley Calendars.
Purpose & Importance
The calendar has a dual purpose. First, it allows the fund to interact and bond with pet owners. These people have an interest in seeing their felines become celebrities through publication of their photographs in the calendar. Secondly, facts and tips printed on each page allow Marley Fund to educate all year long on the vitality of testing for FeLV/FIV and vaccinating against FeLV. Facts and information have been gathered in part from information provided in the American Association of Feline Practitioners and Academy of Feline Medicine Advisory Panel on Feline Retrovirus Testing and Management 2001 Report published by IDEXX Laboratories.
Thus, the calendar is an educational tool and a very effective way of promoting awareness. It hosts the latest information about FeLV and FIV from IDEXX Laboratories, the international leader in the veterinary diagnostics market, which provides animal health care products and services to help pets live longer, healthier and happier lives. Marley Fund is grateful to IDEXX Laboratories for manufacturing retrovirus test kits and other vital products, as well as supplying the Marley Fund with the latest clinical information for our annual calendar and for educational materials to help us "Stop the Cycle."
The calendar allows us to educate as many as possible in order to prevent the spread of this highly contagious disease. We do not spend thousands of dollars on brochures that are easily discarded, but instead print a masterpiece including educational facts and beautiful, full color photos. It has become a brilliant way to help educate others, while making it an interactive process as well.
We cannot express enough the impact our calendar has had on changing local perception in the past. With daily growth we will be reaching those on a national level and have high hopes of so many individuals and groups learning more about retroviruses, such as feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency viruses.
Outreach
The calendar has had a dynamic reception in the past and, as we have grown, it has reached people in over 14 American states, as well as England and Canada. Entries have come from over 12 states in the past and we anticipate a much larger fan-base this year.
Our calendar presents a unique marketing concept, having featured felines from throughout North Carolina and surrounding states that were selected from hundreds of submissions. This selection process through contest submissions allowed the fund to obtain target audience interaction. The primary goal of the Marley Fund calendars is to provide information on retroviruses while raising funds.
Letter from the Founder
"Is Your Answer Yes?" is our campaign used for hard to place felines, specifically, felines with retroviruses--those infected with Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), as well as education. Even though our campaign has been overwhelmingly successful and is precedent-setting in our area and surrounding states, we would like to leave no stone unturned and to have the capabilities to help hundreds of thousands more! Continued support will allow us to continue our campaign efforts on a much larger scale. It will help increase the number of pet owners educated; ultimately allowing us to find more forever homes for our animals. We are extremely thankful for your consideration.
We believe that education is the key to changing behavior to find forever homes for our animals. How important would it be to stop the cycle of the number one killer of cats to date and help those that are already infected into the loving arms of those educated and responsible? We believe that the two go hand and hand, making them inseparable and most vital to our campaign's success rate. Realizing how our crusade has thrived over the last 6 years has given us the compassion, strength and motivation to continue. We are a very highly motivated group with unstoppable determination to succeed.
I realize now that Marley, our namesake, passed away for a reason--that we are here to help others understand and that there are thousands of "Marleys" out there who need us and rely on us to find them homes.
We hope that others will be as proud of us as we are of ourselves for taking on what seemed impossible to some, the hard road to follow to most, but the right thing to do for the betterment of animals. Our campaign is very unique and holds so very much at stake. We would like to encourage you to join our fight! Marley Fund is excited to have you on our team!
~ Joy Eubanks, Marley Fund Founder |
