05/08/2025
Mornin' y'all,
Success! I managed to finish up the gate and the wire tensioning yesterday morning while Sweetness was otherwise engaged with stuffing her face. Thank goodness that is done although it may be a moot point if things don't change soon.
Folks , we are very near the point where we may have to close our doors for good. After five years of constantly begging and pleading for enough money to get us through the month we have gotten to the point where no one can help any longer.
While the handful of regular contributors have done their part in propping us up their success was always contingent on us managing to raise at least a couple hundred dollars each month to supplement their generosity.
That we are no longer able to do. Since the first of the year we've only managed to raise a total of $750.55 via our FB fundraisers. You read that right. $750 in four and a half months.
That's an average of $166 per month. That plus the few hundred taken in each month from our regular donors is no longer enough to cover our monthly feed bills as we've depleted all of our cash reserves that have been covering the shortfalls.
The recent addition of another horse , Ebony , that I had hoped would generate a fresh round of interest in our page and help offset the increased feed bill has done nothing of the sort.
As a matter of fact viewership continues it's steady decline , as does the gifting , all while our equine feed costs have gone up fully 150%. Who knew that senior feed costs fifty percent more than regular horse feed? I didn't.
Regular "high fat" feed for Sweetness costs $16 per bag and yet Ebony's "senior" feed costs $24 for the same fifty pounds. A quick , back of the napkin , calculation puts our current monthly feed cost at just under $800 for all critters.
That's up nearly $200 per month courtesy of Ebony alone. And bear in mind that these monthly expenses are for FEED ONLY. No gas , no salaries , no rent , no meds , no vets , no utilities and no infrastructure repairs or maintenance.
I personally donate all of that myself and have done so for five years. I cannot make up the shortfall in feed. I just do not have the funds available to give cash on top of all the time , property and facilities given gratis.
I know that I've always portrayed myself as the "eternal optimist" and that remains so but still I grow despondent. It seems as if the handwriting is on the wall and the economy is going to be our undoing which begs the question ... "If we have to close our doors where do fifty critters go?"
I don't have the answer and I hope to not have to find out but the fact remains that I'm just not a savvy enough marketer to squeeze those needed funds from our audience. nor am I able to change the fact that we have almost 900 followers while only a dozen of them are financial supporters.
On reflection , perhaps this is all my fault. After all , my storytelling has taken a serious turn for the worse as my imagination has been severely diminished through overuse and maybe the dreaded "chemo fog".
Who can blame folks for not visiting the page when there is nothing of value to be learned by doing so? I just don't know. I find myself bereft of fresh ideas.
Just as with all my previous business ventures , I'm great at getting the work done but lousy at the self-promotion required to get the jobs(donations) in the first place.
My the Good Lord smile on Carolina Hills Farm as He has done so for me personally. That's all I can ask.
Sorry y'all. Have a great day.
Square: https://square.link/u/EOVQGNVI
Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/fZe4j76MQ0Tj5YQ9AA
Zelle: [email protected]
PayPal: paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/4319194
CashApp: $CarolinaHillsFarm
Welcome to South Carolina's newest animal refuge. Please donate what you can to help our furred friends.
