PPB November 2020

Sha r i e Lesn i ak and L i nda Bak o f She l t e r Swag Cause For Paws Shelter Swag was launched to help animals in need, by supporting the shelters that rescue them to more effectively and economically market their service. By Danielle Renda S harie Lesniak, above left, and Linda Bak share the same vision: to help as many animals as possible. Having both volunteered and worked for different animal welfare efforts, which is also how they first crossed paths, the pair has an acute awareness of these groups’ specific needs and challenges. In search of something more meaningful from their careers at the time—Lesniak worked in advertising and Bak was a strategy consultant and securities broker—they used their combined expertise and passion for animals and founded Shelter Swag, a St. Petersburg, Florida-based distributorship with a mission to help animal nonprofits promote themselves. Their motto, "We Put The 'Wag' In Swag," says it all. “At many nonprofits, they believe that spending any money on marketing just isn’t just doable, whether it’s because of a lack of resources or time,” says Bak. “Our goal is to help our nonprofit clients understand the importance of promoting themselves in a strategic way that leads to more awareness and financial support, which, in turn, can help them fulfill their mission—and ultimately save more animals.” Shelter Swag was born out of need—a need for curated marketing solutions for animal rescue operations, and a need for relevant, branded product. When Bak worked as a full-time fundraiser at animal nonprofits, like the Sacramento SPCA and RedRover, she recalls constantly being on the lookout for ways to reach and “touch” donors. She also remembers it being difficult to find animal-themed cards that were appropriate and reasonably priced, in which she could handwrite personalized notes, and with a busy communications and marketing department, there wasn’t ample time for the team to design its own greeting cards. So naturally, one of the first products Shelter Swag offered was its greeting card line that shelters can customize with their own message and branding to use throughout the year, or they 72 | NOVEMBER 2020 | THINK