Pawsitive Teams Inc

Our goals are to (1) ensure our near and long term financial viability; (2) grow our organization by improving our programs and services and developing new services; and (3) continue development of our administrative plan so that we have efficient and financially sound operating practices.

Pawsitive Teams' volunteers serve communities in San Diego with special needs, whether it be through our Service, Facility, or Therapy Dog programs. The Covid pandemic caused us to put our Therapy Dog Prep School on hiatus for almost a year (thereby decreasing revenue) and caused all of our therapy dog program partners to put our programs on hiatus, some for two years or more. We have evaluated the strategies we need to take to grow our programs and services so as to serve more individuals. Our strategic plan is revised annually and our strategies for growth are outlined therein. In late 2022, we revised our management structure so that each dog program has an experienced manager committed to leading and growing their area. This has spread responsibility and accountability across a group of hard-working, experienced leaders. In 2023, the first target for growth is to expand our Facility Dog program so that there are more Pawsitive Teams' certified Facility Dogs working on a daily basis with their owner/handlers in carefully selected work environments.

Pawsitive Teams has an excellent and loyal donor community, including individuals, community service organizations, and foundations, all of which have been apprised of our growth plans and have rallied behind the organization. As an example: Two years ago, as COVID began and changed our lives, we needed to extend our goal of reaching a $500,000 endowment for long term viability by a year. But, during that first year of COVID, our donors rallied and we made the goal. We have increased our service dog training team and provided them with technology-based assistance in training, as well as our normal in person training and roundtables. Our Therapy Dog Prep School is back up and running and our Therapy Dog Program partners have opened their doors to us again so we believe we will meet our growth plan goals in that area. And in late 2022, when faced with needing a new roof on our 50 year old building, we applied for and were awarded a grant from the San Diego County Board of Supervisors' Neighborhood Reinvestment Program for half the cost of the roof. A board member designated their annual gift to pay for the other half.

Management for the Future: As noted above, due to issues beyond their control, two of our key staff needed to step away from their part-time paid positions. In order to ensure that all of our programs can prosper and grow, we created a new organizational structure, approved by the Board in July 2022. In September, 2022, the new part-time paid management team was put in place and it now includes the Executive Director, a manager for each dog program (Service Dog, Facility Dog, and Therapy Dog Programs), and an Operations Coordinator for our Training Center.
Funding for the future: While our original 25th anniversary celebration plans in terms of both funding and activities did not reach the extraordinary goals that had been set, we were able to bring together donors and volunteers who had not seen each other in three years, hold a public graduation for two of our service dog recipients, and recognize the work of our co-founders for the past 25 years. This good will should be helpful to us moving forward. And while our Endowment actually reached over $600,000 for a brief time in early 2023, the market and economic conditions faced by individuals and organizations alike in 2023 have hit us as well. We have been able to work with our banking team to assist us in moving some of our restricted funds to CDs or money market accounts so as to assist us in any way possible.