Thinking about starting or going into non-profit leadership? See how mother and non-profit founder, Nicole Brecht managed homeschooling, parenting and keeping the Good Life Refuge open during the pandemic. The Good Life Refuge is a farm animal sanctuary in Longmont, Colorado.
Sam Ruis snuggling with Rosie | Courtesy of Nicole BrechtLoor: Thank you for your time today, Nicole. Congratulations on your most recent animal rescue, covered by CBS Denver and the Gazette. Did you always know that this is what you wanted to do?
Brecht: Yes, ever since I was a little girl. It has always been my dream. As I grew up, I was always rescuing animals, stray dogs and pigeons and volunteering with rescue shelters.
Loor: Tell me about your role and current operations at Good Life Refuge.
Brecht: The Good Life Refuge was founded on Sept. 5, 2018. Our mission is to provide a safe haven for abused and at-risk farm animals. I am the president and founder. We have about 28 volunteers helping with animal care, and five board members. Savanna is handling social media, Jenn helps with events, Claudia and Jessica handle donor relations and Morgan helps with occasional tasks. Mary is helping with animal care, sourcing needed items and completing veterinary runs. We also have a vet doing acupuncture and a cold laser therapist doing laser treatment.
Loor: What is an average day for you?
Brecht: A typical day revolves around my children and the needs of the sanctuary. I get up early to get the kids ready for school and then check in with my staff to see where there is need of support. Then I work around fundraising, medical care, supply demands, vet visits, managing my staff, volunteers and our board, work on strategies, social media requests, take calls from people that have animals that need placements or other requests, work on donor relations, newsletters, videos, take care of our own critters and get my kids back from school. Then, I handle the evening animal shifts, dinner time and locking up the residents for the night, bring my kids to bed and add a few more hours of work to catch up until I go to bed.
Loor: How do you balance raising a family with running a non-profit?
Brecht: The balancing act is the hardest, as I often have to stop what I am doing to maneuver emergencies and last minute needs. I have to make sure that my family doesn’t fall short, which it often does. I am still learning to find a balance, as my kids are very important to me.
Loor: What was the pandemic like for you as a mother?
Brecht: Tackling remote schooling and a business was daunting. My kids got most of the attention as everything was new, and we needed to get into the new schooling groove.
Loor: What was the pandemic like for you as a non-profit director?
Brecht: Very difficult. All of a sudden our main fundraising opportunities [events] were gone and we had to find new ways of doing events and keeping us financially afloat. We had to scale back the help onsite to keep everyone safe, and that meant more load on me and our caretaker. Many of our attempts for fundraising failed, and it was an area of trial and error. I feel lucky we made it through the pandemic without having to close our doors.
Loor: Do you have any advice for someone thinking about starting a non-profit or wanting to get involved with non-profit work in their community?
Brecht: Spend a lot of time planning ahead before you start, and get a good group of people together for your board that help you with the daily needs and work load. Volunteer at a sanctuary or nonprofit similar to what you are planning, so you can gain some experience and make connections that will help you for your endeavor.
Loor: The Good Life Refuge is looking to expand its board, are there any specific professionals you’re hoping to add for anyone reading this article that may be interested or may know of a professional looking to serve on a board?
Brecht: We welcome all professionals from all fields, but would love to get more professionals with experience in fundraising, marketing, nonprofit management, operations, especially farm related, web and graphic design, veterinarian and from the legal field. We are actively seeking passionate board members, community members, and professionals who are willing to volunteer their resources, expertise and team. We currently have social media help, but always need helping hands at the refuge. We would love to get professionals with experience in the legal and veterinary fields, graphic and web design, farm operations with a sanctuary mindset, website management and fundraising.
Nicole Brecht and Savanna Adel | Courtesy of Nicole BrechtLoor: For those of us outside Longmont, what are the best virtual ways to connect, donate, or support the animals at the Good Life Refuge?
Brecht: You can find the perfect gift for the animal lover(s) in your family or for yourself, by checking out Barnyard Boost, the official Good Life Refuge wishlist, Amazon Smile & Wishlist and the KingSoopers community rewards program.
Loor: In terms of livestock veterinary care for rescued animals, does the Good Life Refuge provide those services for its residents?
Brecht: Securing volunteered veterinary care services has always been one of the greatest challenges, and we are always open to establishing relationships with livestock veterinary care providers who are able to provide services to our residents in a volunteer capacity. We are thankful for the care that Catherine Krus, Rachael Lyons, Caitlyn Mullins and all the staff at Colorado State University’s Livestock clinic provide to keep our animal residents safe and healthy.
To learn more and meet the rest of the staff and animal residents, you can connect on our website and social media:
To learn more about becoming a board member, you can visit our profile on Volunteer Match.
