What a year it was at Piggins and Banks! 2023 was very good to us as a sanctuary and nonprofit. Not only did we have our most successful fundraising year ever, but we also made amazing new connections and met new people and organizations that want to help save pigs!
Let’s dive in to recap what happened in 2023…
Fundraising and Expenses
$67,135.70 in donations.
$65,944.66 in expenses.
2023 was our biggest fundraising year ever! We saw record amounts of donations to help support our pigs through monthly sponsorships and many, many other monetary donations through our various platforms (website, social media, cash, etc).
Successful fundraisers were held to raise money for re-graveling the sanctuary driveway, 18 large round bales of hay, 152 bales of straw, 7 new pig shelters, a watermelon pig party, a pumpkin pig party, and a pancake pig party! Oh, and we had our most successful one-day fundraiser ever on Giving Tuesday (raising $2,711.04 in 24 hours!!!).
Every single dollar mattered as our expenses almost equaled our funds raised. This is by design as all your donations go directly towards helping the animals at Piggins and Banks. Our top expenses of the year were animal feed ($28,407.67), building materials ($6,214.90), veterinary / animal care services ($5,709.87), farm-use equipment upgrades / maintenance / repairs ($4,629.53) and straw / hay / bedding ($3,300).
You can view our full financial report which lists all the numbers.
New Animal Residents
We began 2023 at capacity with 62 pigs. However, due to our big hearts and constant requests for pigs that need help, we welcomed four new pig residents to bring our pig population up to 66.
First up was Alvin and Maggie…two senior pigs which have acclimated very well to their life here at Nicky’s Barn, where our elder pigs live. Then came the addition of Georgie, who is now our biggest pig at the sanctuary (approximately 850lbs). Last but not least, Clarance became our most recent resident in July (and he has become quite a performer, doing tricks for visitors that partake in our guided tours).
We also welcomed a new rescue cat, Pete! He started hanging around the sanctuary and once we were able to befriend and capture him, were able to get him neutered and healed up from some wounds he received while out in the wild. He is now a very lovable cat that loves life here!
All said, the most important number regarding our animal residents this year? 0. That is the number of residents that passed away in 2023. We were VERY fortunate…as part of the animal rescue business is saying goodbye when an animal’s time has come to go. Previous years were quite hard in this area, so we were thankful that 2023 resulted in none of our residents crossing the rainbow bridge.
Other Events and Happenings
Other highlights from 2023 at Piggins and Banks included:
🕹️ Our very own pig Peter Curleytail appeared as a character in the popular video game, Everdream Valley.
🎃 Hundreds of pumpkins were donated after Halloween by many individuals, including Syzygy Events which delivered pallets of pumpkins used at The White House Halloween event.
👨💻 Website upgrades and a new pig sponsorship program system developed by our very own Head Hog.
👕 Some of our most popular merchandise to this date was released: Pig in a Pumpkin and Happy Hog-lidays.
🐽 Lots of guided tours were given resulting in some people meeting pigs in-person for the first time ever! Many of our tour visitors have gone on to become pig sponsors and constant supporters of our mission.
We also put together several informative and fun videos throughout 2023 as well including:
- Mini Pig Wading Pool Ideas
- Tulip’s Meadow Video Tour
- Meet the Elder Pigs at Nicky’s Barn
- What Sounds Do Pigs Make?
- Pig Watermelon Party
- Pumpkins for Pigs 2023 Edition
- And many more….
The list could go on and on, but these are some of our favorite highlights from 2023 which make us very proud of what was accomplished this year!
All of it is due to your support, so please give yourself a giant pat on the back and accept this giant “TH-OINK YOU!” from us! ❤️🐷
We already have some big ideas and plans for 2024, so we will be sharing those with you in the coming months. For now we wish you all a very Happy “Hoggy” New Year!