Lack Of Funds = No Fundraising

This post was meant as a companion piece to my last one titled, Why Is Tanya Peterson Still The SFZoo Director (11.23).  I felt this needed to immediately follow, because that was a spur of the moment rant, as I prepped for this one.  Afterward, I felt hyped up and didn't follow through.  Now it's been two weeks.  

Since then, I've been working on this one and three others simultaneously,  because my thoughts are all mixed up into different posts.  This week I added four more to the list.  My goal was my mid-week indoor break from peopling, but that was side tracked by quake and tsunami news. There's one I really want to get out, but I'm posting this first for flow, and hopefully I'm productive with the rest this weekend.  So much for trying to wean myself off Zoo issues.  I have greatly reduced feeling the need to document everything, but with the Board allowing Tanya Peterson to continue her reign of mismanagement as Director, the continued craziness of bring Pandas here at this time, and the upset of the list of Animal Needs that continue to be ignored, I just don't see that happening in the immediate future.  

I started a longer version if this post on the heels of Zoological Society Board Chair Melinda Dunn's announcement that Tanya Peterson would continue as the Zoo's Director.  *I initially wrote a short reaction post to the Chronicle article that broke this decision, but because of specific notation to Peterson's alleged fundraising achievements, I needed to shine a brighter light on those Delusions.  The Lack of Fundraising point alone in my opinion, is one of the main roots of Peterson's mismanagement.  

>...the Zoological Society board steadfastly supported Peterson, according to Elena M. Asturias, a former board member who told the Chronicle Peterson "was appreciated for her fundraising abilities."<

Quotes from Board Members who know nothing about the Zoo, are void of worth.  Asturias needs to name specific things, because keeping Orangutans in caged tubes, claiming No Money, certainly does not lend to any fundraising ability.   This quote and the statement below from the article is full of delusion and illusion, as well as ignorace.

> Peterson oversaw renovations of the zoo’s aging chimpanzee and orangutan facilities and the building of a new exhibit for sifakas, a type of lemur from Madagascar.<

Fact: Peterson planned to kick-out Our Chimpanzees, only seeking funds to build them a new home, when she was desperate to save face under public outrage of her plan.

Fact: Peterson never raised funds for the Orangutans, who still live in that "aging" enclosure.  ZERO renovations FOR the Orangutans or to modernize that enclosure have been made.  Tanya Peterson should be fired for her oversee vision of an appropriate Orangutan home.

Fact: The Sifaka build was a Donor Vanity project.  As far as I know, Peterson was not involved in raising any funds for this project.  I was told this was Donor initiated.  Tanya grabbed the check and gave the middle finger to the Chimps, who were waiting for the build on their new home.  That promise was back-burnered, and Sifaka fast-tracked.  

I could make additional comments about Donor Locked Funds for Wants Over Needs, which I find disturbing coming from Zoological Society Members.  Supporters of the Zoo should ask what Needs are, before asking for personal Wants.  The Director, Board, and Society Members need to be reminded that the Zoo is not their personal playground.  And before these Members get their panties in a twist, I appreciated the generosity, and I realize this is their money, and they can do with what they want, but don't act like the Zoo needs a Madagascar exhibit, when we have Orangutans living in caged tubes.  That goes for Gardens and Art Installations too.   

Sifaka, like Pandas, were not even current Zoo Residents.  So, Like the Chimpanzees, the Orangutans will have to wait, or likely never see a new home built, because Pandas are Peterson's (and whoever else has donated to bring them here) Want.  The Orangutans Thank all you caring and unselfish people.

Director Peterson chased Orangutans for at least five years before getting her self-indulgent hands on them.  At no point did she fundraise to renovate Triple Grotto FOR them, before their arrival, or anytime since.  She allegedly claimed there was No Money.  What was done, was a disgrace, and not one thing FOR them.  All alterations to keep them imprisoned on those concrete islands, in that ancient pit, as she cried No Money for netting, which would have expanded their topical area, allowing for more movement freedom and providing climbing material for their natural behavior.  

Tanya Peterson made NO effort to raise a penny for the Orangutans, yet she has gone and allegedly raised near her goal of $20 Million for Pandas.  Pandas don't live at the Zoo, Orangutans do.  It's not only morally void, but should not be allowed to happen.  This selfishness is a big problem, not only with Peterson's rampant mismanagement, but within the Zoological Society, and an extremely important part of why the management structure needs to change.

The Zoo's annual Fundraiser, ZooFest, is basically a big cocktail party for all the Zoological Society mucky-mucks to gather and pat themselves on the back for doing a bang-up job at "managing" the Zoo, while writing checks to ReName Animals that already have names.  Looking at the tax returns, I'm not even sure the amount spent on the party is significant to the amount raised.  That said, my point in bringing up ZooFest is that each year it has a theme.  I have thought in the far past the themes were created around a fundraising goal (Animal Need or Project), but in more recent years (like ten+), the themes have been random, with no focus on Needs.  Last years theme was to praise the outgoing Society Board Chair.  Yep, they blew smoke-up this guy, who had been the Chair for years, allowing and supporting Tanya Peterson's mismanagement.  

At NO time in the last dozen+ years was there a theme about the Need to build a new home for the Chimpanzees, so they could get out of the sixty year old Triple Grotto, or for the acquisition of Orangutans, so they could avoid being sentenced to life in the old, outdated, Triple Grotto.  

In addition to the Animal Cruelty and Welfare issues that befell Our Orangutans, continuing to keep Triple Grotto in it's current state is a blight on a focal point of the Zoo.  Attention to that exhibit location should have been a priority long ago.  

I have witnessed and wondered, for over a decade at least, Why there is NO fundraising at Our Zoo. Tanya Peterson was allegedly a master fundraiser for the Society before becoming Director, but that apparently stopped once she grabbed the reins. The Zoo employed someone whose title was Philanthropy, and job description included Fundraising, yet outside of ZooFest I never heard of any other money pulls or seen any fundraising efforts put forth by the Zoo, aka him or Director Peterson.  This lack of action has left me feeling like neither put any value on creating fundraising efforts geared at anyone outside deep-pocket donors.  There is seemingly no value or recognition given to smaller donations that could be made by members of the public.

There is so much I can write on the lack of fundraising subject, ranging from the Needs that could have been met, to the endless ideas to bring in funds.  That said, I can't do a deep dive into the last sixteen years of Needs and missed opportunities.

Since the beginning of my regular visits, now approaching seventeen years ago, I have had no lack or slack of ideas for raising funds.  One of the main times I had a constant flow was during the Covid shutdowns.  I sat here with a barage of ideas daily.  Some of those ideas came to fruition by other Zoos and even places in our own city. While I watched other Zoos doing anything they seemingly could think of to keep funds flowing in to make-up for lost revenue, I waited for Our SFZoo to do something.  I'm still waiting.  ** Where was Tanya Peterson's fundraising expertise during that time?  All I saw out of her was her Twitter post making a Social Distancing joke out of the Orangutans living in the caged tubes (because of her cruelty).

The only thing I saw out of our Zoo was posting for a general donation ask.  Nothing wrong with asking, but it stopped there.  There was no creative ideas, nothing that gives to get, like opportunities to purchase merchandise or other benefit styled purchases. The general ask, reportedly raised $15k.  I heard that the Animal Keepers were donating.  What I still find outrageous is that Keepers were forced to take pay cuts during the shutdowns, while other top earners, specifically Director Peterson, took no pay cut, and still got bonuses.  Peterson's alone ranged between $20-30,000!!!   Why they get bonuses at all, is beyond me, but during a time when no revenue is being generated, that was disgusting in my opinion and an Abuse of Power.  

Ok, I think this has gone long enough.  I think what I've said here is enough to show that anyone who believes Tanya Peterson has gone the distance to continually raise funds for Zoo Needs, needs medication for their delusions. 

Related Posts:

* https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2024/09/zoological-society-retains-confidence.html

**  https://iamnotananteater.blogspot.com/2022/01/fundraising-my-frustration-and-their.html

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