At The Open Sanctuary Project, we stress the important role record keeping plays in sanctuary resident care, and we provide many free records and forms folks can use to help them with the process. Of course, record keeping goes beyond simply holding on to important records, you also need to have a system in place for organization and retrieval of these records. While there are a number of different systems a sanctuary may consider, they typically fall into one of two categories: digital record-keeping systems or paper record-keeping systems. In this resource, we’ll discuss these two broader categories and highlight some specific systems you may want to consider. Because each sanctuary is unique, it’s important to choose a record-keeping system that best meets your needs—what works for one sanctuary simply may not work for yours for any number of reasons!
Digital Record-Keeping Systems
There are many benefits to a digital record-keeping system, but we realize a digital system may not be an option for everyone. However, if your sanctuary does have the capability to maintain a digital record-keeping system, you will likely find that searching for and retrieving information is much easier with (the right) digital system than with a paper system. While some digital systems are more costly, there are also free and inexpensive options available. Here are a few to consider:
The Open Sanctuary Project’s Animal Database
Because we know how difficult it is to find the right digital system, we teamed up with Kyle Behrend to create something specifically for farmed animal sanctuariesAnimal sanctuaries that primarily care for rescued animals that were farmed by humans.. The Open Sanctuary Project’s Animal Database is built on Airtable—a flexible, spreadsheet-database hybrid that lets you manage information about your residents in an easy-to-use format. This database was built on Airtable’s free plan, which supports up to 1,000 records per base. This means you can begin using it for free to see if it suits your needs! As your sanctuary grows and you accumulate more data, you might need to upgrade to a team plan that supports up to 50,000 records per base. Currently, the cost of the team plan is about $20/month, but Airtable offers a 50% discount for nonprofitsNon-governmental organizations whose primary purpose is something other than selling goods or services., helping you manage costs as you scale. To learn more about the features and functionality of The Open Sanctuary Project’s Animal Database and how to get started using it for your record-keeping needs, check out our in-depth resource here!
Other Database Systems
If you’d like to look into other existing database systems, be sure to think carefully about what features and functions are important so you can carefully assess whether or not the system can meet your needs. Think about the different ways you want to be able to filter information and the types of reports you want it to be able to generate, and consider how easily the system can do that. Similarly, if you opt to work with a professional to build a custom system, be sure to be clear about what you need so you are happy with the end product.
Basic Programs Such As Microsoft Office Or Google Workspace
Even if your sanctuary doesn’t have reliable high-speed internet, you can use a basic program to create digital records that are saved to your hard drive. By creating a folder for each resident with sub-folders for each type of record (Intake Documentation, Veterinary Exams, etc.), you should be able to find what you are looking for more easily, and you may be able to take advantage of the search feature. Rather than having information only saved to your computer, we recommend also saving information to a backup hard drive that is stored in a separate location. This way, if something happens to your computer, your backup hard drive will hopefully remain safe.
If you have internet access, we recommend saving information using cloud storage. Both Google Workspace and Microsoft Office come with cloud storage. By using cloud storage, you will have a backup if something happens to your computer. These programs also allow you to hyperlink from one document to another, which can make it easier to find relevant information. Both programs also have a search feature which should make finding information easier. As of this writing, both Google and Microsoft offer free plans for verified non-profits as well as discounts for plans with more features.
Paper Record-Keeping Systems
Some folks love physical paper records. Others opt for a paper system out of necessity if they do not have reliable internet access. Because paper systems do not have a search function, careful organization is imperative (and you can read more about this here).
Maintaining Records
Once you’ve chosen a record-keeping system, be sure to think carefully about how you will maintain your residents’ records. If you have reliable internet access in your residents’ living spaces and are using a digital system such as our Animal Database, some records will be able to be inputted into the system as the data is collected, but think about how other data will be inputted and organized. For example, when a diagnostic report comes in, who will enter that information into the database and when?
Whatever system you use, take a moment to think about all the data it will contain, who should be responsible for maintaining records, and how that will be accomplished. Caregiving is tiring work and things can get busy fast. If you don’t prioritize and make time for maintaining resident records, this important task will likely be pushed to the bottom of the to-do list. Of course, direct animal care takes priority, but maintaining resident records is not optional! It’s also one of those tasks that can easily become unmanageable if put off for too long (it’s much easier to maintain records regularly rather than dealing with a massive stack of records once a year). Therefore, we recommend being clear about who is responsible for maintaining records and making sure they have the time to do it! At sanctuaries that have a caregiving team, you may want to put each caregiverSomeone who provides daily care, specifically for animal residents at an animal sanctuary, shelter, or rescue. in charge of a certain species or group of residents so that everyone is chipping in. Not only can this make the process more manageable, it can also offer a nice change of pace for caregivers who are mostly working outdoors doing physical labor. However you divvy things up, be clear about each person’s responsibilities.
Once you’ve figured out who is responsible for what, create a system for getting records properly documented, filed, uploaded, and/or inputted. Offer clear instructions about how each type of record should be handled to ensure the data ends up where it needs to be. If record-keeping does not happen in real-time (in general or for certain types of records), think carefully about where they should be stored in the meantime. You might want to set up a desktop or wall-mounted file organizer to store these documents. This can make the process of record maintenance easier since it keeps documents semi-organized while waiting to be added to the resident’s file. Smaller organizations might be able to give each resident their own bin, while larger organizations might assign one bin per species. Again, there is no right or wrong here. It’s about setting it up so that it works for whatever system you have put in place.
