All I know is that I know nothing, if someone wants to build a animal sanctuary, it’s going to be pretty much a full time (and them some) job. Is it literally their (only) job? Where do they get money to live and keep the sanctuary running?

[WokeKarenHereAskMeAboutStuff]

Can someone explain?

And yes, I would love to disappear from this world and just take care off animal all day until I die.
But it can’t be that simple, right?

Is it possible to live off grid, far away from people, save animals and pets and somehow still afford to live?

All I know is that I know nothing

You’ve told us even less. Who is building a what now?

Ask Jodie Marsh and her farce of an animal sanctuary

I expect they live a very simple, frugal life growing their own food etc and rely on donations to keep things running.

If you want to do something similar, have a Google around and see if you can contact some of the people doing it?

I have a friend who does this with 3 kids
She works 2 jobs in addition to running her not for profit animal rescue where they live on site.
Never met anyone who works so hard and is dedicated whilst working spare hours at rescue, managing it and volunteers/ funding raising

You can fund charity operational costs - including salaries for managers and other staff - out of donations. You need to be transparent about where donor money is going. If a disproportionate amount of donor money is being spent on operational costs (rather than directly helping animals) people are less likely to donate.

Theoretically you could set up an animal sanctuary where the care of the animals, the property and your salary were all covered by donations but realistically it won’t happen because you would need to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds a year to fund it. Fundraising for charities is a full time job in and of itself, and you would find it hard to find people willing to donate to you rather than a more established animal charity.

We saw a party entertainer who did an incredible job who does it full time but includes school visits for a fee

They spent thousands on a new pool for a large lizard, stuff like that

No, you’d need a source of income to fund it. With additional start-up costs as well as running costs. Just like any other business.

I know someone who has done this (sibling of a friend) and it is an absolutely massive responsibility if you do it properly - endless work, endless fundraising. In that case it is a registered charity and she gets a tiny salary as in minimum wage, much less than she earned before. It is a labour of love and even with the support of her partner and family I don't know how she copes with the pressure. I also don't know what would happen if she had health issues or was unable to continue, because even though there are other staff and managers, she is the one who drives it and makes it happen.

IN NO WAY is it a good option for someone who needs to opt out of the world for a bit.

I think I used a wrong world, other commentor used a word rescue, that’s what I meant. English isin’t my first language, I apolize.

All b the local animal shelters around us are charity based.

What kind of animals? Where geographically?

No, I don’t think that running an animal rescue generally involves being able to retreat from the world unless you’ve got someone else out front raising the necessary funds. When I worked for a dog rescue years ago, I had to get used to dealing with owners coming in to get rid of unwanted pets. Our policy was that we accepted all comers with no criticism or blame, otherwise those animals risked being abandoned on a road somewhere. It could be tough emotionally.

I'll tell you what happens.

'Animal Lover' starts a sanctuary or 'rescue'.
Animal Lover has a big heart and can 't turn anyone away.
Animal Lover goes bankrupt trying to fund accommodation, food, vet bills.
Animal Lover becomes ill with overwork (full time job to fund those bills, plus animal care), stress and worry.
'Donations' might well be called 'DON'Tnations' because they don't come in.
'Volunteers' are unreliable and want to take more than they give.
Animals are kept in decreasingly suitable conditions because Animal Lover is half dead.
Animal Lover either dies or gives up due to ill health.

Why not volunteer at a seemingly successful sanctuary instead? Search Jacob's Ridge Animal Sanctuary on instagram. They take volunteers and are somewhere warm.
Halfpenny-Farm Animal Sanctuary in Aberdeenshire, Scotland
These people aren't so far away - check they're still running, though.

You start a charity which you may be able to get a grant for to start off and then rely on donations and fundraising 🤔

Brain Blessed does adverts to fund his animal sanctuary. Have you got a very shouty voice and a background in Shakespeare or period drama?

Interesting user name btw, @WokeKarenHereAskMeAboutStuff. May I ask why 'woke Karen', as you invite us to ask about stuff?

Reading between the lines, I get the impression you're trying to find a way that you could use public donations to support you, while you don't have to work and get to look after animals, which you'd enjoy. Realistically, that's not going to happen.

In order to run an animal rescue and garner enough donations to support yourself alongside the animals you're rescuing, you are going to, as well as looking after the animals, need to be an expert in fundraising and marketing. You'll need to go out and give talks and spread the word about what you do. You'll need to manage your accounts, manage volunteers and apply for sponserships and fundraising grants. You'll need to build and keep up to date your website. You'll need to travel to collect animals that need rescuing. You'll need to liaise with potential adopters and do house visits. You'll need to keep all your paperwork up to date, write policy and comply with all relevant legislation. You'll be doing more than a full time job's worth of work and admin where you are liaising and interacting with the public in addition to spending time with the animals, and will quite likely not raise enough donations to support yourself once all the animal's needs have been met.

The country is full of animal lovers. If it was that easy to be paid enough to support yourself by looking after animals, surely we'd all be doing it!

Generally I'd say the smaller rescues are run by people who are financially supported from some other source, so they are doing it to help animals and they accept that it's many, many hours of unpaid work.

@StopStartStop exactly that. There also can be a fine line between people who run animal sanctuaries and animal hoarders.
My dad, a farmer, has had to deal with the aftermath of animal sanctuaries and small holdings that go wrong. It is not pretty.

You need more than just a love of animals to run something like that.

Look up Fiona Oakes and her Tower Hill Stables Animal Sanctuary