Q&A: Caring for your community

Q: I wish our practice would contribute more to our community through discounts and free care, especially considering the state of the economy and the number of struggling pet owners. How can I make a case to the owner?

Generally practice owners offer community discounts for one of two reasons: to generate new business or to help people in need, says Dr. Karen Felsted, CPA, MS, CVPM, CEO of the National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues. In either scenario, remember that giving away services comes straight out of the owner's pocket. In the first case, the owner expects that this money will eventually be recouped by the practice. If you can provide examples of discounts that will help build the practice—like giving free first exams to new clients who adopt pets from shelters—then you may be able to persuade the owner to try a program of this kind.

Suggesting to the owner that the practice increase its charitable giving is more difficult, but there are ways you can help your community. When good animal-related community causes or a particularly worthy client with a need comes to your attention, bring that case to the attention of the owner or manager and explain why you think it's worth considering. Your practice could also put together a program in which both staff members and owners contribute to worthy causes. If cash contributions are difficult for staff members, they might be able to donate their time. For example, if you want to offer surgery to a cash-strapped client at a reduced rate, the doctor could donate his time and the materials and the staff could donate their time—just make sure you don't violate any labor laws. You'll have a better chance of persuading an owner to participate if he or she isn't the only one who contributes.