The purpose of the Foster 50 Challenge is to help animal shelters expand, improve and innovate their foster programs. Targeted foster sub-programs within a larger foster program help specific, vulnerable groups of animals benefit from foster placement. Each specific foster program also appeals to an entirely unique base of potential foster caregivers. If you’ve been running a generalized foster program, consider creating one of these eight program sub-types.

1. Field trip fostering – Foster field trips take just a couple hours of volunteer time – a perfect entry point for people who want to try fostering. Dogs that go on foster field trips are also five times more likely to be adopted!
   
   
2. Overnight and weekend fostering – These give dogs a longer break than a field trip and are especially valuable for shelters that are closed one or more days during the week. Dogs that go on overnight or weekend foster field trips are 14 times more likely to be adopted!
   
   
3. Short-term placement (a few days to two weeks) – Sending dogs and cats to foster for just a few days helps you learn more about the animals you place than you ever could if they were inside the shelter. In addition to the valuable intel on all the bright personality traits that present outside of the kennel, short-term fosters can also create great pictures and videos to help market the pets.
   
   
4. Medical fostering – Orphaned puppies and kittens and pets recovering from illness or injury are usually better served in a foster home than in a kennel. In homes, they receive constant TLC and monitoring, and their foster caregiver can flag issues when they arise. Given that most shelters close by early evening and pets are left alone overnight, medical foster placement should be seriously considered as the preferred option.
   
   
5. Senior, geriatric and “fospice” placement – For pets who are geriatric or very old with medical issues, foster care is an important option. Shelter life is particularly hard on older pets, and fostering can allow these animals to leave the shelter almost immediately. In foster homes, they can lounge on a comfy couch while they wait for new families.
   
   
6. “Behavior” fostering – Dogs who are jumpy and mouthy in the shelter, under-socialized indoor cats, barrier-reactive pooches and pets who are fearful may need nothing more than to be outside of the confines of the shelter in order to thrive. Behavior foster is truly lifesaving, especially for animals that have developed stress-related behaviors over time, due to the emotional toll of shelter life.
   
   
7. Emergency fostering – This is one of the most underutilized approaches to foster care and potentially one of the most impactful. When your organization hits a capacity crisis point, or there is a large intake due to a welfare case or weather emergency, you should ask the public to simply show up and foster. You’ll be amazed at the outpouring of support when you ask the public to help foster during a crisis.
   
   
8. Safety net fostering – You’ll find a whole new group of people who want to help when you seek temporary placement for owned pets whose families are facing a short-term crisis. This is a perfect foster option for people who want to help but don’t want the pressure of finding their foster pet a new home or marketing them for adoption. Here’s how to write an emergency foster plea.

The shelters that consistently move the most animals through foster care offer more than one type of fostering and often have specialty foster programs that appeal to unique groups of animals and people. Try adding one or more of these and track your progress. You’ll be amazed at the new foster caregivers you find when you market these specific types of fostering.