Hero Toolkit 2020 | Voiceless

About #Voiceless4AnimalJustice

#Voiceless4AnimalJustice is an annual crowdfundraising campaign that allows our supporters to collect funds to support our efforts to transform Canada into a kinder country for animals. This year’s campaign is entirely dedicated to funding our legal fight to strike down Canada’s ag gag laws in court, including upcoming lawsuits in Ontario and Alberta.

During the campaign, supporters will share pre-made graphics on social media that will educate the public about ag gag laws. On the last day of #Voiceless4AnimalJustice, supporters will take action with a 24-hour vow of silence for animals who are silenced by ag gag laws. Supporters will post on social media with a red “X” on their hand and over their mouth, making a powerful visual statement.

#Voiceless4AnimalJustice 2020 launches on October 23, 2020 and ends with a day of silence on Saturday, November 14, 2020. (Note that it’s fine to go silent on another day of your choice if more convenient!)

What are “ag gag” laws?

#Voiceless4AnimalJustice Hero Toolkit

Thank you so much for joining the movement to protect animals with our #Voiceless4AnimalJustice crowd fundraising campaign! We’re so excited to have you on board. This page is your #Voiceless4AnimalJustice Toolkit, explaining all you need to know, that includes:

Hey #Voiceless4AnimalJustice Hero!

About #Voiceless4AnimalJustice

What are “ag gag” laws?

Ag gag laws are “agricultural gag” laws that outlaw undercover investigations, making it illegal for whistleblowers to film hidden animal abuse at farms and slaughterhouses and expose animal cruelty to the public.

The Canadian government doesn’t bother to regulate or inspect the treatment of animals on farms, so undercover investigations are one of the only ways to expose shocking and rampant abuse inherent to factory farms.

Troubling ag gag laws originated from the US and are new to Canada. Since the end of 2019, ag gag laws have been passed in Ontario and Alberta, and are being lobbied for by the meat industry in Manitoba, Quebec, British Columbia, and at the federal level.

Ag gag laws are well-known for having dire consequences for the millions of animals who suffer in brutal factory farms, but can also make it illegal to investigate cruelty in puppy mills, fur farms, and labs.

Canada currently has some of the worst animal protections laws in the western world, and these dangerous ag gag laws will make a bad situation far worse.

What is Animal Justice?

Animal Justice is Canada’s only national animal law advocacy organization working to protect all animals from cruelty and neglect. Our lawyers make sure animals have a voice in court, push for stronger laws, and raise the profile of animals in the media.

To learn more about Animal Justice’s life-saving work, watch our 2019 Year In Review video below.

Campaign breakdown

#Voiceless4AnimalJustice kicks off on October 23, 2020 and runs for three weeks. Participants will encourage their friends, families, and colleagues to contribute to their own individual fundraising pages, and the proceeds will go toward ensuring Animal Justice can continue to work to defeat ag gag laws.

As an added bonus, the first $10,000 we raise together will be MATCHED by a generous donor!

On the final day of the campaign, November 14, participants will pledge to go silent for an entire day in solidarity with and to advocate for the animals whose voices are silenced by ag gag laws. If you can't join on November 14, feel free to choose another day to go voiceless.

Leading up to the day of silence, post graphics on social media to educate others about what makes ag gag laws so harmful to animals (more on that in the “Posting on Social Media” section of this document).

On the day of silence on November 14, you can post a picture with a red X on your hand like this one:

While you are participating in the day of silence you can communicate online or via written messages.

Once you sign up to participate in #Voiceless4AnimalJustice, there is a section in your account to set up your own personal text-to-donate code. If you do so, be aware that it will tell you to text the code to a phone number that only works in the US. To text-to-donate in Canada, the code must be texted to (888) 641-3576.

We have a huge selection of fabulous prizes from ethical brands to be awarded to the top fundraisers and teams in these categories:

1st Place Top Individual Fundraiser
2nd Place Top Individual Fundraiser
3rd Place Top Individual Fundraiser
Most Individual Donors
Top Fundraising Team
First Fundraiser to Raise $200
First Fundraiser to Raise $500
First Fundraiser to Raise $750
Completed Personal Fundraising Page by October 25, 2020
Using the Hashtag #Voiceless4AnimalJustice
Best Personal Story Shared on Fundraising Page or Social Media

How to get started!

We each have our own individual fundraising pages on the platform Qgiv. The platform will guide you through the setup process. You’ll notice really neat tools like the ability to import your email list so you can email your contacts, the ability to post on social media with pre-made template posts, and fun badges to award your achievements.
- Go to animaljustice.ca/voiceless and either join as a team or as an individual.

You're welcome to fundraise on Facebook as well! Simply go to Animal Justice's Facebook page and click the fundraising tab. From there, you can create your fundraiser for #Voiceless4AnimalJustice with donations directed to Animal Justice Canada. If you fundraise on Facebook, please manually update your fundraising page on the Qgiv platform with offline donations as you collect donations on Facebook. If you create a Facebook fundraiser, please send it along to us at shannon@animaljustice.ca so we can keep track of fundraising outside of the Qgiv platform. All offline donations must be approved before they're added to your page.

Please note that all #Voiceless4Animal Justice donations are tax deductible and tax receipts are automatically sent via email upon making a donation on Facebook or though the Qgiv platform.

Join the Facebook group for #Voiceless4AnimalJustice heroes! We’ll share helpful info and motivate each other throughout the campaign.

Join Facebook group

You can contact our communications manager Shannon at any time with questions at shannon@animaljustice.ca

Fundraising tips

Ask friends, family and co-workers to support the #Voiceless4AnimalJustice campaign.
Ask your network of friends, family or co-workers, or company to match a personal donation.
Make a short video or livestream for social media about why you are fundraising for #Voiceless4AnimalJustice.
Hold a workshop teaching one of your skills, with proceeds going to your #Voiceless4AnimalJustice campaign.
Have a yard sale.
Sell items online.
Get creative and have fun!

Posting on social media &

share graphics

Below, you'll find social media graphics that you can download and post leading up to the November 14 day of silence.
- Square graphics are for Instagram, Facebook and Twitter static posts
- Vertical graphics are for Instagram and Facebook stories.
- The horizontal graphic is for a Facebook cover photo

As mentioned above, on the November 14 day of silence, post a picture of yourself with a red X on your hand, asking people to donate for the cause. Some photos from last year looked like this:

Best practices
- All posts should include the hashtag #Voiceless4AnimalJustice
- Sharing personal stories is a great way to engage people on the issue.
  - Example: If you’re an animal advocate who bears witness to animals in transport outside slaughterhouses, you can share a story about a suffering animal you’ve personally seen.
- Tag us on Instagram @animaljustice_ and on Twitter @AnimalJustice so we can repost you!
- Include a link to your campaign in the bio of your Twitter, and Instagram and in the caption of your #Voiceless4AnimalJustice themed Facebook cover photo so people can access it easily!