Professionalizing Soi Dog Foundation
Building Capacity / Soi Dog Foundation
Gregg Tully moved to Thailand in 2012 and became the CEO of Soi Dog Foundation, and recognized that the programs and fundraising had outgrown the organization’s infrastructure.
A global leader in dog population management, Soi Dog Foundation built a strong reputation through its frontline disaster responses alongside powerful and strategic public communication.
Many of Gregg’s first steps were to professionalize the nonprofit: he collaborated with the founders to create its first management structure and organization chart (organogram), initiated the use of annual budgets for the organization as well as for programs, ensured all staff had job descriptions and understood them, instituted regular performance reviews, and wrote Soi Dog’s first staff manual.
This helped to establish a strong foundation for subsequent organizational growth without many of the challenges that often come with rapid expansion.
In collaboration with other Soi Dog leadership, they created and executed a development strategy that diversified revenue by launching legacy giving, phone fundraising, and crowdfunding programs. Gregg led a capital campaign that raised more than US$1 million in eight months to construct a modern veterinary hospital. He also led the grant writing, tripling the number of grants received.
These changes resulted in Soi Dog’s budget increasing by 250% to nearly US$5 million while increasing the staff from 30 to 65.
“These changes resulted in Soi Dog’s budget increasing by 250% to nearly US$5 million while increasing the staff from 30 to 65.”
Gregg Tully designed new programs such as humane education in schools, and worked with other Soi Dog personnel to launch a multiple-year canine spay/neuter campaign in Bangkok. He planned the first dog population surveys in Bangkok which are still used today as a baseline for assessing the reduction in the dog population.
Strategically, he cooperated with the Board of Directors to create a strategic plan for Soi Dog, steering its transition to an international nonprofit working across East Asia with support organizations in six countries.
Soi Dog Foundation is now Southeast Asia’s largest stray animal protection organization, having sterilized more than 1 million animals, in addition to working to abolish the dog meat trade and rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming animals worldwide.