Cosy Cabins Charity Policy

Purpose of this policy

As the Cosy Cabins brand and profile have grown, so have the requests for support and it’s time to have a standardised policy for how animal charities and groups will be supported in the future. This is to ensure fairness for all and to reflect our continued commitment to supporting animal welfare in line with our stated aims. It will also aid staff in making decisions about what support to provide.

Who we support

We will provide support to the following types of animal charities and groups based in the UK only:

• Local/regional shelters for abandoned or unwanted pets.
• Feral cat charities and support groups.
• National pet welfare or rehoming charities.
• Wildlife charities.

All charities/groups we support must be for animals who can benefit from our products, that is, animals who may shelter or sleep inside. This can include: cats, rabbits, chickens, foxes, hedgehogs and dogs or puppies.

Types of support

We will offer the following kinds of support to any eligible charities/groups who apply:

1. Affiliate links - not available on Kitty Cabins: if a charity wishes to include a link to our store or products on their website, we will provide them with an affiliate link. All purchases made through the affiliate link will be tracked with 10% of those sales given to the charity as a cash donation. All enrolled charities can benefit from this option. Register as an affiliate (does not preclude you from other benefits).
2. Percentage donation (already allocated in 2024-2025): a charity that is signed up to our programme is eligible for donations from our customers. During checkout, customers will be able to add a donation amount of up to 10% to their order. This will then be passed on to the charity as a cash donation once a year. Note that we will only be able to offer this option to one charity a year.
3. Donated products: we will donate a maximum of 20 products per year to charities and groups who make a direct request. This will be on the basis of first come, first served for any eligible charity in the UK. 

Payouts

Payments resulting from referred sales or checkout donations will be made quarterly.

Our requirements

1. On site marketing: charities/groups who are enrolled in the programme will be required to use our marketing material at their sites. This includes:
1. Displaying a poster at their site which will enable their customers to find out more about our products by scanning the QR code on the poster; and
2. Holding a stock of discount vouchers which can be given to customers who re-home/release an animal. The vouchers will entitle the customer to a discount of 10 percent off the price shown on our website.
3. As with affiliate links, all purchases will be tracked and 10% of the sale given to the charity.
2. Social media: charities/groups who are enrolled in the programme will be required to take photos and video of products in use and:
1. Send them to us for use in our own marketing.
2. Post them on social media as appropriate and tag Cosy Cabins when relevant.
3. Follow Cosy Cabins on social media.
3. Newsletters: where charities/groups engage in email marketing, we would ask them to email their supporters at least once per year. The affiliate link can also be used in email marketing.

How to apply

Charities and groups wishing to join the programme should complete the online form, selecting the type of support they would most like to receive.

Other information

We will publish a list of all charities that join our programme - with links to their online presence - on our website.

We will review the policy each year considering what worked and feedback we receive from charities and customers.

We will publish the value of all support we provide on our charity page on our website and will inform all customers once a year.

Version control

1.0 First version (3/10/23)

1.1 Second version (updated to include new products and addition of email marketing; 13/05/24)

1.2 Third version (this version; updated to reflect terms available in Shopify Collabs 24/05/24)

1.3 Fourth version (this version; updated to reflect new product lines and new affiliate programmes 17/09/24)

1.4 Fifth version (this version; updated to remove Kitty Cabins from the general affiliate programme and to note that the checkout donation is already assigned 3/12/24)