When tens of thousands of people fleeing Hurricane Katrina were forced to leave their pets behind, the Humane Society of the United States organized the largest animal rescue and sheltering operation in U.S. history. Now, in order to promote legislation to protect animals from harm in future disasters, the Humane Society has created eCards that share the stories and images of a few of the animals they saved. Supporters can send the eCards to others, fostering interest and support for the legislation.

An eCard is an e-mail message that contains eye-catching graphics or animation, sometimes music or sound effects, and a personalized message. Available for free at many popular websites, including those of Hallmark and American Greetings, and as simple to send as a regular e-mail message, eCards have become the greeting card of the Internet era.

At first the Humane Society tried using eCards to develop its member list by offering holiday eCards at their website so that visitors could send seasonal pet-themed greetings. Recipients of the holiday eCards were invited to send their own eCards and to join the Humane Society mailing list. The holiday eCards proved so popular that the group began considering ways to adapt eCards for their advocacy work. Their first such effort is an advocacy campaign supporting the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act which would require state and local authorities to include pets in their evacuation plans in the event of a major disaster.

Visitors to the Humane Society's No Pet Left Behind website can view five different eCards, and each one shows the picture and story of an animal rescued following Hurricane Katrina. After selecting an eCard, the sender can personalize it by adding his or her own message, and then send it to one or more contacts. Since some email applications may not display images, the recipient does not receive the eCard itself, but instead receives a text message with a link to view the eCard and the sender's personalized message. When viewing the eCard, the recipient is also invited to send a message to his or her U.S. Senator in support of the PETS Act, and to send his or her own eCards to others.

According to Geoff Handy, Director of eCommunity at the Humane Society, the eCard campaign has produced some notable results:

• 32,580 eCards have been sent.
• 7,189 people who received an eCard also emailed their Senators about the PETS Act.
• 3,179 people signed up to receive updates.

Handy says one key to the success of the eCards is the compelling photos from the Katrina rescue effort. "eCards are only successful when people are willing to forward them," he says, and the photos that the Humane Society selected are both eye-catching and moving. Handy recommends that other organizations wishing to use eCards look for images that "represent your issue really well" so that the recipients will be engaged and more likely to send eCards to their own contacts.

In addition to selecting compelling images and stories for the eCards, the Humane Society also integrated their online action center, GetActive, with the eCard campaign. This allows eCard recipients to automatically send email about the PETS Act to their Senators. Online action centers, called constituent relationship management (CRM) systems, often include some support for eCards. However organizations may need to consult with their vendor to determine the best approach. Though commerical eCard vendors are available, some organizations and individuals may wish to be cautious about giving their private email addresses to a third party.

Nonprofits that are not using a CRM system may find it challenging to implement eCard campaigns on the scale of "No Pet Left Behind." Even without a CRM system, messages in eCards can include contact information for public officials and a call to action urging the recipient to contact them. Nevertheless, any organization might find it effective to use similar techniques -compelling images, personalized stories and grassroots networks - in their next email advocacy campaign.

Finally, Handy recommends that any organization using eCards for the first time should start with a small pilot program. For example, HSUS found that when some recipients linked to the website to view their eCard, they were confused by instructions on the webpage and were unsure about how to send their own eCards. Revising the language on the page made sending eCards both easier and more appealing. The lessons that HSUS has learned from this project will also enable them to more easily employ eCards in future advocacy efforts.

The "No Pet Left Behind" eCards are an advocacy project of the Humane Society of the United States.