Animal shelter
How to help shelters — volunteering, money, documents
Details
What's actually needed
Food, meds, transport, vet money; goods — rarely: ask for a list before buying.
Volunteering
Walking, socialization, adoption photos, foster care — more real than 'come pet them'.
Vetting a shelter
Official registration, public reports, real animals on-site, a partner vet clinic's contacts.
Business help
Corporate fundraiser, % of sales, transport services — formalized by a contract with the NGO.
A shelter with no reports and no animals on-site is a 'fluffy' scam. Before donating: call the partner vet clinic and ask to pay the clinic's account directly — the cleanest way to fund treatment.