Peace River Wildlife Center

Client background

Peace River Wildlife Center (PRWC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit wildlife rehabilitation and education center tucked neatly into the mangroves overlooking Charlotte Harbor at Ponce de Leon Park in Punta Gorda Isles, Florida.

With no federal or state funding available to us, PRWC depends on donations to support its mission. Their main revenue streams are the gift shop, an entrance donation jug, memberships, and general donations.

When something as fickle as the weather can dictate how many people are coming through their gates, they needed a more reliable means of support. Proceeds from their current brick-and-mortar gift shop yield approximately 20 percent of their annual operating budget.

With the addition of an online gift shop and a streamlined checkout system, we believe we can double or triple the income from that source within a few short years. This is a step for them toward even greater autonomy, in that they will no longer be as dependent on admission donations, but will be able to earn an income to help us fulfill their mission — rescuing injured and orphaned wildlife.

Rough & Ready Media worked hand-in-hand with the PRWC center staff in choosing a point-of-sale (POS) system that worked both with their brick-and-mortar store and their online component. Making it easier for the small staff to manage inventory and recordkeeping.

During the build of the website Rough & Ready spoke weekly — sometimes daily — via Slack, calls, text, screen shares/video conferencing and or location visits. We worked closely with staff on choosing the best images and refining content to make the best possible site that reflects PRWC and their mission.

Rough & Ready also rebranded the PRWC.