Fundraising Language

• 100% of your gift will save pets.
• 100% of your gift will give pets their best chance to be safe, healthy and loved.
• Your gift can be the reason lives are saved.
• For merch: 100% of net proceeds save pets.

Social Hashtags

• #bissellpets
• #bissellsavespets
• #savepets
• #bissellhappytails
• #emptytheshelters

Ways to Give

• Monthly Donations
• Planned Giving
• Cryptocurrency
• Stocks/Mutal Funds
• Donor Advised Funds
• Workplace Match
• Give in Memory/Honor

Grammar Style and Rules

BISSELL Pet Foundation

• “BISSELL” is always all caps when referring to the foundation
• When referring to a person (ex: like Cathy Bissell), use lowercase “Bissell”
• Do not use “The” before “BISSELL”

Word Usage

• nonprofit — one word, no hyphen
• lifesaving — one word, no hyphen
• life-threatening — two words, hyphenated
• pit bull — two words, no hyphen
• Foster-to-adopt — hyphenated (ETS term)

Animal Terms

• Do not routinely capitalize dog breeds.
  • Capitalize only the proper noun portion
    • French bulldog, Labrador retriever, cocker spaniel, poodle
  • Use “their” for gender-neutral pet possessive.
    • Example: “…help save their life.”

Geographic Style

• Lowercase when describing general regions:
  • southern states, midwestern states
• Capitalize when referring to a specific region as a proper noun:
  • the South, the Midwest, the East, the West

Seasons

• Capitalize only when beginning a sentence or used in a title:
  • “Summer heat can be dangerous…”
  • “BPF’s upcoming Spring Fling…”
• Lowercase in all other uses:
  • “This fall, BPF gave a $10,000 grant…”

Empty the Shelters

• Capitalize the E and S in Empty the Shelters
• Do not capitalize the “t” in “the”
• The abbreviation ETS may be used after the first full reference

Trademark Usage

Use the ® symbol only on the first reference of trademarked programs.

View our trademark guidelines here. [link to PowerPoint]

Brand Language and Common Phrases

BPF uses the following phrases and terminology consistently across communications to maintain alignment in voice and mission:

BISSELL Pet Foundation

• Use BISSELL in all caps when referring to the foundation.
• Use lowercase Bissell when referring to a person (e.g., Cathy Bissell).
• Do not place “the” before BISSELL.

Empty the Shelters

• Capitalize the E in Empty and the S in Shelters; keep the t in the lowercase.
• After the first full reference to Empty the Shelters, you may use ETS.

Registered Trademark (®) Usage

• For trademarked programs (e.g., Empty the Shelters®, Fix the Future®), include the ® symbol on first use only.

Word Choice and Hyphenation

• nonprofit — one word, no hyphen
• lifesaving — one word, no hyphen
• life-threatening — two words, hyphenated
• pit bull — two words, no hyphen
• foster-to-adopt — hyphenated

Animal-Related Language

Dog Breeds

• Do not routinely capitalize dog breed names.
• Capitalize proper nouns (e.g., Labrador) and lowercase generic terms (e.g., retriever).
  • Examples: French bulldog, Labrador retriever, cocker spaniel, poodle

Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pets

• Use their when referring to a dog or cat in possessive form.
  • Example: “Thanks to the grant from BISSELL Pet Foundation, our organization was able to provide medication to your dog and help save their life.”

Capitalization Rules

Geographic Terms

• Lowercase when describing general areas: southern states, midwestern states.
• Capitalize when referring to specific regions: the South, the Midwest, the East, the West.

Seasons

• Capitalize only when at the beginning of a sentence or part of an event name.
  • Capitalized: “Summer heat can be dangerous…” / “BPF’s upcoming Spring Fling…”
  • Lowercase: “This fall, BPF gave a $10,000 grant…” / “Our next ETS event will occur in the spring.”