ATTLEBORO – Nick Lavoie’s wife Amanda is originally from Connecticut, and he recalls how, back when she would sporadically visit the area, she never realized that Attleboro had a zoo.
Those conversations with his wife made this former city councilor and lifelong city resident realize that the zoo wasn’t doing enough to market itself, he said, and when you’re relying on some 80 percent of visitors coming from out of town, that’s not a sustainable solution for viability.
When residents of Plainville, Foxboro, or Mansfield find out that they can cut their ride to Roger Williams Park Zoo in half, pay less money, get in and out more quickly, AND that there’s a splash pad, many people will decide to go here instead, Lavoie contends. Some half or more of the Mansfield population has turned over, he said, and many of those people don’t know about the zoo when they first arrive.
Lavoie was the creator behind the hundreds of “save the zoo” signs seen across the area, and he’s also one of the founders of the new Capron Park Zoological Society, a nonprofit he says will go after some of the larger federal and state grants as well as corporate and business sponsorship opportunities not currently being pursued.
As president of this nonprofit, says the father of two children under age 2 whose family now has a Capron Park Zoo membership, he and others believe the only real way to fund the zoo going forward, with the “city not able to keep the faucet on,” and only limited money from admissions, is through corporate and other revenue.
“That’s typically what we see in any profitable corporate zoo,” he said, referencing the numerous corporate sponsorships one will see at Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence.
The Capron Park Zoological Society was officially formed during the first week of May, and the organization recently got liability insurance for alcohol sales and any events with vendors. They are now making sure they have everything they need, and once that happens, said Lavoie, they should be ready to roll out fundraisers starting next month. They will also be able to deliver their pitch to corporations they’ve been talking to.
There has been a lot of interest in sponsorships from companies, said Lavoie, but they need to be organized to be able to lay everything on the table in terms of how those sponsorships will benefit the corporations. He said he and others have done a lot of homework by networking with other zoos, including reaching out to Roger Williams Park Zoo to find out details on how much they charge.
Zoos, he said, “become a marketing machine” because they can produce credible numbers on their visitors and the zip codes people come from, something other companies simply can’t do to the same level. If they can guarantee a company that more than 100,000 people will be in close proximity to their sponsorship sign over the course of a year, he said, then add in other features such as emails and text blasts, that’s gold for a sponsor.
“Other businesses might not know the demographics of their customers,” he said.
Lavoie said it’s important to remain focused on the goal of long-term viability for the zoo. Interest in buying signs understandably fell off when Mayor Cathleen DeSimone announced that the zoo would remain open for now, but there are many other ways people can continue to show their support, he said.
Lavoie said they talked to the Friends of the Capron Park Zoo about taking on efforts that that group isn’t necessarily comfortable with, and the Friends were supportive. He said that group’s wheelhouse is typically smaller grants under $5,000 and local fundraising events. He the Capron Park Zoological Society wants to “tap into everything they don’t want to, and things never done.”
On examples of events they plan to run, Lavoie said there are many options, from plated dinners to winery and brewery nights. One larger event with details to come would be held on the outer grounds, he said, and be run by another entity.
On his personal motivation, Lavoie said the Capron Park Zoo is such a valuable resource for his family and neighbors, and he wants to see it remain an important part of Attleboro’s cultural fabric for a long time to come.
