Karen,
Thank you for the thoughtful questions. As I posted earlier, we are just starting and are only considering this idea at present.

No, we are not non-profit. According to our accountant, we do not make enough money to pay him the hours necessary to do the paperwork! (The sponsorship idea is usually considered a "paid service" from what I have learned about the idea.)

As far as donations, we have found most people are happy to find a farm willing to take in their pets. You see, so many individuals can't bring themselves to eat the duck, geese, calf, etc they hand raised all summer. We accept these animals as donations to our farm. We do not offer tax incentives and no one actually asks for it. They are just happy to give them to someone who cares as they do. As for money donations, we had not meant that at all. If you got that impression, we apologize. Sponsorship fees would cover our costs for printing and mailing cost plus give us a boost in purchasing the cow initially. Our true intention to offer this "ownership" is to allow people unable to raise livestock the farming experience. Only 1 percent of the United States population are farmers. This is our way to bridge the gap between farmers and non-farmers. It is our belief that better farming practices will occur if more non-farmers were given some access to farming. This is just one way. Our educational area will be another. Maybe, with kind advice, we can come up with a few more. Our emphasis is education and conservation. You can't do this on a normal farm budget. We are just looking for other ways to meet practical needs while acheiving our goals!

The rare breeds do not financially support themselves. We are just looking for options. Think of this: Last year a ton of hay was $65 per ton. This year it is $180 per ton. While commercial ranchers and farmers can use cheaper grains to supplement feed, Scottish Highland genetically benefit from NOT being fed grains. This is the practical side!

Originally posted by Karen:
Do you have any picture of them you could post? I do know what they look like, having encountered pictures of the shaggy beasties before, but other might be curious.

Have you registered yourself with the state as a 501c3 registered non-profit, so people's donations to your group would count as tax deductions?

Do you have a website?