How an NGO uses Zelos to match 4,000+ animals to foster homes each year

How the organization uses Zelos

Varjupaik NGO is the largest animal shelter network in Estonia, running seven shelters that care for up to 800 animals at any given time and move more than 4,000 animals through the system every year. Some get adopted directly. Many need a temporary foster home first. The reasons vary: illness, trauma, pregnancy, or compatibility issues with other animals at the shelter.

Foster matching runs on Zelos. The shelters started with cats in early 2019. By 2021, the same dispatch system was handling rabbits, rats, mice, and dogs.

Volunteers apply through a Zelos signup link on the Varjupaik website. The volunteer manager vets each applicant with an in-person interview before approving them. Once approved, volunteers receive targeted foster requests through Zelos: a notification about a single cat goes only to volunteers qualified to host a single cat. A litter of kittens goes only to volunteers qualified for litters. The first volunteer to claim a request signals availability, and the manager confirms pickup details directly through the task’s chatroom or by phone.

The challenge

Animal shelters operate on tight timelines. When an animal needs to leave the shelter floor for medical reasons, trauma, or pregnancy, finding an appropriate foster home in hours rather than days matters for the animal’s welfare.

Foster volunteers cannot be a generic resource pool. A cat foster home is not a dog foster home. A volunteer who can host one cat may not be able to take a whole litter of kittens. Matching the right animal to the right home depends on what each volunteer is actually qualified to do, which means every dispatch has to filter by profile, not blast every notification to every volunteer.

Qualification cannot be skipped. Foster homes have to be vetted in advance. Every application is reviewed, and every applicant goes through an in-person interview before becoming an active foster volunteer.

And the volunteer base has to keep growing. With 4,000+ animals moving through the network each year, there is a permanent need for fresh foster homes to handle peak loads and replace volunteers who pause or step back.

The solution

Varjupaik recruits foster volunteers through a Zelos signup link on its website, supplemented by occasional targeted campaigns. Each applicant fills out a structured form that captures basic qualifications: what animals they can host, what size litter, any restrictions. The volunteer manager follows up with an in-person interview before approving. Once approved, the new volunteer is added to the Zelos community as a foster home.

Onboarding starts with a set of first tasks available to every new volunteer. They read the instruction documents, check their profile information, and download the mobile app. These tasks also surface the community chatroom, where new volunteers can interact with existing ones and ask questions before their first real foster request.

When a new animal needs foster care, the manager posts a foster task in Zelos as a volunteer management dispatch. Targeting is based on volunteer profile: only volunteers qualified for that specific animal type and configuration receive a push notification. The animal-to-volunteer match is built in upstream, not chased downstream.

Qualified volunteers claim the task to signal availability. The manager calls them to arrange pickup, or coordinates further details through the task’s dedicated chatroom. If multiple qualified volunteers claim the same animal, the manager picks based on volunteer profile history, which is visible on each Zelos profile.

Foster contracts are signed on paper at pickup. Once the animal is in its foster home, the volunteer or administrator marks the task complete in Zelos. Foster stays then run anywhere from a day to several months, depending on the animal’s recovery, the pregnancy timeline, or the wait for an adoption match.

The results

Varjupaik started using Zelos for foster cats in early 2019. By 2021, the same dispatch system was extended to rabbits, rats, mice, and dogs. Across all seven shelters, urgent foster requests now reach pre-qualified volunteers within minutes of the manager posting them.

The matching mechanic is the same regardless of species or stay length. The manager posts once. Zelos notifies only the qualified volunteers. The first available volunteer claims the task. Pickup gets coordinated through the chatroom or by phone.

The dispatch is fast because the volunteers are pre-qualified. The matching is precise because the profiles are detailed. Every new application strengthens the network for the next 4,000 animals.