Following are five funds and foundations offering grants for animal shelters and rescue groups. Please refer to more posts and website articles at the bottom of the page for many more grant sources.
Maddie’s Fund currently offers fourteen different kinds of grants in five categories, ranging in size from $500 marketing awards to community collaborative grants worth millions of dollars. The goal of this group is to encourage a no-kill nation. Applications are accepted year round with no deadlines.
If you haven’t checked out Maddie’s Fund in a while, you should re-visit this site. This is one of the most generous sources of funding in the US. It’s been updated since the last time I checked. You’ll find a great deal of explanation on each type of grant with specific criteria to follow and forms to complete. Read all the information carefully before you start to be sure you can qualify and that you complete all the required forms. Current funding opportunities fall into five categories:
Starter Grants
Community Collaborative Grants
Lifesaving Award
Colleges of Veterinary Medicine
Medical Equipment.
The Bernice Barbour Foundation is taking grant applications until July 31, 2010.
Most grants awarded range from $500 to $5,000. Grant recipients must provide an interim report in six months after receiving the grant and at the end of the grant period describing how the grant was used, its results, and provide financial accountability for the funds. Grant types funded include spay / neuter grants, individual projects, organization program, and facility upgrades.
The Thelma Doelger Trust for Animals offers grants for California animal rescue and welfare groups primarily in the San Francisco area. Applications are considered throughout the year and can be submitted at any time.
The Regina Bauer Frankenberg Foundation accepts proposals no later than July 1st. Decisions are made before the Foundation’s fiscal year end, which is December 31st.
In 2008 this foundation granted $1,232,000 to 18 different groups to benefit companion animals and threatened and endangered species. Most of the grants were in New York and the Northeast, except a couple in Montana.
The Animal Assistance Foundation offers grants to Colorado nonprofits only. AAF’s next grant application deadline is March 26, 2010. Model State Grants fund projects that support the Foundation’s mission to make Colorado exemplary in animal welfare. The budget for Model State Grants is not fixed. Service Grants fund only medical services (non-chronic treatments) to animals in the shelter/rescue system prior to adoption. They require matching dollars from the grantee.
The William and Charlotte Parks Foundation for Animal Welfare lists its criteria here. The application process is described here. The application deadline is May 1st and applications are reviewed only once per year.
If you need tips on applying for grant funding, many community colleges offer continuing education classes that can help. Check schools in your area for class availability. If you don’t find a class you can take in person, check Education2Go.com for online grant writing and nonprofit classes. Enter your ZIP code and find a participating school in your area