Animal Welfare Professionals

Hi Vanessa, 

First of all, I think your program is amazing and we need more of them across the country! 

Second, if you want to privately send me an example of a grant you would  like to/have already applied to and your application materials, I would be happy to review them. I would try and focus on preventing strain on the local shelter - by preventing surrenders with these vital services, you are preventing additional resource strain on the public animal shelter. Have you reached out to local townships/cities where you work? 

HI Vanessa, congrats on your new nonprofit and thank you for what you do. You are right, animal welfare is the least serviced area in grants, and it is competitive. Here are some that might help you. 

1.     Petco Love - Access to Care
This covers vaccines, spay/neuter, low-cost veterinary access, and "pet retention/community veterinary support." There is a September 30 deadline, with the cycle opening September 1.

2.     You can also receive vaccines that you can administer from Petco Love.

2. PetSmart Charities - Improving Access to Veterinary Care
A very strong match for community vaccines, wellness services, and helping pets remain with their families. This may require a veterinary partner or a clearly structured access-to-care program.

3. Mars Petcare - Better Cities for Pets / Community Partnerships- I am not sure if they are doing this currently, but worth looking into.
Strong for broader retention work, particularly pet-friendly housing, access to services, and removing community barriers that cause people to surrender animals.

4. Elanco Foundation - Pet Health / Food Security Partnerships
Potentially strong for a pet-food pantry combined with wellness or preventive-care assistance. The human–animal bond and keeping families together would be central to the framing.

5. Zoetis Foundation - Veterinary Access Grants
Good for veterinary access, but would probably be stronger with a clinic or veterinary coalition partner.

6. Stater Bros. Charities
Depending where you live, if there are Stater Bros stores (or check other stores for community grants). You could frame requests around pet well-being and keeping families together. This could support food, vaccines, or emergency assistance on a modest scale.

Other possible but less direct options include Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions, Costco, Kaiser Permanente, Hoag, Pacific Life, and Nationwide. Those would need to be framed around family stability, mental health, older adults, housing instability, or crisis prevention, rather than simply animal rescue.

I would build one reusable grant program concept such as:

Keeping Pets and Families Together Program
Provides low-income and crisis-affected (where you serve) families with vaccinations, basic veterinary care, pet food, and limited emergency assistance to prevent avoidable owner surrender.

Then tailor it for:

• Petco/PetSmart/Zoetis: veterinary access and vaccines

• Elanco/grocery foundations: pet food and basic needs

• Mars: housing and community access

• health/community funders: family stability and the human–animal bond

I hope this helps!

HI Vanessa, congrats on your new nonprofit and thank you for what you do. You are right, animal welfare is the least serviced area in grants, and it is competitive. Here are some that might help you. 

1.     Petco Love - Access to Care
This covers vaccines, spay/neuter, low-cost veterinary access, and "pet retention/community veterinary support." There is a September 30 deadline, with the cycle opening September 1.

2.     You can also receive vaccines that you can administer from Petco Love.

2. PetSmart Charities - Improving Access to Veterinary Care
A very strong match for community vaccines, wellness services, and helping pets remain with their families. This may require a veterinary partner or a clearly structured access-to-care program.

3. Mars Petcare - Better Cities for Pets / Community Partnerships- I am not sure if they are doing this currently, but worth looking into.
Strong for broader retention work, particularly pet-friendly housing, access to services, and removing community barriers that cause people to surrender animals.

4. Elanco Foundation - Pet Health / Food Security Partnerships
Potentially strong for a pet-food pantry combined with wellness or preventive-care assistance. The human–animal bond and keeping families together would be central to the framing.

5. Zoetis Foundation - Veterinary Access Grants
Good for veterinary access, but would probably be stronger with a clinic or veterinary coalition partner.

6. Stater Bros. Charities
Depending where you live, if there are Stater Bros stores (or check other stores for community grants). You could frame requests around pet well-being and keeping families together. This could support food, vaccines, or emergency assistance on a modest scale.

Other possible but less direct options include Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions, Costco, Kaiser Permanente, Hoag, Pacific Life, and Nationwide. Those would need to be framed around family stability, mental health, older adults, housing instability, or crisis prevention, rather than simply animal rescue.

I would build one reusable grant program concept such as:

Keeping Pets and Families Together Program
Provides low-income and crisis-affected (where you serve) families with vaccinations, basic veterinary care, pet food, and limited emergency assistance to prevent avoidable owner surrender.

Then tailor it for:

• Petco/PetSmart/Zoetis: veterinary access and vaccines

• Elanco/grocery foundations: pet food and basic needs

• Mars: housing and community access

• health/community funders: family stability and the human–animal bond

I hope this helps!

I want to Thank you for posting this information for all of us "New" rescues to view. Not sure if you would be shocked, amazed, etc. But I have reached out to several rescues in my area, and NOBODY responds. They treat the rescue as a competition-instead of helping one-another. I try and return and help so many people that reach out to our rescue. I am just amazed by the "larger" rescues in our area. It's very disheartening. So, Thank you for posting this!

HI Vanessa, congrats on your new nonprofit and thank you for what you do. You are right, animal welfare is the least serviced area in grants, and it is competitive. Here are some that might help you. 

1.     Petco Love - Access to Care
This covers vaccines, spay/neuter, low-cost veterinary access, and "pet retention/community veterinary support." There is a September 30 deadline, with the cycle opening September 1.

2.     You can also receive vaccines that you can administer from Petco Love.

2. PetSmart Charities - Improving Access to Veterinary Care
A very strong match for community vaccines, wellness services, and helping pets remain with their families. This may require a veterinary partner or a clearly structured access-to-care program.

3. Mars Petcare - Better Cities for Pets / Community Partnerships- I am not sure if they are doing this currently, but worth looking into.
Strong for broader retention work, particularly pet-friendly housing, access to services, and removing community barriers that cause people to surrender animals.

4. Elanco Foundation - Pet Health / Food Security Partnerships
Potentially strong for a pet-food pantry combined with wellness or preventive-care assistance. The human–animal bond and keeping families together would be central to the framing.

5. Zoetis Foundation - Veterinary Access Grants
Good for veterinary access, but would probably be stronger with a clinic or veterinary coalition partner.

6. Stater Bros. Charities
Depending where you live, if there are Stater Bros stores (or check other stores for community grants). You could frame requests around pet well-being and keeping families together. This could support food, vaccines, or emergency assistance on a modest scale.

Other possible but less direct options include Albertsons/Vons/Pavilions, Costco, Kaiser Permanente, Hoag, Pacific Life, and Nationwide. Those would need to be framed around family stability, mental health, older adults, housing instability, or crisis prevention, rather than simply animal rescue.

I would build one reusable grant program concept such as:

Keeping Pets and Families Together Program
Provides low-income and crisis-affected (where you serve) families with vaccinations, basic veterinary care, pet food, and limited emergency assistance to prevent avoidable owner surrender.

Then tailor it for:

• Petco/PetSmart/Zoetis: veterinary access and vaccines

• Elanco/grocery foundations: pet food and basic needs

• Mars: housing and community access

• health/community funders: family stability and the human–animal bond

I hope this helps!

We are also struggling to find grants, and more importantly, grant writers. I have heard Grant Gopher is good, but have yet to try it.

Kallie Laity

Kitty Kisses Rescue of Reno 

Hi Vinessa,

Your program is truly needed - assisting seniors/disabled individuals. While we are moving toward One Health treating pets and their people as one, many grantors are still behind in including the people. I think you can still carry out your goal but reframe it so your focus is not on the seniors/disabled but about the pets of the seniors and disabled. Put pets first allow you to access more grants. I was reading PJRosch's post, she had a great idea because all the grants she suggested target the pets. By reframing, you can help pets directly, thereby help their people indirectly. You are still fulfilling your goal but just frame it differently.  Sometimes you may need to be creative. For example, if the seniors and disabled belong to certain demographics, for example veterans, you can seek out grants in that category. Try to look for more local and regional grants where the impact of your work can be more visible. Good Luck!