Animal Welfare Professionals

My co-director and I started a new foster based rescue in October 2024, and have had some difficulty finding grants that we qualify for and funding. We are volunteer and foster based, and we have acquired a handful of fosters and a few local donations here and there. We are already inundated with intake requests and are quickly growing. We are competing (for lack of a better word) with some larger, more established rescues in our area. Many of the grants I have explored require a longer track record, or are facility based. I used to help with grants in another organization where I used to live, but so far I am not finding good resources for us. We are on Candid but not gold rated yet and cannot afford to spend money on there or other grant sites that require a fee. 

Does anyone have any recommendations for smaller grant opportunities for a new rescue? We are currently only rescuing dogs/puppies since that is what we both have the most experience with. Thanks!

#FundraisingandDevelopment

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Enger Dickey
Co-director
Emerald Coast Pet Rescue
FL
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Hi Enger!
We're in the same boat. We're foster-based too, but we focus specifically on wolfdogs-which means our needs are pretty niche when it comes to enclosures and medical care, so our costs look a bit different.

I've found very few grants that support startups or grassroots rescues, but one I did have success with was The Binky Foundation. They're one of the very few that explicitly fund new organizations. It's only $1,000, but it's also unrestricted-which is rare and super helpful!

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Leah Collingwood
Founder and Executive Director
Cavalli's Husky and Wolfdog Rescue
https://cavallisrescue.org/
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Following! We, too, are in the same boat. It's also been hard to find grants that don't require such an excessive amount of information that it's almost not worth the amount of time it takes to submit the application. 

We've recently started searching for smaller grants at the state level. We haven't gotten far enough in our research to know whether or not it will be fruitful, but it could be an option for you to look into! Walmart and Meijer are also good options as you can get them from individual stores. 

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Meredith Evens
Founder
Olyver & Co
WI
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I'm a grant writer and I think I can provide you with some options! I attached a document I made for our community here in Minnesota. Some of these resources are geared up to the Midwest but there are definitely resources that I think you could use. Lastly, a simple google search goes a long way. You can find foundations and grant programs fairly easily that way.

 I am subscribed to GrantStation and GrantWatch and my organization has partnerships with our local Costco for food donations, and we get grants from PetFinder and PetcoLove yearly and the application process isn't difficult at all. 

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Bailey Evans
Grant Writer
Animal Allies Humane Society
MN
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Thank you, will check it out!!!!

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Enger Dickey
Co-director
Emerald Coast Pet Rescue
FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-22-2025 01:27 PM
From: Bailey Evans
Subject: New Rescue Funding Sources

I'm a grant writer and I think I can provide you with some options! I attached a document I made for our community here in Minnesota. Some of these resources are geared up to the Midwest but there are definitely resources that I think you could use. Lastly, a simple google search goes a long way. You can find foundations and grant programs fairly easily that way.

 I am subscribed to GrantStation and GrantWatch and my organization has partnerships with our local Costco for food donations, and we get grants from PetFinder and PetcoLove yearly and the application process isn't difficult at all. 

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Bailey Evans
Grant Writer
Animal Allies Humane Society
MN
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Don't forget to see if your local library offers access to grant funding databases. Many libraries offer these type of services and they are otherwise typically cost prohibitive when you're a young organization. 

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Kelly Ford
President
Partners for Pets
WA
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