Animal Welfare Professionals

Hi everyone,
My husband and I are in the process of launching The Good Stay, a nonprofit in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, focused on providing temporary care for dogs when their owners are facing a serious medical crisis (hospitalization, extended recovery, or a critically ill child in the home). Our mission is to prevent dogs from being surrendered during these difficult moments and to reunite families once recovery is possible.

We purchased and are developing a 10-acre property for this purpose. The site includes multiple outdoor play yards, wooded areas for structured walks and decompression strolls, and a fully constructed 52-car parking lot. Everything on the property to date - from planning and permitting to grading, stormwater management, and site development - has been completed and funded entirely by my husband and me. We are self-taught in this process and have learned how to develop the land hands-on, step by step.

We're now at the point where outside assistance is needed to complete the final phase and begin serving the community.

Our current funding goal is $250,000, which would allow us to:

• Build out the temporary stay kennels

• Install water and septic infrastructure

• Complete remaining construction and open operations

We're reaching out to this community to ask:

• Has anyone here launched or scaled a similar nonprofit or animal welfare project?

• Are there grants (local, state, federal, or private foundations) you'd recommend or have had success with?

• Any lessons learned, pitfalls to avoid, or advice you wish you'd had earlier?

We've put everything we have into building this from the ground up, and we're now turning to the community for guidance, shared experience, and support as we take the final steps forward.

Thank you so much for your time and for any insight you're willing to share.

- Amber