Grants For Municipal Animal Shelters

Animal shelters perform a necessary and valuable service to communities, taking in stray and owner-surrendered animals and re-homing them when possible. However, municipal shelters are often in need of funding, because government-budgeted money often falls short of necessary expenses. Fortunately, grants are available for municipal animal shelters, to aid with day-to-day operations, or to help improve facilities or processes that will benefit the animals and the entire community.

State and Regional Grants

Many states have grant programs for county and municipal animal shelters. The state of Kentucky offers grants to its county shelters for purchase of equipment; Connecticut provides grants for sterilization and vaccination of feral cats. The state's Department of Agriculture is usually responsible for taking grant applications and distributing funds.

Private groups sometimes restrict their grants to a certain state or region. The Miccio Foundation, for example, supports organizations in the state of Iowa, while the Animal Assistance Foundation funds groups in Colorado. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to know which groups are location-specific; a review of each group's guidelines is necessary.

Private Organizations

The bulk of grants to animal shelters across the nation are provided by private organizations. Maddie's Fund offers fourteen different types of grants of varying amounts and lengths of time, depending on the needs of the shelter, their role in the community, and their policies and procedures. The Meacham Foundation provides financial assistance for shelter expansion or improvements. Private organizations often have strict requirements for supported groups, including specific policies that must be followed, measurable results from funded programs, and mandatory reporting throughout the grant period and for a certain time thereafter.

Corporations

Some corporations have created charitable foundations to support animal shelters and other groups. The PetCo Foundation and PetSmart Charities both accept donations in their stores, and use the money collected to provide funding to animal shelters and welfare programs. Both companies also allow shelters and rescue groups to hold "adoption days" at their stores, fund spay/neuter programs and provide disaster relief.

These are just a few examples of available grants for municipal animal shelters. A more comprehensive, but still incomplete, list is available from the Michigan State University Libraries. Shelter directors, staff, and volunteers may benefit from spending a few hours researching and applying for available grants, which in turn will benefit the animals and the community.

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