PetSmart Charities® Unveils a Full Year of Funding Opportunities for Animal Welfare Organizations and Nonprofits that Help Pets in Need and Bring People and Pets Together

Actualizado: 30 Nov 2023, 12:55 PM EST Publicado: 21 Mar 2017, 07:53 AM EDT

Six New Grant Categories; Now 10 Total, Offer Eligible Nonprofits in
the U.S. and Canada More Chances than Ever Before to Apply for Funding
for Initiatives Aligned with PetSmart Charities’ New Mission

PHOENIX–(BUSINESS WIRE)–PetSmart
Charities, the leading funder of animal welfare in North America,
today unveiled a new grant application timeline that will provide
year-round funding opportunities for animal welfare organizations, as
well as newly eligible nonprofits dedicated to bringing people and pets
together. Under its new mission, PetSmart Charities, along with its
Canadian counterpart, PetSmart Charities™ of Canada, has expanded its
grant categories from four to 10, providing more ways than ever before
for nonprofits to apply for and benefit from grants and funding support.

“We remain steadfastly committed to helping pets in need and finding
lifelong, loving homes for all pets,” said David Haworth, DVM, Ph.D.,
president of PetSmart Charities, which donated more than $37 million to
directly help pets in the U.S. and Canada in 2016. “Under a newly
refined mission, in addition to supporting the quality care of pets in
need, we also hope to better leverage the power of pets and bring more
people and pets together – enhancing the quality of life for both. We’re
excited to expand our funding support to help even more pets and people
with new grant opportunities like those that keep pets and their
families together during difficult times and support animal-assisted
therapy programs — just to name a few.”

Haworth noted that the new grant areas are in addition to the core
funding PetSmart Charities has long-provided for spay/neuter procedures,
emergency relief, conferences and training and adoption efforts. “We
look forward to continuing to support more than 3,000 animal welfare
partners across the U.S. and Canada, and joining forces with new
nonprofits that share our new mission.”

Animal welfare and nonprofit organizations in need of grant support can
refer to the new grant application timeline outlined below and available
on PetSmartCharities.org/pro/grants.

Year-Round Grant Categories:

PetSmart Charities will accept grant applications and provide funding
year-round for four grant categories that are essential to facilitating
lifesaving care and adoptions for local pets in need, as well as
training efforts for current and aspiring animal welfare
professionals. These grant opportunities are open now through Jan. 31,
2018:

Adoptions: These grant opportunities help
current and potential PetSmart and PetSmart Charities adoption
partners connect people with adoptable pets every day at PetSmart
stores and at signature events, including National Adoption Weekends
which are held four times a year.
Conferences and Training*: These funding
opportunities are aimed at supporting multi-organizational,
professional-level learning opportunities that have a national or
state/provincial focus for employees and volunteers working within the
animal welfare industry.
Emergency Relief: These grants are
dedicated to providing support to organizations that offer assistance
for pets and pet parents in the event of a natural or man-made
disaster during the rescue, relief and/or recovery stages.
NEW Enhancing the Quality of Life Through
Pets*: This new grant category is focused on supporting
programs that champion the power of pets such as specialized training
for service animals supporting military veterans and people with
disabilities, as well as pet therapy programs implemented in
facilities such as hospitals, schools and senior homes. This grant
category will open on Apr. 1, 2017.

NEW: Helping Shelter Pets Thrive, Apply Apr. 1 – 30:

This new area of focus supports organizations that build capacity and
additional resources to care for homeless pets with a focus on
adoption. Through this new focus, PetSmart Charities hopes to enhance
pets’ lives while they are in shelters and increase their chances of
finding a forever home. Grant categories include:

NEW Shelter Operations (formerly
introduced as Shelter Management): These grants support
shelter-based programs that improve adoptions, reduce pet length of
stay, and strengthen shelter infrastructure. Applicants must have a
brick-and-mortar shelter.
NEW Transport: The grant area
supports organizations that relocate adoptable pets to areas where the
demand for pet adoption is high so they will have the best chance at
finding their forever family.

NEW PROCESS: Capital Grants, Apply through a Letter of
Intent due May 1, 2017**

Creating and maintaining quality facilities that accommodate local pets
in need is essential to increasing their chances of finding a forever
home. For animal welfare organizations that have requests for more than
$50,000 in capital funding assistance, PetSmart Charities requests that
a Letter of Intent be submitted for consideration by May 1, 2017. If
approved, the applicant will receive an invitation to apply for funding.

Capital: Assisting with the construction,
rebuilding or remodeling of animal welfare organization facilities or
the purchase of equipment that fulfills the needs of companion animals.

NEW: Keeping Pets Out of Shelters, Apply May 1 – Jun.
30:

This new grant area is dedicated to keeping pets and their pet parents
together wherever possible. With a focus on decreasing the number of
pets entering shelters, PetSmart Charities will now offer grant
opportunities to support programs and initiatives that proactively
prevent pet homelessness and mitigate families surrendering pets during
challenging transitions. Grant categories for consideration include:

NEW Keeping Pets and Families Together:
This funding area is focused on creating resources for families that
are or may experience domestic violence, homelessness and/or military
leave that would enable them to keep their pet.
NEW Intake Diversion: Pets are
surrendered for a range of reasons and keeping pets from entering
shelters by making wellness clinic services, as well as behavioral
training and education more accessible, is key to this new category
focus.

Spay/Neuter, Apply Aug. 1 – 31

Spaying and neutering pets is a proactive approach to help reduce the
overpopulation of pets in local communities. Through these efforts,
animal welfare and nonprofit organizations can decrease the number of
unplanned litters and the number of pets entering shelters.

Spay/Neuter: This grant area supports the
prevention of unplanned litters through targeted spay/neuter programs
and clinic development, as well as free or low-cost spay/neuter
procedures, trap-neuter-return (TNR) efforts and veterinary school
initiatives.

PetSmart Charities has donated more than $310 million to help pets in
need across North America since 1994, more than any other animal welfare
funder. In the U.S., PetSmart Charities recently received its 14^th
straight 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, an independent nonprofit
that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of
nonprofits. This ranking places PetSmart Charities among the top one
percent of charities rated by this organization.

For more information on how to apply for a grant on behalf of a
deserving animal welfare organization***, please visit PetSmartCharities.org/pro
or PetSmartCharities.ca/for-professionals.

*Grant category is open for applications until the stated deadline or
until all designated funds are allocated.
**Animal welfare and
nonprofit organizations with capital requests for over $50,000 in
funding should submit a Letter of Intent by April 30, 2017, to be
considered.
***All applicants for grant support must provide
documentation verifying status as a 501(c)(3) organization for the U.S.
or as a registered charity in Canada.

About PetSmart Charities^®

PetSmart
Charities, Inc. is a nonprofit animal welfare organization with a
mission to find lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting
programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. In
addition to finding homes for almost 500,000 shelter pets each year
through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart stores across the
U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities provides funding to non-profits
aligned with its mission through four key areas of grant support:
Preventing Pet Homelessness; Helping Shelter Pets Thrive; Supporting the
Bond Between People and Pets; and Emergency Relief and Disaster
Support. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in
need by donating to PetSmart Charities using the pin pads at checkout
registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities
efficiently uses 90 cents of every dollar donated and has become the
leading funder of animal welfare in North America, donating about $300
million to date. PetSmart Charities, a 501(c)(3) organization, has
received the Four Star Rating from Charity Navigator, an independent
organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and
transparency of nonprofits, for the past 14 years in a row — placing it
among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization. To
learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org

Follow PetSmart Charities on Twitter: @PetSmartChariTs
Find
PetSmart Charities on Facebook: Facebook.com/PetSmartCharities
See
PetSmart Charities on YouTube: YouTube.com/PetSmart CharitiesInc

About PetSmart Charities™ of Canada

PetSmart
Charities of Canada is a registered Canadian charity with a mission
to find lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and
thought leadership that bring people and pets together. In addition to
finding homes for more than 25,000 shelter pets each year through its
in-store adoption program in all PetSmart stores, PetSmart Charities of
Canada provides funding to registered charities aligned with its mission
through four key areas of grant support: Preventing Pet Homelessness;
Helping Shelter Pets Thrive; Supporting the Bond Between People and
Pets; and Emergency Relief and Disaster Support. Each year, millions of
generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart
Charities of Canada using the pin pads at checkout registers inside
PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses 89 cents
of every dollar donated and has become a leading funder of animal
welfare in Canada, donating nearly $12 million to date. PetSmart
Charities of Canada is a member of Imagine Canada, and a registered
Canadian charity independent from PetSmart, Inc. To learn more, visit www.petsmartcharities.ca