Animal shelters across the country have options for governmental grants through the American Humane Society.
Millions of dogs, cats, and other domestic animals live in shelters across the United States. Because most shelters are run as nonprofit organizations, they rely on public donations and, oftentimes, government or organization-based grants to run their day-to-day operations. The American Humane Society sponsors certain grants to qualifying shelters that specialize in finding families to adopt abandoned and neglected animals across the country.
Foreclosure Pets Grant
Because of the recent recession and national housing crisis, more and more families are forced to abandon their pets because of new dwelling guidelines or a general lack of funds. The Foreclosure Pets Grant provides qualified shelters with assistance money to accommodate the recent increase in animals at shelters for reasons directly related to the increase in housing foreclosures across the country; because the funds are made available primarily out of public donations to the grant, though, they are highly competitive. To qualify, shelters must submit a description of their mission statements in writing, along with their American Humane Society member numbers and descriptions of their expected use of funds. The descriptions should be sent to grants@americanhumane.org with "Foreclosure Pets Grant" in the subject line. If selected, organizations will then be able to submit an application for a grants not to exceed $2,000 to address their individual facility needs.
Meacham Foundation
Founded in 1969 in memorial to Tressa Meacham, the Meacham Foundation grant was created to provide aid to animal shelters in need of financial assistance to improve the quality and size of their facilities. Grants are awarded up to $4,000 to assist with purchasing equipment for spaying or neutering animals, for veterinarian care, or for general improvement of the welfare of the animals in the shelter. Per the guidelines, grants are only available to nonprofit or government-run shelters that are members of the American Humane Society. Additionally, qualified facilities should be operating primarily to find families to adopt the animals in the shelter. Applications postmarked by the last day of February each year are eligible for consideration.
Second Chance
The Second Chance Fund is made available to qualifying shelters dealing with abused or neglected animals while trying to find homes for all animals in their facility. Because the cost for nonprofit organizations for medical costs in certain unfortunate situations is extremely high, The Second Chance Fund is available year round to qualified applicants in the amount of $2,000 annually per organization. To qualify for the funds, the shelter must be able to prove that it is handling a specific abuse or neglect case requiring costly medical attention and has the ability to provide a home for the animal prior to treating its illness.
Tags: American Humane, American Humane Society, Humane Society, across country, Foreclosure Pets