Grants for animal organizations

7,178 animal-focused nonprofit organizations received at least $185.1 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 14,821 grants made from 5,295 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,000. Of these 5,295 foundations, 63% made just a single grant to animal orgs, and 11% made grants to four or more animal orgs. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$185,092,731
Total grant dollars given to animal organizations
14,821
Number of grants made annually to animal organizations
5,295
Number of grantmakers funding animal organizations
$1,000
Median grant size to animal organizations

Foundations that support animal-focused nonprofit organizations

Out of all grants made to animal organizations, 84% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 69% of the dollar-value of grants to animal orgs. Foundations funding animal orgs also made grants to animal shelters, water and wetland protection organizations, food banks, homeless shelters, and international humanitarian organizations.

Foundation size

Foundation sizeNumber of grantmakers
Small
 
4,459
Medium
 
526
Large
 
307
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation typeNumber of grantmakers
Community
 
93
Private
 
4,746
Corporate
 
224
Other
 
232

Grants made

Grants made to animal orgsNumber of grantmakers
1
 
3,361
2-3
 
1,318
4-10
 
493
11+
 
123

Top 10 foundations supporting animal-focused nonprofit organizations

GrantmakerStateGeographic focusPercent of grant dollars to animal orgsNumber of grants made to animal orgsMedian grant size
Abbvie FoundationILNational0.7%498$100
Chubb Charitable FoundationPANational1.7%353$75
Carmax FoundationVANational2.7%269$500
Shell Oil Company FoundationTXNational1.4%268$500
JP Morgan Chase FoundationNYNational0.1%263$450
Pedigree FoundationTNNational32.2%231$1,000
Salesforce Com FoundationCANational0.1%207$100
Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT)TNMetro0.4%201$250
Greatergoodorg Good CharitiesWANational4.7%197$2,696
Synchrony FoundationCTNational0.3%185$104

Animal-focused nonprofit organizations grantees

Animal organizations with more than $5 million in total revenues received 88% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 34% of all animal orgs.

Grant amounts

Size of grantNumber of grants
<$10k
 
14,792
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
29

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenueMedian grant size
<$100k
 
$1,000
$100k-$500k
 
$1,000
$500k-$1M
 
$1,000
$1M-$5M
 
$1,000
>$5M
 
$1,000

Grantee states

State of granteeNumber of grants
California
 
1,783
New York
 
1,247
Florida
 
989
Texas
 
873
Other
 
9,929

Grantee metros

Metro area of granteeNumber of grants
New York City
 
1,269
Washington DC
 
1,020
Los Angeles
 
546
Chicago
 
491
Other
 
9,812

Top 25 grants made to animal organizations

GranteeGrant sizePurposeGrantmaker
Omaha Zoo Foundation$32,000,025Capital CampaignWalter Scott Family Foundation
Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC)$11,272,126General PurposeThe Sheth Sangreal Foundation
Monterey Bay Aquarium$10,000,000$5 Million for Conservation and Science Prorgams, $5 Million for Conservation Research ProgramsThe Chicago Community Trust
Ducks Unlimited$8,513,338PolicyThe Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew)
The Humane Society of the United States$8,153,353Cash TransfersThe Fund For Animals
Monterey Bay Aquarium$6,410,000MbaqDavid and Lucile Packard Foundation
Humane Society International (HSI)$6,026,650Program GrantThe Humane Society of the United States
Humane Society International (HSI)$6,026,650General Support Including Care of Liberia ChimpsThe Humane Society of the United States
Mercy for Animals$5,601,200Animal WelfareSilicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
The Humane League$5,015,000Animal WelfareSilicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
Omaha Zoo Foundation$5,000,000Capital Fund/renovationRobert B Daugherty Foundation
Nashville Zoo$4,970,658Support Toward the Zoo'S $195 Million "grow Wild" Capital Campaign.The Frist Foundation
The Humane Society of the United States$4,927,207Intercompany ActivityThe Fund For Animals
The Humane Society of the United States$4,853,582Intercompany ActivityHumane Society International (HSI)
Wayside Waifs$4,050,930Animal-RelatedGreater Kansas City Community Foundation
Gigi's Shelter for Dogs$4,000,000ConservationThe Columbus Foundation
Trout Unlimited$3,403,051Various ConservationNational Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
Humane Society International (HSI)$3,129,242SalariesThe Humane Society of the United States
Ducks Unlimited$2,989,922Various ConservationNational Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)
The Fund For Animals$2,916,932SalariesThe Humane Society of the United States
American Humane - First To Serve$2,905,873General SupportSag-Aftra Producers Industry Advancement and Cooperative Fund
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)$2,750,000Northern Great Plains Conservation Initiative Phase IiMargaret A Cargill Philanthropies (MACP)
Columbia Animal Shelter$2,700,000Rescue of Unwanted AnimalsThe Harold and Judy Mckonly Family Foundation
North Shore Animal League America$2,630,000An Unrestricted Grant To Further the Donee's Exempt PurposeThe Rachael Ray Foundation
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation$2,573,344Conservation and ScienceDavid and Lucile Packard Foundation
Methodology: To determine grants and grantees, Cause IQ analyzes electronically-filed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and Form 990-PF financial disclosure documents, matching grantees to specific organizations using EINs and fuzzy matching logic. The "Animal organizations" category for this page is determined by the "D00: Animal Related: General" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.