Grants for animal shelters

5,597 animal shelters and animal welfare organizations received at least $86.9 million in grants for the most recent fiscal year. This includes 11,357 grants made from 4,253 grantmaking organizations, with a median grant amount of $1,000. Of these 4,253 foundations, 66% made just a single grant to animal shelters, and 9% made grants to four or more animal shelters. This analysis is based on grantmakers that e-file their Form 990s, and likely is an undercount of grants.
$86,867,300
Total grant dollars given to animal shelters
11,357
Number of grants made annually to animal shelters
4,253
Number of grantmakers funding animal shelters
$1,000
Median grant size to animal shelters

Foundations that support animal shelters and animal welfare organizations

Out of all grants made to animal shelters, 84% came from small foundations with less than $10 million in assets. The top 10 grantmakers accounted for 81% of the dollar-value of grants to animal shelters. Foundations funding animal shelters also made grants to specific population service providers, wildlife sanctuaries, food banks, multiservice human service organizations, and international humanitarian organizations.

Foundation size

Foundation size Number of grantmakers
Small
 
3,597
Medium
 
411
Large
 
244
Small foundations have <$10M in assets. Medium foundations have $10M to $50M in assets. Large foundations have >$50M in assets.

Foundation type

Foundation type Number of grantmakers
Community
 
77
Private
 
3,821
Corporate
 
193
Other
 
162

Grants made

Grants made to animal shelters Number of grantmakers
1
 
2,820
2-3
 
1,020
4-10
 
323
11+
 
90

Top 10 foundations supporting animal shelters and animal welfare organizations

Grantmaker State Geographic focus Percent of grant dollars to animal shelters Number of grants made to animal shelters Median grant size
Abbvie Foundation IL National 0.6% 424 $100
Chubb Charitable Foundation PA National 1.5% 323 $50
Shell Oil Company Foundation TX National 1.2% 223 $500
Pedigree Foundation TN National 30.6% 221 $1,000
Carmax Foundation VA National 2.1% 216 $500
JP Morgan Chase Foundation NY National 0.1% 192 $490
Greatergoodorg Good Charities WA National 4.6% 190 $2,848
Salesforce Com Foundation CA National 0.1% 166 $100
Synchrony Foundation CT National 0.3% 154 $125
Charity Partners Foundation MA National 5.7% 150 $19

Animal shelters and animal welfare organizations grantees

Animal shelters with more than $5 million in total revenues received 80% of all grant dollars. These larger organizations accounted for 30% of all animal shelters.

Grant amounts

Size of grant Number of grants
<$10k
 
11,340
$10k-$25k
 
0
$25k-$100k
 
0
$100k+
 
17

Grant amount by grantee size

Grantee annual revenue Median grant size
<$100k
 
$1,000
$100k-$500k
 
$1,000
$500k-$1M
 
$1,000
$1M-$5M
 
$1,000
>$5M
 
$600

Grantee states

State of grantee Number of grants
California
 
1,222
New York
 
989
Florida
 
713
Texas
 
667
Other
 
7,766

Grantee metros

Metro area of grantee Number of grants
New York City
 
1,004
Washington DC
 
659
Chicago
 
426
Los Angeles
 
346
Other
 
7,513

Top 25 grants made to animal shelters

Grantee Grant size Purpose Grantmaker
The Humane Society of the United States $8,153,353 Cash Transfers The Fund For Animals
Humane Society International (HSI) $6,026,650 Program Grant The Humane Society of the United States
Humane Society International (HSI) $6,026,650 General Support Including Care of Liberia Chimps The Humane Society of the United States
Mercy for Animals $5,601,200 Animal Welfare Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
The Humane League $5,015,000 Animal Welfare Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
The Humane Society of the United States $4,927,207 Intercompany Activity The Fund For Animals
The Humane Society of the United States $4,853,582 Intercompany Activity Humane Society International (HSI)
Wayside Waifs $4,050,930 Animal-Related Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
Gigi's Shelter for Dogs $4,000,000 Conservation The Columbus Foundation
Humane Society International (HSI) $3,129,242 Salaries The Humane Society of the United States
The Fund For Animals $2,916,932 Salaries The Humane Society of the United States
American Humane - First To Serve $2,905,873 General Support Sag-Aftra Producers Industry Advancement and Cooperative Fund
Columbia Animal Shelter $2,700,000 Rescue of Unwanted Animals The Harold and Judy Mckonly Family Foundation
Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation $2,573,344 Conservation and Science David and Lucile Packard Foundation
World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) $2,543,944 Animal Welfare Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF)
Gigi's Shelter for Dogs $2,500,000 Conservation The Columbus Foundation
Bubye Valley Conservation Research $2,500,000 To Describe and Understand the General Ecology and Conservation of African Lions in A Large Fenced Reserve Walter Family Foundation
Dane County Humane Society $5,000 Animal Welfare Support Berbeewalsh Foundation
Animal Friends $5,000 General Support Ralph and Dorothy Hartwell Schugar Charitable
Mary S Roberts Pet Adoption Center $5,000 Unrestricted General Ethel Frends Charitable Foundation
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty To Animals $5,000 Unrestricted General Ethel Frends Charitable Foundation
The Humane Society of the United States $5,000 Support Pets for Life Ethel Frends Charitable Foundation
Operation Blankets Of Love $5,000 Support 'help' Program Ethel Frends Charitable Foundation
Pets Are Wonderful Support Los Angeles $5,000 Unrestricted General Ethel Frends Charitable Foundation
Volunteers of the Burbank Animal Shelter $5,000 Support Medical Program Ethel Frends Charitable 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 shelters" category for this page is determined by the "D20: Animal Protection and Welfare" National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code. Cause IQ determines NTEEs for organizations by its own internally-developed secret-sauce algorithms.