Pet Age Staff//November 15, 2016//
Pet Age Staff //November 15, 2016//
Today, PetSmart Charities Inc. announced a new focus on strategic grant-making and unveiled an expanded mission, allowing it to reach beyond its core mission to end pet homelessness and help pets in need to include connecting pets and people. Now, with 10 grant categories created under the new mission, the nonprofit will support important initiatives such as service animal or pet therapy training programs and at-risk families with pets in transition to make an even greater impact with the help of thousands of animal welfare organizations across North America.
“Our newly expanded mission at PetSmart Charities is to find lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together,” said Dr. David Haworth, DVM, Ph.D., president of PetSmart Charities. “This enhanced mission allows us to support animal welfare organizations in more ways than ever before and even reach other nonprofits that help connect people and pets. In addition to our ongoing support of shelters, pet adoption and spay/neuter efforts, the new grant categories will now help people enhance their lives through pets.”
PetSmart Charities will also be introducing an enhanced online application process featuring the 10 grant categories under the organization’s four strategic areas of focus.
#1: Preventing Pet Homelessness
To help decrease the number of pets entering shelters, PetSmart Charities now offers three grant categories to support programs and initiatives that proactively prevent pet homelessness and mitigate pet homelessness during family transitions. Grant categories for consideration include:
#2: Helping Shelter Pets Thrive
An estimated 7 million pets enter shelters every year. Nearly 3 million healthy, adoptable pets never find homes, facing euthanasia due to lack of capacity. By supporting organizations that provide resources, build capacity to care for homeless pets and focus on adoption, PetSmart Charities expects to enhance pets’ lives in shelters and help them find their forever home. Grant categories for consideration include:
#3: Supporting the Bond between People and Pets
While PetSmart Charities always celebrates how people save pets’ lives through adoption, there are inspiring stories of how pets can save people. By supporting organizations that bring people and pets together to leverage the power of pets to enhance the human spirit, PetSmart Charities ultimately aims to end pet homelessness and drive awareness of the benefits of pet ownership. Grant categories for consideration include:
#4: Providing Emergency Relief
In the event of a weather crisis and natural disaster, such as the Fort McMurray fires in Alberta, Louisiana flooding and the recent Hurricane Matthew storm, the role of local animal organizations has been critical to providing immediate support in times of crises. Temporary shelter, pet supplies and medical care are just some of the immediate needs of misplaced or abandoned pets. In 2015, PetSmart Charities and PetSmart Charities of Canada assisted more than 9,400 pets through emergency relief efforts, bringing its total to 230,000 pets assisted across North America since 2007. Grant categories for emergency relief include:
Four of the 10 grant categories are now open for applications, while the remaining grant cycles will be announced February 2017.
As the leading funder in helping pets in need across North America, PetSmart Charities, along with its Canadian counterpart, PetSmart Charities of Canada, has contributed more than $290 million to date to directly help pets—more than any other funder. Together, with the support of PetSmart and its generous shoppers who donate at the pin pad, PetSmart Charities hopes to donate an estimated $30 million in 2016 alone. And with its thousands of local animal welfare partners who bring adoptable pets to PetSmart stores, has reached the 7 millionth in-store pet adoption milestone.
For more information on how to make a donation to PetSmart Charities and PetSmart Charities of Canada or apply for a grant on behalf of a deserving animal welfare organization**, please visit PetSmartCharities.org or PetSmartCharities.ca.
*Grant cycles will be announced Feb. 2017
**Must provide documentation verifying status as a 501(c)(3) organization for the U.S. or registered charity in Canada.