Great Plains Region Grant Priorities
Competitive proposals must demonstrate (with statistics) a direct impact on saving the lives of animals and/or a trend toward reducing the number of cats and dogs killed in shelters. Proposals without shelter data will not be considered. Priority consideration will be given to projects focused on helping in those areas where animals are most at risk. Refer to the pet lifesaving dashboard see where the greatest lifesaving opportunities are in each state or your state (whichever suits you better).
In the Great Plains region, we are looking for programs that:
- Robust cat programming, which could include:
- Return-to-field (RTF)/shelter-neuter-return (SNR) cat programs: providing healthy impounded stray cats spay/neuter, vaccinations, ear tipping and returning to the outdoor location they were found)
- Trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) in lieu of impounding healthy outdoor cats into shelters.
- Lifesaving neonatal (under eight weeks) kitten programming, such as finder foster kits, “leave kittens where they are” programming, etc.
- Medical programs for at-risk shelter animals, such as ringworm, parvo/panleuk, or other conditions previously unable to be saved
- Robust return-to-home programs that reunite missing animals with their families. This could include creative solutions such as finder foster programs, creating technology solutions to improve the lost/found process to improve reunification, improve processes to return animals in the field (in lieu of impounding at the shelter as the start of the pet’s reunification process), etc.
- Programs targeted toward significantly increasing live outcomes for at-risk large dogs. This could include creative fostering programming, surrender prevention/return to home, behavior programming, or transfer/transport programs with organizations willing to increase their medical or behavior large dogs.
- Shelter intervention programs for animals that do not have a probable live outcome once entering the shelter. Examples may include solutions for behavior surrenders to keep animals in homes (with support), medical stipends or in-house medical intervention for medical cases with a home, etc.
- Increase lifesaving within the shelter by expanding capacity to support historically vulnerable populations and/or communities to ultimately achieve increased live outcomes. Programs could include intake intervention programs, improved access to information and/or targeted services in non-English languages.
- Collaborative project work between multiple organizations to strategically save more lives in a key shelter or community.
Examples of projects successfully funded in recent years include:
- Funding for expanding isolation for medically at-risk dogs and cats.
- A private with contract organization was funded to create an educational behavior program to teach others on how to create a sustainable shelter behavior program
- Several organizations were funded for increasing live outcomes for cats which include increasing Return-to-Field programs, TNR in lieu of intaking community cats, and finder to foster kits to keep neonatal kittens out of the shelter.