Pacific Region Grant Priorities
Competitive proposals must demonstrate, with statistics, a direct impact to reduce the number of cats and dogs killed in the shelter(s) targeted by the proposed project. 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 to see where the greatest lifesaving opportunities are in your community.
The priorities for the Rachael Ray Save Them All grants are:
- Programs that show a measurable reduction in the number of cats and dogs killed in the region’s shelters. Examples of programs to launch or improve upon may include:
- 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.
- Priority consideration will be given to projects focused on helping in areas where the most lifesaving opportunities are (please refer to the Pet Lifesaving Dashboard).
Examples of projects successfully funded in recent years include:
- A rescue group committed to transfer in at-risk medical case animals from a key shelter in their community. Grant funds were applied as a “starter fund” to cover core medical in the first 24 hours; the rescue then used each animal’s story to fundraise for each individual case to cost of care outside the first 24 hours.
- A humane society with municipal contracts used funds to increase the number of SNRs in their servicing community, and expanded their cat ringworm and panleuk wards. In addition to improving the number of cats they could save, they also used funds to expand these services for cats from two other neighboring animal shelters.
- A rescue group committed to facilitate large dog transports for two area municipal animal services agencies. Grant funds covered the cost of the physical transport costs.
- A humane society with municipal contracts started a “TNVR in lieu of intake” program, and grant funds covered the services so eligible cats and kittens did not have to be impound.
- A rescue group provided pre-built “kitten kits” to multiple area animal welfare agencies to use as neonatal kitten intake intervention tools, both in shelter and in the field.