Animal Farm Foundation
Grants
Ending breed restrictions, discrimination, moving communities forward
Our grants are focused on addressing the human issues that keep dogs and people apart, as well as ways to bring dogs and people together to make the world better for all individuals. Before we make any grants, we look at how a community treats all its human and animal members, not only dogs.
Because our mission involves ending discrimination, we may decline to fund organizations if their current state and/or local laws or policies are designed to exclude or negatively impact marginalized communities.
People and Pets Together Grant
Removing Breed Labels Grant
People and Pets Together Grant
This grant supports the development of sustainable services or policy changes that keep people and pets together. Such services and policies incorporate co-occurring animal and human support, with the aim of reducing barriers to pet-retention.
Each community has unique needs and grant applications will be considered on an individual basis.
Applications will be issued by invitation only. Interested applicants should email their introductions to grantsandawards@animalfarmfoundation.org for consideration.
Emails should include:
- an introduction of the organization
- a summary of the program for the people and pets together grant, or why they qualify for removing breed labels grant
- include links to your website, social media, etc.
- Proposals must provide for co-occurring animal and human support
- Proposals must respect the dignity and time of the people who would benefit from the grant
- Proposals must have a built in plan for sustainability
- Proposals must mitigate undue stress on the people and the pets who would benefit from the grant
- The community must have an existing attitude of valuing all pet owners, all pets, and community cats
- Applicant must be a 501c3 organization or a local/state government agency
- Applicant must be an established organization (no start-ups)
- Applicant must be financially self-sustaining as reported on their most recent Form 990
- Applicant must have established programs that deliver assistance to pets and their humans, free of breed restrictions
- Spay/neuter programs
- Pet food pantries that are not part of community food pantries
- Programs that require indiscreet disclosure of income for inclusion
Removing Breed Labels from Animal Shelters Grant
This grant is designed to end the unintended consequences that can result from arbitrarily breed labeling dogs in animal shelters.
Despite the scientific evidence that proves visual breed identification is inaccurate in dogs of unknown origin (most dogs in shelters), shelters are still applying arbitrary and useless breed labels to the dogs in their care. Many third parties then rely on these arbitrary breed labels assigned at the shelter, from the adopter’s veterinarian, to the dog groomer, to the landlord, to the insurance broker drawing up homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policies. This grant is designed to end the lifetime of unintended consequences that result from an arbitrary breed guess in a shelter.
This grant supports animal shelters that have recently made the decision and the implementation of removing breed labels from their kennel cards, software databases, and in social media posts. Animal shelters that have recently ended breed labeling may be considered eligible.
Grantees will have access to no-cost, virtual training to help shelter staff break the breed label habit. Also available at no cost will be high quality shelter signage to explain to adopters why dogs are not labeled by breed.
Applications will be issued by invitation only. Interested applicants should email their introductions to grantsandawards@animalfarmfoundation.org for consideration.
Emails should include:
- an introduction of the organization
- a summary of the program for the people and pets together grant, or why they qualify for removing breed labels grant
- include links to your website, social media, etc.
- Equal access for all dog breeds: No breed-specific policies, preferences, or restrictions
- Breed Labeling: Recently removed breed labels from kennel cards, software databases, and social media posts
- Language: No longer using breed labels or breed stereotyping to communicate about dogs, but rather communicate the individual dog’s personality, quirks, sociability with other dogs and people
- Staff Education: Animal shelter staff has been educated to stop using breed labels as a means to describe meaningful information about a dog and instead has learned that most labels are based on guesswork
- Applicant must be a 501c3 organization or a local/state government agency
- Applicant must be an established organization (no start-ups)
- Applicant must be financially self-sustaining as reported on their most recent Form 990
Excluding My Dog Is Excluding Me
Help us end exclusionary breed restrictions in housing insurance.
News and Articles
Dogs are not humans: why “dangerous dog” registries are a flawed idea
Dangerous dog registries fail to put the responsibility on the dog owner and instead deflect blame to the dog.