Animal Welfare

Purpose

The Animal Welfare Fund supports organizations dedicated to advancing animal welfare in Maine.

Criteria and Priorities

All applicants must meet the Maine Community Foundation’s grant eligibility requirements. Please read our eligibility and grant guidelines before submitting an application.

Criteria

To receive a grant, an organization must:

• Advance animal welfare for small companion animals, primarily cats and dogs.

Priorities

Priorities are defined by funding type; please see below.

Types of Funding

• Three-year general support grants to animal shelters focused on cats and dogs that do all of the following:
  • Help low-income people and their pets stay together to prevent surrender/abandonment, especially at times of hardship, e.g., domestic abuse, homelessness, serious illness, etc.
  • Support population control activities for cats and dogs
  • Educate pet owners and community members about the care and humane treatment of animals.

Please note: Maximum award amount for all organizations regardless of size is $15,000 per year. The first cohort was awarded grants in 2022. The second and third years of funding will be contingent on progress reports. No new applications will be accepted for general support until 2025. We will consider one-year project proposals from organizations that did not receive general support grants in 2022.

• One-year project grants to animal welfare organizations for one or more of the following:
  • Programs that help low-income people and their pets stay together to prevent surrender/abandonment, especially at times of hardship
  • Population control activities for cats and dogs
  • Education of pet owners and/or community members about the care and humane treatment of animals
  • Statewide coordination among shelters
  • Coordination with human services agencies to make interventions that support animals in crisis situations.

Additional Information

Ineligible Expenses

Please see: “What we will not fund, without exception” on our eligibility and grant guidelines page.

Background

The Animal Welfare Fund was established in 2007 by an anonymous donor. The fund is further supported by the Doree Taylor Charitable Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., and the George F. Lyman and Ernestine Lyman Trust.