2025 ASPCA National Shelter Grants Initiative

To support shelters in caring for animals during these challenging times, the ASPCA® (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) is offering $2.5 million in grants to support U.S. shelters and their communities by funding programs that support:

• Animal outcomes
• Animal psychological health
• Access to veterinary care (for shelter animals, community animals or both)

Grant Amounts

Individual grants will range from $10,000 to $95,000 and should be no more than 10% of an organization's operating budget. The total funding available for this grant opportunity is up to $2.5 million.

Eligibility

Applicants must be a non-profit organization or municipal agency with a physical facility housing animals available for adoption. Foster-based rescue organizations are not eligible. 

Applicants must meet ASPCA Grantee Organizational Standards:

• If a past ASPCA grant recipient, applicants must be current on all reporting requirements for such grant.
• If a nonprofit organization, applicants must:
  • Be an incorporated or organized legal entity in good standing with the Secretary of State in the state where the organization is incorporated or organized
  • Have a board of directors consisting of at least 4 members with a majority of independent members and with neither board chair nor treasurer receiving compensation from the organization
  • Have a current/active charitable registration in the state of the Grantee’s primary location (for grants >=$25,000)

Funding Restrictions and Parameters

Grant requests should be limited to 10% of your operating budget for the current fiscal year, except for equipment requests, which will be considered up to 40% of the budget. The maximum grant amount shall not exceed $95,000.

Only one application per agency/organization will be considered. Applicants may only choose one of the three funding categories.

Note: Our interest is in meeting your most pressing needs in one of these three categories; we do not have our own preference for funding one category over another. We will fund the most compelling proposals, regardless of the category chosen.

Grant funds are available to support the following categories:

• Animal outcomes
• Animal psychological health
• Access to veterinary care (for shelter animals, community animals or both)

Grant funds can be used to address the challenges referenced in the companion document applicable to the type of funding requested and other similar challenges.

Requests for new permanent staff will be considered; however, applicants are reminded that this is a one-time, non-renewable, one-year grant; any groups applying for new permanent staff will be asked to provide a detailed plan for sustainability beyond the grant term when submitting their application.

Grantees will be asked to submit a final report including follow-up data similar to the data requested in the application.

Companion Requirements Documents

• Animal Outcomes Companion Document
• Access to Veterinary Care Companion Document
• Psychological Health Companion Document 

Application Review Timeline

• RFP will open on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, at 9 a.m. ET.
• RFP will close on Friday, October 17, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET.
• Finalists will be notified via email on or around December 1, 2025.
• Grantees will be notified of final funding decisions on or before December 31, 2025.

How to Apply

Please apply by completing this form.

We recommend that you prepare in advance the information listed in the Companion Requirements Documents to allow you to complete the form in one session.

Please be sure all requested information is included in your responses. Applications cannot be revised after submission.  
 

For all inquiries, please contact grants@aspca.org.