This grant opportunity will provide funding to programs that facilitate the direct intake of owned horses with the aim of diverting them from low-end auctions, "kill pens," and neglect.

As we increase collaboration and leverage our collective resources and reach, we're capturing public interest in adoption like never before. Many of you are experiencing a line of adopters at your door and have stalls waiting to be filled. Meanwhile, there are still horses falling into neglectful situations and at risk of inhumane outcomes, such as at low-end regional auctions, around the country.

This grant opportunity seeks to go upstream to find new and sustainable ways to support horses before they fall into harm's way and bring new horses into your organization's care and adopters' homes. 

This RFP is focused on identifying the population(s) of horses falling at-risk and eliminating the barriers preventing horse owners from reaching out to your organization for assistance or rehoming their horse, which could be a lack of awareness or outreach. This RFP is also for those who may be getting frequent calls from horse owners in their communities but have not yet opened the barn doors to this population.

We're soliciting proposals to help horses in your community in a way that removes imagined and literal barriers for owners through judgment-free support.  Managed admission, open admission, partnering with law enforcement, and auction diversion programs are examples of models that can be explored and adapted for your region. Funding can be aimed toward community outreach or direct equine support, or both.

Educational Resources

 If you're looking for inspiration and learnings from previously successful models, check out these great resources to get started.

• Open-Admission Centers Provide Options for Equines, Owners in Need
• Intake Pathways for Open-Admission Equine Adoption Agencies
• You're welcome to schedule a time to connect with the Equine Welfare team to discuss and refine your ideas before submitting a proposal.

Grant Amount

Equine welfare and adoption organizations are invited to apply for a grant for up to $50,000 to support the launch of the new initiative. Up to $150k in total is available for these grants.

Eligibility

Right Horse Partners and active Warm-Up Ring participants are eligible to apply for the grant.

Requirements

Download complete requirements

Strong Proposals Will

• Identify the problem - the population of horses in your community that requires assistance.
• Identify opportunities to work upstream from the identified problem to help the horses before they fall at risk of neglect or inhumane treatment.
• Describe what your intake and marketing processes are currently and how they will change with this proposal.
• Describe how the program will support the horses by working with the owners in a judgment-free way.
• Identify any expected barriers and how you plan to overcome them (e.g., will the owners be hesitant to trust a rescue, or do they need a financial incentive to relinquish their horses to your organization over a low-end auction or broker?).
• Identify how many horses and owners your program will aim to help and what changes over last year that would be.
• Build out an expected project timeline.
• Include a marketing plan on how you will reach your target audience for the program.
• Include a detailed budget.

Timeline

The RFP will open on February 18, at 9 a.m. ET and will close on April 10, at 5 p.m. ET.

Finalists will be notified via email by Wednesday, April 21, if their organization has been selected to complete a formal application in our grant management system.

Application Process

We recommend you prepare the information listed above in advance to allow you to complete the application in one session. 

Please be sure to include all requested information in your responses. Applications cannot be revised after submission.