Starter Grants Guidelines
Guided by its mission to revolutionize the status and well-being of companion animals, Maddie's Fund® is devoting its resources to help build a no-kill nation. Towards that end, Maddie's Fund wants to support local coalitions that combine the talents and resources of adoption guarantee organizations, animal control agencies, and traditional shelters to end the killing of healthy and treatable shelter dogs and cats in their communities within 10 years.
To help build coalitions, Maddie's Fund has created a new series of grants. Starter Grants offer coalitions monetary assistance as they work on the various components of their community collaborations: collecting shelter statistics; reporting shelter data using terminology and definitions presented in the Asilomar Accords; preparing yearly business plans; formulating 10-year strategic plans; and developing Pet Evaluation Matrixes.
- Community Shelter Data Grant ($10,000 - $40,000)
- Business Plan for Saving Lives ($5,000 - $10,000)
- Strategic Plan for Saving Lives ($10,000 - $20,000)
- Pet Evaluation Matrix ($5,000 - $10,000)
These grants can help collaborative efforts by providing a starting point and the tools necessary to help achieve lifesaving goals. Whether your focus is to lead the animal organizations in the community to a no-kill status on your own through local programs and projects, or to use the starter grants to bring the coalition to the point of applying for a Maddie's Fund Community Collaborative Project Grant, these building block grants can help your coalition close the gap between where your community currently is and where you want it to be in the future.
ELIGIBILITY
Coalitions of animal groups operating in any county, region or state in the United States with a human population of 100,000 or greater are eligible to apply for these grants.
Any animal group can apply on behalf of its coalition. Applicants for Maddie's Fund Starter Grants can be animal control agencies, traditional shelters, or adoption guarantee organizations.
Maddie's Fund Starter Grants must be applied for in order, starting with the Community Shelter Data Grant. Coalitions that receive a Community Shelter Data Grant are eligible to apply for a Business Plan for Saving Lives Grant. Coalitions that receive a Business Plan Grant are eligible to apply for a Strategic Plan for Building a No-Kill Community Grant. In addition, coalitions may apply for funding to develop a community-based Pet Evaluation Matrix (Pet Evaluation Matrix Grant).
Shelter statistics need to be collected from all groups participating in the coalition. At a minimum, the coalition should include all animal control agencies and all traditional shelters located in the target community. The coalition also needs to provide an opportunity for adoption guarantee organizations located in the target community to participate. Each participating group in the coalition must agree to publish their shelter statistics on their website and in at least one major publication (annual report, newsletter, etc.).
Click here to download the complete Starter Grant guidelines. 
