ASPCA Awards More Than $17 Million in Grants in 2012

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that it awarded more than $17 million in the form of 1,661 grants to 1,039 unique organizations in 2012, a 31 percent increase in the number of grants awarded the previous year. Grantees included animal shelters and rescues, spay/neuter organizations, animal health clinics, law enforcement agencies and universities. 

"The $17 million in grants is the most we have ever funded in a single year and was distributed to organizations in all 50 states," said Michael Barrett, vice president of grants management at the ASPCA. "The hard work and dedication that our grantees put forth last year positively impacted thousands of animals and the ASPCA is proud to be able to support them through our highly successful granting program."

Highlights of the $17,055,025 granted to groups across the country include:

• Over $5.3 million to support approximately 330 spay/neuter programs;
• 549 grants totaling nearly $4.5 million to support shelters’ efforts to improve capacity, train shelter staff and increase live release rates through adoption events and other life-saving programs;
• More than $2.8 million toward anti-cruelty prevention, rescues, raids and investigations;
• Over $1.8 million for equine causes, including nearly $400,000 for emergency hay and feed and $262,000 for equine cruelty response and seizures;
• Nearly 200 grants totaling $1.2 million for shelter intake reduction efforts, such as ID tagging and micro-chipping, and safety net programs to help keep pets with their families;
• More than $867,000 for shelters to transport animals from areas of high capacity and low demand to communities where they are more likely to be adopted; and
• Nearly $430,000 to support disaster and emergency preparation and response, including $240,000 toward helping rescues and shelters impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

Since 2008, the ASPCA has granted over $50 million to shelters, rescues and other animal welfare organizations across the country. To learn more about the ASPCA’s Grants Program, interested animal welfare professionals can visit www.aspcapro.org/Grants.