ASPCA Provides Over $4.4 Million in Grants during First Quarter of 2014

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) today announced that it has granted nearly $4.5 million to animal welfare organizations across the country through the first three months of 2014. A total of 316 grants were issued to over 250 organizations in 44 states nationwide.

“The work and dedication of our grantees to bettering the lives of animals never ceases to inspire us,” said Michael Barrett, vice president of grants management at the ASPCA. “The ASPCA has enjoyed seeing the success of our grantees this year, and we look forward to the innovative ideas that will be crossing our desks as the year progresses.”

The $4,496,724 in granted funds went to a variety of specific initiatives and goals, including:

• Increasing lives saved in shelters (153 grants totaling $2.3 million). These grants supported adoption events and foster programs, medical care and vaccinations, shelter enrichment and behavioral programs, training of veterinary students and animal welfare professionals, and organizational capacity-building efforts.
• Spay/neuter initiatives (52 grants totaling more than $1 million). These grantssupported programs aimed at reducing the number of unplanned litters of kittens and puppies born, including trap-neuter-return programs, mobile surgery vehicles and low-cost, high-volume clinics.
• Cruelty prevention and response (26 grants totaling $528,000). These grants helped organizations across the country respond to incidents of cruelty through investigations, raids, interventions and rescues from dog fighting rings, puppy mills, hoarding situations and other cruelty situations. These grants helped provide training for humane law enforcement officers, forensics experts and others who could help identify and prosecute cruelty cases.
• Reducing the number of animals entering shelters (26 grants totaling $325,000). These grants subsidized safety-net programs such as pet food banks and veterinary wellness and medical care for struggling pet owners to prevent relinquishment. We also supported return-to-owner initiatives such as ID tagging, micro-chipping and related equipment.

Since 2008, the ASPCA has granted over $70 million to over 2,300 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.