About Ahimsa Foundation
Ahimsa Foundation concentrates almost all of its giving on advancing animal welfare and advocacy, channeling very large awards to a small set of recipients. Much of its funding flows through donor-advised fund sponsors and philanthropic intermediaries, indicating a preference for flexible, pass-through vehicles as well as direct support to mission-aligned organizations. The foundation’s grants are few, large, and explicitly targeted to promoting the wellbeing of animals.
Focus Areas
Animal welfare advocacy and policy changeSupport to animal-focused philanthropic intermediaries and donor-advised fundsGrantmaking to mission-driven nonprofits advancing animal wellbeing
Who They Fund
all animals (multi‑species)
Giving Approach
Highly concentrated: very few, very large grants. Heavy use of donor-advised fund sponsors and philanthropic intermediaries as channels. Recurrent multi-million-dollar awards rather than many small grants.
Funding Style
advocacy supportpolicy/legislative advocacy
About Ahimsa Foundation
Ahimsa Foundation’s recent giving is defined by very large grants to a small set of animal-welfare intermediaries and mission-aligned organizations. In 2025, it awarded $45,710,000 to Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program to advocate for the wellbeing of all animals, its largest grant in the data. The foundation also gave $12,530,000 to Karuna Foundation for the same broad animal-welfare purpose, showing a pattern of substantial support for groups working on animal advocacy rather than narrow project funding. Its portfolio points to a multi-year commitment to animal wellbeing across different vehicles. The foundation has backed both donor-advised fund sponsors and nonprofit intermediaries, including National Philanthropic Trust and Charityvest Inc, alongside direct support to Karuna Foundation and Lever Foundation Growth Fund. Grant purpose text is consistent across the record: advocate for the wellbeing of animals or all animals. That consistency, combined with the scale of the awards, suggests a focused grantmaker supporting systemic animal-protection work through organizations positioned to channel resources into advocacy and policy change.
What Ahimsa Foundation Funds
Animal welfare advocacy is the central theme across the foundation’s recent grants. It gave $26,025,000 to Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program in 2023 for advocating for the wellbeing of animals, and then extended that same purpose at much larger scale in 2025 with a $45,710,000 grant to the same recipient. The repeated language indicates a sustained emphasis on animal wellbeing as a grantmaking objective. The foundation also supports intermediary structures tied to animal advocacy. It gave $15,000,000 to Karuna Foundation in 2023 and $12,530,000 in 2025, both for advocating for the wellbeing of animals. Beyond that, it made smaller but still material awards to Lever Foundation Growth Fund for the same purpose, showing support for organizations that sit within the animal-protection ecosystem and can direct resources toward advocacy-oriented work.
How Ahimsa Foundation Gives
Typical grant size is very large: the 25th percentile is $1,197,500, the median is $8,250,000, and the 75th percentile is $17,756,250. That distribution matches a grantmaker that concentrates capital rather than dispersing many small awards. The recent record also shows repeated support to the same recipients across multiple years, including Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program and Karuna Foundation, which points to recurring relationships rather than one-off grants. Ahimsa Foundation is a regular funder and makes program-related investments. It funds individuals: False. The data also shows a mix of direct nonprofit support and grants through philanthropic intermediaries and donor-advised fund sponsors.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$73.1M
Total Assets
$1B
Total Revenue
$160.2M
Total Expenses
$80M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $1.2M and $17.8M, with a median of $8.3M.
25th Percentile
$1.2M
Median
$8.3M
75th Percentile
$17.8M
Geographic Reach
Regional4 states funded
About 22% of grants go to recipients in GA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
Shaleen Shah
President
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Where Ahimsa Foundation Funds
Top 10 recipient countries by grant volume for Ahimsa Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 88 | $526.5M | 68.2% |
| 2 | India | 11 |
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