To end the killing of dogs and cats in U.S. shelters and bring the country to no-kill by providing lifesaving programs, running the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary, and supporting shelters and communities.
Best Friends Animal Society directs its grantmaking toward keeping dogs and cats out of shelters and helping communities move toward no-kill outcomes. The recent grants list shows that approach in practice: a $2,350,000 program-service grant to Austin Pets Alive, followed by seven-figure support to Jacksonville Humane Society. Those awards sit alongside broad support for shelter operations, adoption, foster programs, spay/neuter services, community cat programs, education, and training. The foundation works through shelter and rescue infrastructure rather than individual pet aid. Its active programs point to on-site and virtual shelter medicine support, network partner grants, and outreach or embed programs that place Best Friends expertise inside municipal and community shelters. Recent awards also show a recurring emphasis on organizations that can expand lifesaving capacity at scale, including humane societies, animal rescue groups, and shelter medicine partners. The grant portfolio is shaped by restricted program funding and service-delivery support. Several awards are labeled program service support, which fits the organization’s stated aim of providing lifesaving programs, running a no-kill sanctuary, and supporting shelters and communities across the United States.
Shelter operations are a central theme. Best Friends Animal Society gave $544,900 to Humane Society of Hall County - Northeast Georgia for program service support, and the active shelter-support programs describe embedded assistance for municipal and community shelters. Medical capacity building appears in the shelter medicine work. The National Shelter Medicine Program provides on-site and virtual support for high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter services and shelter medicine, matching the foundation’s focus on surgical and medical capacity building. They also back adoption and transfer coordination. A $262,350 award to Paws for Life K9 Rescue supports the same lifesaving framework that shows up in the Partner Up Challenge, which was designed to increase adoptions and transport partnerships between shelters and rescues. Community cat work is another named priority. Best Friends’ embed and outreach programs specifically mention sustainable community cat programs and foster and adoption network building.
$14.3M
$194.7M
$173.8M
$175.7M
Most grants fall between $10K and $36K, with a median of $18K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$18K
75th Percentile
$36K
JULIANNE CASTLE
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Typical grant size is $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $17,979 at the median, and $35,682 at the 75th percentile. The recent grants list also shows a wider upper tail, with multiple awards in the hundreds of thousands and a $2,350,000 grant at the top. The pattern is strongly recurring rather than one-off. Jacksonville Humane Society, Operation Kindness, Austin Pets Alive, and San Diego Humane Society each appear in more than one recent grant year. Best Friends Animal Society is a Pure DAF Provider, does not fund individuals, and does not make program-related investments. Active programs are structured as grants, network support, and embedded assistance rather than open, unsolicited applications; the Partner Up Challenge is the exception noted as accepting unsolicited participation.
Grant recipients are entirely U.S.-based in the data, with 1,118 grants, or 100%, going to U.S. organizations. The recent grants table shows a spread across cities and regions, including Austin, Jacksonville, Hall County in Georgia, San Diego, Massachusetts, Savannah, Charleston, and Iowa. The distribution reflects a national shelter network model rather than a single-state focus, and the foundation’s giving is not concentrated in Utah despite its headquarters there.
They fund animal welfare organizations that work in shelter lifesaving, adoption, foster programs, spay/neuter services, community cat programs, sanctuary operations, education, and training. The active programs specifically mention shelters, rescue groups, spay/neuter organizations, and municipal or community shelters.
No. The foundation is marked as not funding individuals, and its grantmaking goes to organizations such as shelters, humane societies, rescue groups, and other animal welfare nonprofits.
The typical grant size is $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $17,979 at the median, and $35,682 at the 75th percentile. Recent awards also include much larger program-service grants, showing a wide range of support levels.
No. The data shows 0% of grants to recipients in Utah, and recipient-country distribution is entirely U.S.-based. Recent grants are spread across cities and regions such as Austin, Jacksonville, San Diego, Savannah, Charleston, and Iowa.
Most active programs are not listed as accepting unsolicited requests. The one exception in the provided data is the Partner Up Challenge, which is noted as accepting unsolicited participation.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Pets Alive | — | $1,121,824 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Jacksonville Humane Society | — | $855,400 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Operation Kindness | — | $725,525 | 2026 | Program service support |
| MSPCA | — | $519,600 | 2026 | Program service support |
| San Diego Humane Society | — | $410,198 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Humane Society of North Texas | — | $407,500 | 2026 | Program service support |
| The Underground Dog | — | $359,000 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Richmond Animal League Inc | — | $279,759 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Humane Society of Northeast Georgia | — | $263,255 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Humane Society for Greater Savannah | — | $241,083 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Homeward Trails Animal Rescue Inc | — | $231,415 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Thomasville Thomas Cty Humane Society | — | $226,155 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Paws for Life K9 Rescue | — | $203,050 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Lafayette Animal Aid | — | $198,650 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Animal Rescue League of Iowa | — | $177,200 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Angel City Pit Bulls | — | $167,900 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Little Traverse Bay Humane Society | — | $138,810 | 2026 | Program service support |
| One Tail at a Time | — | $136,972 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Rory to the Rescue | — | $127,250 | 2026 | Program service support |
| One Tail at a Time PDX | — | $125,500 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Belleville Area Humane Society | — | $116,905 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Animal Care Centers of NYC | — | $110,550 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Rankin County Sheriff Dept | — | $103,770 | 2026 | Program service support |
| RezDawg Rescue | — | $95,500 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Stray Cat Alliance | — | $87,750 | 2026 | Program service support |
| ASTRO Foundation | — | $77,500 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Gulf Coast Humane Society TX | — | $76,000 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Harrison County Animal Control - WV | — | $72,499 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Pender County Animal Shelter | — | $71,120 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Lucky Dog Animal Rescue | — | $68,750 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Pinal County Animal Care & Control | — | $65,000 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Bossier City Animal Services | — | $61,905 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Charleston Animal Society | — | $60,758 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Humane Society of Skagit Valley | — | $59,405 | 2026 | Program service support |
| It Takes A Village Animal Rescue | — | $59,200 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Kauai Humane Society | — | $58,605 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Onslow County Animal Services | — | $56,810 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Animal Protective League of Springfield & | — | $56,000 | 2026 | Program service support |
| SPCA of Northeastern North Carolina | — | $56,000 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Animal Rescue League of Berks County | — | $54,550 | 2026 | Program service support |
| California Labradors Retrievers And More Rescue | — | $54,300 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Paws and Claws Rescue Inc | — | $54,000 | 2026 | Program service support |
| City of Paris | — | $53,905 | 2026 | Program service support |
| All Kind Animal Initiative | — | $53,000 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Southern Pines Animal Shelter | — | $52,000 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Madera County Animal Services | — | $51,405 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Hearts Alive Village | — | $50,900 | 2026 | Program service support |
| SPCA of Texas | — | $50,750 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Petco Love | — | $50,000 | 2026 | Program service support |
| Lynchburg Humane Society | — | $50,000 | 2026 | Program service support |
San Diego Humane Society
$410,198Program service support
Program service support
The Underground Dog
$359,000Program service support
Rory to the Rescue
$127,250Program service support
Belleville Area Humane Society
$116,905Program service support
Rankin County Sheriff Dept
$103,770Program service support
ASTRO Foundation
$77,500Program service support
Harrison County Animal Control - WV
$72,499Program service support
Pender County Animal Shelter
$71,120Program service support
Pinal County Animal Care & Control
$65,000Program service support
Bossier City Animal Services
$61,905Program service support
Humane Society of Skagit Valley
$59,405Program service support
It Takes A Village Animal Rescue
$59,200Program service support
Onslow County Animal Services
$56,810Program service support
Animal Protective League of Springfield &
$56,000Program service support
SPCA of Northeastern North Carolina
$56,000Program service support
Paws and Claws Rescue Inc
$54,000Program service support
City of Paris
$53,905Program service support
All Kind Animal Initiative
$53,000Program service support
Southern Pines Animal Shelter
$52,000Program service support
Madera County Animal Services
$51,405Program service support
Petco Love
$50,000Program service support
Current and upcoming funding from Best Friends Animal Society that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Organizations must first sign up to become a Best Friends Network partner in Utah; once they become a network partner, they automatically become members of the No-Kill Utah Coalition.
Who can apply: Organizations involved in animal welfare and lifesaving work in the greater Houston area may inquire about membership. The page does not state grant eligibility or funding amounts.
Who can apply: Shelter fellows generally have a save rate below 90% for dogs or cats, or both, and must be willing to make program changes to achieve sustainable lifesaving success, permit Best Friends and the peer mentor to visit, and share shelter data monthly. Peer mentors must have a history of strong, sustainable lifesaving programs, be committed to helping other organizations, and have resources to provide on-site and ongoing support.
Who can apply: Applicants must be a group or shelter operating in the United States, excluding U.S. territories, serving dogs and/or cats and their owners; comply with local laws and animal-care requirements; actively operate or support an adoption, transport, spay/neuter, intake-prevention, or similar lifesaving program; be an approved 501(c)(3) public charity or municipal shelter; be in good standing with GuideStar Charity Check; establish a positive working relationship with Best Friends; and comply with required data reporting. Monthly data reporting is required to be considered for financial aid or grants.
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