Eligibility Criteria

Interested organizations must meet the following criteria in order to be considered for a canine transportation van grant:

• Must be an open-intake U.S. municipal shelter, a 501(c)3 shelter with an open-intake policy, or a 501(c)3 rescue group with a canine transportation program.

• 50% or more of intake (shelters) or animals transported (rescue groups) must be dogs.

• Canine intake for the past calendar year (2023) must be greater than 50 dogs.

• Organization must be able to provide at least 3 years of canine intake/outcome records (on request)

• 501(c)3 organizations must be able to provide the past 3 years of 990 tax return forms on request; Municipal shelters must be able to provide documentation of approval for the van grant by the appropriate fiscal authorities on request.

• Organization must be able to demonstrate the ability to support all operating and repair costs relating to the vehicle (includes all fuel, maintenance, repair, insurance, and upkeep needed to keep the vehicle on the road).

• Organization must be able to commit to the program for at least five years.

If you are confident that your organization meets all of the criteria above, please proceed to the How to Apply page for application guidelines.

While all applications meeting the above eligibility requirements will be considered, prioritization for funding will be given to:

• Open-intake shelters (municipal or 501(c)3)

• Organizations seeking their first van (who currently use personal vehicles and/or rent vehicles for transportation purposes) or whose only van needs replacement

• Eligible second van requests will be considered with decisions based on demonstrated ability to support the operational costs of a second van and the number of additional dogs the organization would be able to transport with a second van added to their program.