"I'm Animal Friendly" License Plate Grants

Municipalities and non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations can apply to receive funds for spay and neuter programs.  The grant program operates on a yearly cycle.  More information can be found in our comprehensive report here.  The deadliine for the 2009 cycle has passed.  The 2010 application will be available around February 2010.

A 5-member task force consisting of an animal control officer, veterinarian, a MAC member, and members of the shelter and rescue community, reviews grants and makes recommendations for funding.  Grants are for a one-year term.  The criteria that is used to evaluate proposals include:

Goal/Scope: The proposal should state the specific problem the grant funds will be used to address.  The proposal should contain specific goals and demonstrate how those goals will be met and how the target population (both human and animal) will be impacted.  Proposals that focus on feral cats should specify how attempts will be made to impact the entire colony/population/community.

Need: The proposal conveys a good understanding of a particular need in the targeted area and adequately describes how the proposed project addresses it.

Project design: The project should define and quantify the pet overpopulation problem in your community, be well-thought out and present a clear method/strategy to reduce pet overpopulation.  Successful proposals will document the particular overpopulation sources in the community targeted, and clearly define a plan to address those issues in the most cost-effective and practical manner.   Proposals should pay special attention to preventing the often overlooked contributions to pet overpopulation and make use of methods to prevent these through pediatric spaying and neutering, spaying pregnant animals and spaying and neutering all animals prior to adoption.

Collaboration: The proposal should consider any possible collaborations (with animal shelters, other rescue organizations, veterinarians, educational outreach providers) that can effectively help reach the proposal’s goals, provide additional services, or lower the cost of surgery per animal.

Assessment:  Proposal should explain what measurable criteria will be used to determine if your organization reaches its objectives.  How will you measure the success of your proposed program?

Continuation/leverage: The proposal should address how the applicant will attempt to continue its project after the grant term.

All grantees are required to advertise the license plate.  They also must return any unused money at the end of the grant year.  Grantees submit mid-cycle reports and final reports documenting the work they have accomplished with the funds.

You can view the 2009 grant application here.  This is provided for information purposes only; the deadline has passed.