Your Pet Rescue is organized, and it has a list of grants to apply for. Many grant applications look for very specific information when they open those applications. Here some ways to make yours stand out.
Measure your Animal Rescue’s impact on the 5 Freedoms of an animal’s life. Below you can see the 5 basic qualities that measure a great foster experience.
Let’s put this into numbers to show impact. Here are some ideas that might get your creative juices going.
Going left to right, highlight the number of wonderful homes in your program. If you are hoping to expand into a special needs area, highlight your need for equipment. Focus on your current success rate protecting your current population from the elements and providing comfort. Show your numbers of both inside animals, and how you provided shelter to those who are less fortunate.
Showing impact for providing shelter is easy, but how do you measure a stress free environment from an animal’s perspective? Storytelling is a great way to express an animal overcoming fear and distress. Is there an animal that has overcome great odds that you can showcase as a success story?
Let’s move on to showing the foster animals at their best. How are you presenting your information about engaging those fosters? Sufficient space and proper facilities to move freely is key. How many events do your rescues go to where they socialize? Have training classes for fosters been invested in? Making sure these animals are presented in the best adoptable state is the answer to grant success. Show how you get them to their best. What systems do you have in place and how do you measure those systems success?
The next section is on disease control and medical care. We all know showing the impact of a successful spayed and neutered program is important. The PetSmart spay/neuter and preventative care program can help you get your information geared in the right direction. But there are other ailments that you should be highlighting in our grants. What about the number of heartworm cases, accident/abuse victims, or undernourished animals that you have handled successfully? When thinking of these cases think of how far your reach spans. Does your intake come from just your immediate area? Or are you receiving animals from neighboring areas as well? Showing magnitude brings grants.
The last freedom is freedom from hunger and thirst. Feeding fosters seems like a basic task. But showing off the community support can present your Animal Rescue in a vibrant light. Think about how many organizations donate food for your animals? Educating a community as part of your mission is a great way to get noticed in the grant world. Craft a few sentences about what you do in this area. Here are another reference for more help Quantifying the results of sheltering
When you craft your grant application, use action verbs. Measure your impact on the animals in your area. Here is a great list of action verbs to help you write the perfect grant.
Pawscause 