Grant Opportunities for Animal Organizations
About Our Investments
As one of the nation's largest funders of animal welfare causes, we are proud to support non-profit animal organizations that care for animals in need, fight pet cancer, and celebrate our Helping Hero therapy and working animals. We hold a responsibility to invest donor dollars in organizations that work to achieve our shared, lifesaving goals. As such we seek to support organizations that continually endeavor to achieve a high standard of doing more, and are determined to efficiently save as many lives as possible with our investment.
Partner LoginAnimal shelters and rescues – complete your Annual Partnership Report today
Annual partnership reports are required to be eligible for Petco Foundation grant awards
who we support
We offer support opportunities for organizations throughout the year. Organizations are invited to apply based on their organization type or primary purpose and mission. All requests for support should be submitted through our online application portal, Find your organization type below to learn more.
We are unable to support individuals, organizations outside the United States, or non-profit organizations whose primary mission is not related to companion animal welfare.
2020 Application Periods
*Pet Cancer Research & Treatment Organizations are by invitation only.
All application periods close at 5PM PT/8PM ET on the final day.
Innovation Showdown
Helping Heroes: Service and Working Animal Providers
Intake Diversion and Spay Neuter Providers
Animal Welfare Organizations
Holiday Wishes
other opportunities
PCA Shelter Pet Cancer Treatment Fund
This grant opportunity is available to current, active Petco Foundation partners seeking assistance for a pet with cancer, either a pet in your care or one who has been adopted within the last six months.Apply Now
Disaster Relief
Support
Disaster relief support will be considered for organizations directly affected by natural disasters such as fires, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes as well as qualified first responders and disaster relief agencies.
Apply Now
community adoption events
We sponsor community adoption events that have a goal of more than 250 adoptions. These events are often held at a location other than a shelter, where multiple animal welfare organizations join together. Apply for up to three events within one application.Apply Now
Unsung Heroes
The Petco Foundation is teaming up with Victoria Stilwell to honor Unsung Heroes across the nation for their extraordinary lifesaving efforts on behalf of animals. Each year, one of these honorees is awarded the national Unsung Hero award at the Petco Foundation Lifesaving Awards.
Learn More
Holiday Wishes Grant Campaign
More than 15,000 adopters since 2012 have shared the big and small ways that their pet brightens their life to help make $4.2 million in Holiday Wishes grant awards come true for the animal welfare organization across the country that work hard year-round to make these adoption matches possible. This past holiday season, we celebrated the best stories and awarded nearly $900,000 in grant awards to animal welfare organizations at special celebrations at Petco locations coast to coast.
The Innovation Showdown
Are you an animal welfare professional with an idea that could help change the landscape of animal welfare and save more lives? You will have the chance to compete for investments to make BIG things happen for animals!
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Innovation Showdown
Are you an animal welfare professional with an idea that could help change the landscape of animal welfare and save more lives? Ready to compete for thousands of dollars in funding to make BIG things happen for animals? Submit your idea to our "Innovation Showdown" and you could have the opportunity to make your lifesaving pitch in front of a distinguished panel of innovation investors at the HSUS Animal Care Expo. The 2020 Application is closed.Learn More
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Helping Heroes: Service and Working Animal Providers
Starting in 2020, our annual Helping Heroes grant investments will be available to organizations that transform pets into heroes that serve our nation, including pets supporting first responders, police, and our nation’s military veterans with priority on funding those organizations that utilize shelter or other at-risk pets in their programs, as well as support to help military and contract working dogs retire at home.
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Intake Diversion and Spay Neuter Providers
The Petco Foundation grant investments for organizations whose primary mission is spay and neuter or other diversion programs that help people keep their pets and reduce the number of pets from entering shelters. We welcome organizations like spay and neuter clinics, community cat groups, and other support organizations to submit requests with this application.
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Animal Welfare Organizations
The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- Animal Control agencies & non-profit organizations responsible for animal control sheltering.
- SPCA/humane societies and other non-profits that operate primarily out of an animal sheltering facility.
- Non-profit organizations that are primarily foster-based rescues.
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Holiday Wishes: Sheltering & Adoption Organizations
We invite pet parents and animal lovers across the country to share stories about how adopting a pet changed their lives—all for the chance to give deserving animal welfare organizations an opportunity to receive grants from the Petco Foundation.Read past winning Holiday Wishes stories!
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Pet Cancer Research & Treatment Organizations
Support for fighting pet cancer and other significant disease-related killers of companion animals is available for organizations that help pet parents with the cost of lifesaving treatments and/or research towards a cure, prevention or more effective treatments. Application is by invitation only and is restricted to studies involving clinical trials for treatment alternatives of naturally occurring cancers. No support is provided to fund research testing on lab animals.
Instructions & Tutorials
Regular Applicant Registration Page
Applicant Workflow with decision information
application faqs
- Animal shelters and rescues – complete your Annual Partnership Report today
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My animal shelter also operates a spay & neuter clinic. Can I apply in both the animal sheltering and spay & neuter application periods?
If the animal shelter and the spay and neuter clinic are operated by the same entity, with one Tax ID number, you should select one or the other and may not apply for both. Select the application period that bests matches your organization’s primary mission and purpose.
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My organization has had a change of address. What should I do?
Please complete the form to update your organization address or details available on the Petco Foundation Partnership Portal. The form may be found under APPLICATIONS & FORMS.
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My organization is not one described above. Can we still apply?
Our support is limited to the organization types described above. If your organization’s primary purpose does not fall within those categories you should not apply for support.
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We just received support/We have multi-year support. Can we apply for additional support?
In order to apply for support you should have received all payments (for multi-year support) and have completed any required follow-up reports (multi-year and one-time support) before applying again.
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What will I need to apply?
- Organization legal name and official mailing address
- Valid email address (you'll be notified of your application decision via email)
- The geographic area where the funding will be applied
- A completed and signed copy of IRS Form W-9
- A copy of your organization's 501c3 tax determination letter or Government or Municipal Agency Form (available from within the application site)
- For non-profits, your organization's most recent IRS Form 990