Animal shelters affected by COVID-19 to receive much-needed grants

Just as COVID-19 continues to affect veterinary practices and the patients they serve, it is also affecting animal shelters and the many dogs and cats waiting to find their forever homes. Pandemic-related cancellations of adoption events, fundraisers and other donor support programs have resulted in severely reduced funding for animal shelters, many of which are run as nonprofit organizations.

To fill the gap, Hill’s Pet Nutrition partnered with The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement to provide $400,000 in grants for struggling shelters.

"Hill's Pet Nutrition has long been one of the largest corporate supporters of the animal welfare movement, supporting local sheltering organizations as well as The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement for many years,” says Jim Tedford, president and CEO of The Association, in a press release. "We are so proud of our strong partnership and we're extremely excited to work with Hill's to get resources into the hands of shelters in need. For some organizations, these grants will quite literally help keep them afloat during this crisis."

In addition to this grant program, Hill’s has donated more than 200 tons of dog food to shelters affected by COVID-19.

"Over the last eight weeks, we've donated over 450,000 pounds of Hill's products to support pets in need, but the financial impact shelters have felt as a result of the pandemic means we must do more," says Hill’s President Jesper Nordengaard.

Grant applications are now closed, but anyone who applied for a grant will receive it in full by August 31, 2020. For more information about how Hill’s is supporting animals during the COVID-19 crisis—and how you can help a shelter in your community—visit Hill’s Support for Shelters.