GrantRadar

The Pets Foundation

Preventing Pet Relinquishment grants

The Pets Foundation (formerly the Pets at Home Foundation) funds UK registered charities whose main work is keeping pets with their owners: temporary fostering for pets in a crisis, or practical help for owners struggling because of illness, disability, money or homelessness. Grants can be one-off or multi-year (up to three years, capped at £50,000 a year), and cover staff, vet care, food, equipment, vehicles and capital projects. Small and medium charities are prioritised, and the evidence requirements are strict: missing evidence means automatic rejection.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £50,000
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Heavy
budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

  • Charities registered with the relevant Charity Commission, based in and working in the UK, Isle of Man or Guernsey, that have been operating for at least two years and can provide 12 months of financial information
  • They need a board of at least three unrelated trustees or directors, a bank account in the organisation's name, a safeguarding policy, and up-to-date filings with the Charity Commission (overdue or habitually late accounts are unlikely to be considered)
  • Temporary fostering or practical help for struggling pet owners must be the charity's main activity; charities whose main activity is rescue and rehoming must also meet the Rescue and Rehoming criteria, and each organisation can apply to only one Pets Foundation programme
  • Medium and small charities are prioritised
  • Charities in regular debt or deficit should contact the Foundation first, and those holding cash or investments worth more than a year's expenditure are unlikely to be funded
  • The charity must be able to host a visit (in person or video)
  • Previous grantees must wait 12 months after their last payment; multi-year grantees must wait until the original funds are spent

What it funds

Specific projects that improve animal welfare and help keep pets out of rescue, including:

  • Equipment used to care for animals
  • Animal welfare costs such as food, vet bills and boarding fees
  • Capital projects
  • Vehicles used for the main charitable activity
  • Salaries and on-costs of staff directly delivering work that keeps pets with their owners
  • Learning and development for staff and volunteers delivering the main activities

Examples funded include pet food banks, outreach for pet owners experiencing homelessness, temporary fostering for pets in crisis, subsidised neutering of owned cats, and pop-up behaviour and preventative healthcare events.

Building work is only considered if the building is mainly used for this work and is owned by the charity or leased with at least 25 years left.

What it will not fund

  • Projects already started or completed (no retrospective funding)
  • Vehicle leasing, road tax, insurance or petrol
  • Loan or interest payments
  • Purchase of land or buildings
  • Costs associated with a charity shop
  • Fundraising costs such as marketing materials or a fundraising van
  • Post-adoption schemes to support newly adopted pets
  • Projects that keep pets in permanent (forever) foster care
  • Building work on land owned or leased by an individual
  • Petting farms and city farms
  • Organisations operating primarily as animal sanctuaries
  • Organisations rehoming pets from overseas
  • Organisations caring for non-domestic species
  • Grant-making organisations (unlikely to be funded; contact first)
  • Organisations that received a Pets Foundation grant in the last 12 months

How to apply

  1. Read the Preventing Pet Relinquishment grant criteria and the grant programme FAQ (downloads on the page)
  2. If you meet the eligibility criteria, request an application form using the Request Grant Application Form form on the page
  3. Complete and submit the application, stating the precise amount sought and including all required evidence
  4. The team may contact you for more information or to arrange a virtual or in-person meeting or visit

Applications are accepted all year, but awards depend on available funds and the programme may be suspended if its budget is fully committed.

Each organisation can submit only one application, to one Pets Foundation programme.

Have ready

  • Last filed accounts, prepared to Charity Commission guidance
  • Draft figures for the following year (draft or management accounts) if the last filed accounts are more than 12 months old
  • A clear, defined project budget
  • Safeguarding policy
  • Contact details for three independent referees, two from organisations that refer clients to you
  • Evidence of costs, such as equipment quotes or vehicle listings

Vet bills, food or boarding requests need sample invoices or statements from the last three months; vehicles need two quotes; building work needs two supplier quotes, proof of ownership or the lease, and planning permission where required; new salaried roles need a job description and the full salary costs. Larger applications may be asked for more recent financial figures and a current balance sheet.

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