Our Vision and Mission

Animal Grantmakers envisions a safer and kinder world for animals—and a better and more sustainable future for us all.

We seek to empower our members and allies to deploy, grow, and leverage their resources more effectively on behalf of animals, people, and the environment. We do this by helping animal funders learn from and share with each other and philanthropy at large; improve their grantmaking practices; collaborate; and become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. We also help integrate animal issues with the work of non-animal funders and their grantees.

Our Values

Collaboration

We are committed to building effective, enduring, mutually beneficial, and trust-based partnerships and synergy between individuals and organizations who share our concern for animals—achieving impact that is greater collectively than it would be individually.

Respect and Appreciation for Differences

We honor the intrinsic dignity, autonomy, potential, and worth of all people, valuing and celebrating their unique identities and perspectives. We promote and practice diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organization, among our members, and throughout the animal-focused field. We recognize that our success hinges on actively involving, supporting, and seeking common ground with those whose lives and livelihoods are linked to the animals we strive to help.

Integrity

We strive to act honorably, ethically, and professionally in all our organizational endeavors, and we hold ourselves accountable to our mission, the public, and each other. We are trustworthy, reliable, authentic, and loyal, doing what we say we will do and conducting our work with honesty and transparency.

Stewardship

Operating from a deep sense of responsibility that stems from a shared recognition of animals’ intrinsic value, we work to strengthen funders’ efforts to be effective allies to animals and to the environments and communities that sustain animals’ survival and wellbeing.

Excellence in Leadership

We are committed to pursuing the highest possible standards at every level of the organization, putting forth our personal and professional best, taking initiative, and leading by example. Through continuous learning and improvement individually and organizationally, we strive to use the best available information, a creative spirit, and an inviting approach to craft innovative solutions to complex animal-focused problems at scales that matter and in ways that will endure.

Our Goals and Our Work

With three goals in sight, Animal Grantmakers is working to create a broader, more diverse, and more engaged membership raising the bar on philanthropic giving for animal causes and pioneering relationships with and investments by those not in the traditional animal protection movement.

Strengthen Member Services: Help animal funders be effective and catalytic, both individually and collectively, in their work on behalf of animals.
Foster Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Help animal funders elevate diverse voices and leadership to catalyze new solutions to complex animal protection and welfare problems and to engage a broader segment of society in animals’ wellbeing.
Elevate the Human-Animal Connection: Engage funders from other sectors to improve animals’ wellbeing by highlighting the connections between social justice issues and animal issues.

Learn About Our Work →

Our History

Animal Grantmakers began in 1999 as a voluntary association of foundations and organizations that provide grants to benefit animals. At the time, only a handful of philanthropists had a focus, entirely or in part, on animal protection, and resources and data to help guide animal grantmaking were scarce.

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