Hill's Pet Nutrition, a global leader in premium pet nutrition, announced a new partnership with The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement to provide $400,000 in grants to animal shelters impacted by COVID-19.
The pandemic has reduced funds available to animal shelters, especially smaller organizations. Many are non-profit organizations whose sources of funding are dependent on interaction with people through fundraising events, donor support, adoption fees or large scale adoption events. Over the last few months, those sources of financial support have been negatively impacted, as shelter-in place orders kept people closer to home and mindful of their resources.
"Hill's has a long history of supporting animal shelters through our Food, Shelter & Love program and Disaster Relief Network. 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." said Jesper Nordengaard, President of Hill's. "Our strong relationship with The Association, coupled with their deep connections within the animal welfare community, creates a natural partnership that will allow us to quickly distribute this assistance to shelters that need it most."
"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."said Jim Tedford, President & CEO of The Association. "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."
Because the needs of animal shelters across the United States are as varied as each state's response to the pandemic, Hill's and The Association will provide financial assistance to shelters to support the following key areas:
- Adoption programs
- Foster programs
- Veterinary care for in-shelter and foster pets
- Operational expenses
- Community support
Applications for Hill's Disaster Relief Grants will be accepted from May 26 - June 2 and will be paid out in full by August 31, 2020. Eligible applicants can visit Hill's Support for Shelters to learn more and/or apply.
