PetSmart Charities celebrates our 30th anniversary this year, and so much has changed in that time. Friends was a new hit TV show, and cell phones weren’t commonplace yet. As we cross this milestone and celebrate the many ways animal welfare has evolved during these past three decades – the impact of that work, with the help of our donors and partners, inspires our team to keep reaching.
Our story started with a bold decision by the Founders of PetSmart. They made a promise to refrain from selling bred cats and dogs. Instead, they would invite local animal shelters and rescue non-profits to bring adoptable pets into PetSmart stores to hold adoption events. And it worked. It really worked, and this year along with our partners, we will celebrate 11 million pets placed through our in-store adoption programs. And while our focus on matching pets and families continues, we also identified the emerging needs and acted swiftly over these past few years. Today we’re making significant investments to not only connect pets and people, but to keep them together with support for access to veterinary care, pet hunger and disaster response. Pets are family — and keeping them together when times are tough is essential to building healthy families and communities.
Our approach to funding the work our partners execute on the ground is best described as catalytic – meaning we focus on innovation, proving new models, and taking risks that smaller local groups could not easily manage. Once a pilot program has the data to prove results and best practices are developed, we share that information far and wide to inspire replication. Then we move on to the next priority we believe can broadly benefit the industry, counting on animal loving local communities and governments to step up and invest in priorities that benefit the pets & people in their area. At times that means we find ourselves taking on ideas and models that the rest of the industry is not quite ready to embrace. And that’s OK – we see it as a key part of our role to keep pushing forward, ready or not!
Thankfully, things have changed for the better over these 30 years. Today, recognition of the importance and benefits of the human-animal bond are at an all-time high. Because of this, most modern animal shelters are a far cry from the “pounds” of history. Today, programs in animal welfare (and now those in health and human services) help keep pets and the people that love them together with the support they need during tough times.
PetSmart Charities’ Contributions Spanning 30 Years
It’s interesting to note that while we’ve achieved record funding in animal welfare, our resources can only support a mere fraction of the need in our space. In 2023, non-profits that focused on the environment and animals received only 3% of total donations combined. This means that it has been a wise decision to take a strategic approach to spending, determining how to have the most impact for the broader field with the funding we have available. The good news: in 2023, giving in the animal welfare sector rose by 1.4%. And they deserve it – the brand of unconditional love they give us so generously is priceless.
Check out the key big bets that PetSmart Charities has made over the years to help prove new models and approaches:
For a more detailed timeline and additional sources, keep scrolling!
As our mission grew, PetSmart made another bold decision 20 years ago to turn on customer donation prompts at registers in all stores. What has made this partnership with PetSmart Charities unique is that the funding ask is always on, and for a fixed dollar amount rather than a round up. Pet lovers are a compassionate pack. And that game-changing move propelled our fundraising efforts to top dog status as the largest funder of animal welfare in the U.S. and Canada.
The incredible impact over these 30 years continues to inspire our team to keep reaching. I want to thank every leader and team member at PetSmart Charities that touched and grew our mission. And, to our donors and partners – we thank you for joining forces and for your deep love for pets and people.
Finally, to our best friends at PetSmart – thank you for carrying on the vision of the Founders. Today, in more than 1600 stores across the U.S. and Canada, the average gift given at registers is less than $3. Those small donations add up to big change as PetSmart Charities has now made more than $600 million in grant funding to make life better at both ends of the leash.
As the animal welfare movement continues to adapt to emerging needs and innovate new solutions, I’m excited to see what we can accomplish together over the next 30 years!
Additional Resources
2004: launched the Rescue Waggin’ program to help systematize long distance transport of pets for adoption. The program supported the movement of over 100,000 animals through 2013 and is still the blueprint for transport today to maximize the best balance of demand and access to adoptable pets
2006: began significant grants to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of High Quality, High Volume Spay Neuter (HQHVSN) as well as pediatric S/N. Provided funding to help launch dozens of clinics nationwide and train veterinary students on HQHVSN technique, ultimately donating over $100 million to various spay neuter initiatives through 2018 that have helped the unwanted pet population to decrease significantly
2014: Investing in pilots and data collection, PetSmart Charities wrote a book in 2014 about Trap Neuter Return as the most effective and humane approach to outdoor cat management
2017: Together with PetSmart, launched the first mass effort to support the distribution of pet food alongside human food at food banks, starting with Buy a Bag, Give a Meal. A meal was provided to a pet in need for any and every bag of dry dog or cat food purchased March 1 – Dec. 31, 2017, in more than 1,500 stores. More than 12.8 million pounds or 63 million meals were delivered to more than 120 food banks and pet food pantries, helping families to meet a critical need
In the past 5 years our progress has accelerated. The portfolio expansion included more programming designed to help pets and their families stay together especially when times are tough. That includes support for those experiencing hunger, coping with natural disasters and in need of basic veterinary care.
2019: Launched an official partnership with Meals on Wheels America with our first multi-year $3 million commitment to support pet food distribution and access to care for seniors with pets
2021
- Committed $10 million to alleviate pet hunger with a landmark partnership with Feeding America to distribute pet food alongside human food at affiliate food banks
- Delivered 17 million pounds of pet food to affiliate human food banks to address both ends of the leash
- Delivered more than $1.1 million to support pet rescue, rehabilitation and reunification in the wake of national disasters including Hurricane Ida, helping save lives by ensuring pets and their families could be kept safe and reunited
2022
- Celebrated $500 million in total grant funding (now more than $600 million)
- Crossed 10 million milestone for in-store adoptions
- Announced a landmark partnership with American Red Cross to integrate pets into disaster response. It’s a truly lifesaving effort, as many people refuse to evacuate from the dangers of natural disasters if it means leaving their pets behind.
2022: Invested $3 million to Red Rover to support the call to ensure 25% of domestic violence shelters are pet-friendly by 2025; 50% of domestic violence victims will not leave their homes for fear of their pet’s safety
2023
- Committed $100 million over five years to address financial, geographical and other barriers to the veterinary care gap, including funds for research, a telehealth pilot, and a payment plan pilot.
- Launched “Incubator” and “Accelerator” portfolios to support new veterinary care models co-created in historically excluded communities and to build capacity in low-cost veterinary clinics
- Launched inaugural Pet Hunger Awareness Day® campaign to draw attention to the 30 million pets in the US who live in homes experiencing food insecurity
- Funded the largest grant PetSmart Charities’ history – a $6 million grant to support the PetSmart Charities Endowed Chair in Access to Care at UC Davis Veterinary College in perpetuity. This grant helps ensure our ideas and priorities are represented in the space and translated into local action, along with supporting several partnerships with veterinary universities to promote higher education initiatives
