Animals and Wildlife

Giving for animals and wildlife represents a small but growing share of philanthropy. Nonprofits focused on animals and wildlife work in several areas: companion animals (or pets), wildlife, and farmed animals. Each area has distinct dynamics. Companion animal nonprofits focus on rescue, rehabilitation and adoption, and tend to be local. Wildlife nonprofits can also be local — think zoos, aquariums and bird sanctuaries — but many nonprofits focused on wildlife are larger and have a national or global focus, often overlapping with other areas such as environmental conservation and climate change. The nascent farmed animal nonprofit sector includes improving conditions for farmed animals, advocating for vegetarianism and veganism, and researching alternative protein sources. This guide offers advice about how donors can contribute to any of these sectors. It highlights leading philanthropic strategies in each and offers guidance for donors new to this space to get started with their giving.

Strategies for Impact

Nonprofits are engaged in a range of efforts to address the challenges facing animals and wildlife. All this work is important and could benefit from greater donor support. Below, we discuss areas where donors might focus their funding and spotlight organizations in each that represent the kind of nonprofits that donors might consider supporting.

Support the movement to reimagine animal shelters. Donors are backing efforts to reimagine shelters as community hubs that better support animals and the people who care for them. Changes include placing most animals in foster homes, offering more services for struggling families, and advancing equity in the sector. Prominent nonprofits in the shelter space include Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE), The Humane Society of the United States and Michelson Found Animals.

Back wildlife protection that includes habitat conservation. There is increasing attention on the impact of climate change on biodiversity and the importance of protecting habitats. Protecting oceans and other waterways, forests, grasslands, deserts, mountains and tundra will help conserve the animals, birds and other wildlife that live there. The global nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society, for example, emphasizes saving wild animals along with wild places. The Marine Megafauna Foundation works to protect endangered ocean wildlife. The National Audubon Society and the American Bird Conservancy protect birds and the places they need to live.

Support local institutions. On a local level, wildlife and habitat protection is central to the work of many nonprofit zoos, bird preserves, aquariums, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and animal and bird sanctuaries. Prominent nonprofits here include Omaha’s Henry Dooley Zoo and Aquarium, Cincinnati’s Zoo and Botanical Garden, the National Butterfly Center in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, and in California, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Marine Mammal Center and San Diego Zoo and Wildlife Alliance. (A note: Given conflicting philosophies about what’s best for animals, not everyone in the field considers zoos and aquariums “wildlife” organizations; further, different zoos have different approaches, so donors may want to research any zoos they are considering supporting.)

Give to groups that protect farmed animals. The Humane League focuses on protecting the rights of animals raised for food. Other notable charities in this area include PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), the advocacy organization that denounces eating, wearing, experimenting on or using for entertainment any animal. For more ideas of effective nonprofits in this area, check out the grantees of Open Philanthropy’s farm animal welfare initiative, which is committed to alternatives to the factory farm approach. An area attracting increasing philanthropic support from those concerned about farmed animals is the development of alternative proteins. A nonprofit leader here is the Good Food Institute, which wants widespread adoption of alternative proteins, such as plant-based burgers or cell-cultured meat, helping to reduce livestock consumption. The think tank Material Innovation Initiative focuses on research, education and networking to fast-track the development of environmentally preferable and animal-free materials.

Consider animal rights. Another increasingly prominent issue is the legal rights of animals. Similar to the idea of universal human rights, the idea is that animals have basic rights to live healthy, torture-free lives. In the companion animal space, groups like the Animal Legal Defense Fund are advancing animal rights through litigation, filing suits against zoos, puppy mills and government agencies on behalf of animals.

Insights and Advice

In considering which impact strategies to support, donors should take into account their personal interests and outlook to find the best fit. They should also keep an eye out for emerging opportunities to give with maximum impact for animals and wildlife. Here, we offer a few insights and suggestions:

Don’t go it alone. Intermediaries and philanthropy-serving organizations can do a huge amount of the leg work of identifying opportunities in the field and getting involved with one of these groups is a great way for donors to save time and give more effectively. Animal Grantmakers is the leading affinity group in this space; their Animal Funding Atlas helps donors target their giving. The Animal Disaster Funding Collaborative helps donors assist animals in emergencies. Donors interested in protecting farmed animals can look to Farmed Animal Funders and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders. There are several funder collaboratives that center wildlife, typically from a habitat perspective, such as the Shark Conservation Fund and Oceans 5. Other intermediaries that center a wildlife component include the Biodiversity Funders Group and the Environmental Grantmakers Association.

Remember that everything is connected. Some people perceive animals and wildlife as competing with humans for funding. But as with so many things, these issues are interrelated. Humans are both a big part of the problem for animals and wildlife — think poaching, trafficking, hunting, biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, pollution, poison and pest control — and an important part of the solution. There are also links between humans and animals when it comes to environmental justice and the twin existential threats of climate change and the extinction crisis. Indeed, there’s a significant overlap between wildlife and conservation/environmental funders, and some funders concerned about farmed animals also give at the intersection of agriculture and climate. When it comes to companion animals, whether it is helping domestic violence shelters upgrade so they can admit people with pets, aiding individuals and animals fleeing disasters, supporting veterans and others with PTSD, or dog training programs in prisons, there is a lot of crossover potential for donors interested in animals as well as other intersecting issues.

Support equitable, decolonized approaches. Wildlife conservation funders are grappling with the field’s racist and colonialist history, and some are supporting efforts to improve relationships between conservation organizations and Indigenous communities and tribal conservation efforts. Farmed animal funders have also started to consider how to better support equity within the movement and increase diversity and inclusivity within their organizations.

For Donors Getting Started

Donors who are new to this space should take the time to learn about the landscape. A good place to start is by reading IP’s State of American Philanthropy brief on Giving for Animals & Wildlife. In addition, peruse recent articles that IP has published about this area of philanthropy. Some of the funding intermediaries mentioned above, such as Animal Grantmakers, also offer reports and articles to help donors understand the giving terrain for animals and wildlife. Faunalytics conducts and publishes independent research, mostly related to farmed animals, in an effort to make other animal advocates more impactful. Another helpful resource is Animal Charity Evaluators, which rates nonprofits on their perceived effectiveness in helping animals.

To find local charities working in this that are well-respected, Charity Navigator is a reputable place to search for worthy organizations around the country.

But the best way to get started giving for animals and wildlife is to make some initial gifts, get to know the work of the groups you’re supporting, and connect early with a funding intermediary that can help you learn more about this giving area and increase your giving in a thoughtful way.

Have suggestions for improving this brief? Please email us at editor@insidephilanthropy.com.