OVERVIEW: Maddie’s Fund supports animal research and the protection and well-being of companion animals.
IP TAKE: Also known as the Duffield Family Foundation, Maddie’s Fund makes small and major grants to grant seekers aligned with its mission. It is a great funder to know in the national animal rescue and welfare space given the size of some of its funding and its accessibility. It accepts proposals through an online portal. Because grantmaking programs can evolve quickly, interested grant seekers should read program pages carefully before submitting applications. This is a transparent and accessible funder that accepts contact, but check back annually for evolving opportunities. If you’re looking for particularly large grants in this space, Maddie’s Fund provides this kind of support via grants to partners it decides to work with. Each year, Maddie’s Fund invests in a number of strategic national partnerships, including human animal support services and Maddie’s million pet challenge projects. If you’re interested in a partnership, reach out via high level networking. Otherwise, this is an accessible funder that gives hundreds of grants each year. More funding might be available here given how deep assets run.
PROFILE: Maddie’s Fund, established in 1994, began with a promise David Duffield made to his beloved miniature schnauzer, Maddie. He told his best friend that if he ever became rich, he would give a large portion of his wealth to animals like her. In 1987, Duffield mortgaged his house to cofound PeopleSoft with friend and business partner Ken Morris. In 2003, after many years of rapid growth, Larry Ellison launched a hostile takeover attempt of PeopleSoft. Duffield left the company before the transition was to take place and started a new company, Workday, which went public in 2012. It was a human resources and financial management software company that used cloud computing. Today, the foundation seeks to “revolutionize the status and well-being of companion animals.”
Grants for Animal Rescue and Welfare
The fund currently runs several grantmaking programs: Community Conversations, BIPOC-Led Operating Support Grants and Challenge Grants.
- Community Conversations grants are awarded in the amount of $10,000 to animal rescues and animal welfare organizations that participate in Maddie’s Fund’s biweekly Zoom information sessions. Application guidelines are available at the program’s webpage.
- BIPOC-Led Operating Support Grants range from $5,000 to $50,000 and are intended for organizations that support dogs, cats and their people. Public agencies and nonprofit organizations that are led by BIPOC are eligible to apply.
- The focus of the fund’s Challenge Grants changes each year, with recent grant challenges having focused on the development of pet fostering programs, animal adoption inclusivity and programs that help owners recover lost pets. Application guidelines for challenge grants are posted on the program’s webpage each year. Challenge grants are awarded in amounts of up to $10,000.
- In addition to its grantmaking, Maddie’s Fund also has been giving away on the weekly Community Conversations calls, which offers a $3,000 grant to a winner who contributed content in the Animal Welfare Professionals community on Maddie’s® Pet Forum each month.
This funder also invests in a handful of research grants each year that focus on access to veterinary care, including The Aligncare Project, among other areas.
Important Grant Details:
This funder’s grants range widely from about $3,000 to well over $1 million. It has made between about $10 and $16 million in grants in recent years. Grants are generally awarded in set amounts per program. In 2024, the foundation’s assets were around $ 242 million.
- This funder tends to support smaller, community based groups that have a large and positive impact on the lives of dogs and cates in their communities. Recent grantees include Palm Valley Anial Society, Santa Rosa County Animal Services, the San Diego Humane Society and the Kansas City Pet Project.
- Some larger grants have gone to organizations like Companians and Animals for Reform and Equity, which received $1.3 million, while the Regents of the University of California received about $1.1 million.
- Maddie’s Fund accepts applications for each of its funding programs, but guidelines and due dates vary significantly by program.
- Applicaton information for each program is provided on individual program pages, and all applications may be submitted via the fund’s grants portal.
- General inquiries maybe submitted to the foundation via grants@maddiesfund.org or telephone at (925) 310-5450.
PEOPLE:
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