Friday, August 14, 2015

Start A Rescue Grant

Make a difference in a dog's life by creating a rescue grant.


There are two ways to approach setting up a rescue grant. Your choices are to work with a current nonprofit organization to set up a grant with specific criteria that will ensure that your contributions are directed for the purposes intended. The second approach is to set up a new nonprofit and tax-exempt organization to manage the grant according the criteria established. In either case, an individual or a group of individuals or organizations can pool their money to establish a rescue grant.


Instructions


1. Develop a draft of the criteria that describes how the grant will be applied and distributed. For example, if your rescue grant is for beagles who have treatable diseases but whose owners cannot afford the medicine, identify the types of dogs that will be considered in terms of age, disease type, full or mixed breed and location. If the grant is for needy families, include income guidelines and other criteria that must be met.


2. Identify the sources of the funds. For example, is this a personal donation that will be provided yearly? Is this an endowment, and the yearly interest funds the grant? Or, will private and individual donations be sought? How? Is this grant intended to be an ongoing grant award quarterly or yearly? If so, be clear and designate how the grant will be funded on a continual basis.


3. Find a nonprofit organization that meets the grant criteria, such as a nonprofit that supports awarding funds to families who cannot afford medical care for their pets. There are many nonprofit organizations that will set up a grant and distribute it according to the criteria established by the donors. Contact local animal shelters or search for specific organizations through the Internet.


4. Use current organizations as examples of best practices to help establish a new foundation that meets the grant criteria if a good match cannot be found. Ask for copies of the application that was submitted to be a nonprofit organization and get a copy of organizational charts and the articles of corporation that state the purpose and governance of the nonprofit institution.


5. Establish how the grant will be funded on a long-term basis. An endowment may identify the interest earned each year as the amount of the awards that will be distributed. Other grant resources may be solicited from individual or organizational donors or by yearly fundraising events.

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