Filomena Farms Foundation Grants
Archie with Every Pet's Dream
Our goal is to alleviate the burden of fundraising for small and medium sized animal rescues that do not have strong fundraising bandwidth. The Filomena Farms Foundation Grants will allow these organizations to concentrate on saving lives.
It seems so often that the available big grants out there are repeatedly given to the biggest, most well-known, high profile rescue groups in the area. The result? The "little guys" of our rescue community are left out, struggling to spread their already meager human resources even thinner in order to tackle their own fundraising. It is difficult to devote time and energy to fundraising efforts without the guarantee of success afforded by a national scale PR image, a financial team, a marketing team, and corporate sponsors. Somebody has to help the groups who are frequently just beyond the spotlight's reach...and we'd like to do just that.
It seems so often that the available big grants out there are repeatedly given to the biggest, most well-known, high profile rescue groups in the area. The result? The "little guys" of our rescue community are left out, struggling to spread their already meager human resources even thinner in order to tackle their own fundraising. It is difficult to devote time and energy to fundraising efforts without the guarantee of success afforded by a national scale PR image, a financial team, a marketing team, and corporate sponsors. Somebody has to help the groups who are frequently just beyond the spotlight's reach...and we'd like to do just that.
Our mission is to allocate grants and fund projects for animal rescues, supporting organizations that lower euthanasia rates in animal shelters and help families keep their pets during times of hardship that would otherwise force pets into the shelters.
The dollar amount of our grants is determined by our ability to provide and may / likely will change from cycle to cycle. Our purpose is to give money away, not sit on it! We retain the barest minimum of financial cushioning for basic administrative expenditures like thank you notes, stamps, our domain name, and our Network for Good database. This means that what was a $100 grant last cycle could very well be a $1,000 grant in the following cycle! Be sure to check our social media channels for current grant cycle award amounts.
The dollar amount of our grants is determined by our ability to provide and may / likely will change from cycle to cycle. Our purpose is to give money away, not sit on it! We retain the barest minimum of financial cushioning for basic administrative expenditures like thank you notes, stamps, our domain name, and our Network for Good database. This means that what was a $100 grant last cycle could very well be a $1,000 grant in the following cycle! Be sure to check our social media channels for current grant cycle award amounts.
Where does the money come from? Our grant program is funded entirely by donations. Our goal is to develop Filomena Farms’s financial history so we can attract large scale sponsors that carry the lion’s share of growing our grant program. By achieving this, our ability to provide grants will no longer rely upon individual donors. This is our plan for sustainability.
gRANT OPPORTUNITIES:
Our foundation grants are broken into three award categories: Filomena's Favorite, Dulcinea's Distinction, and Petrocino's Prize. Each is named after one of the Filomena Farms resident canine ambassadors: Filo, Dulci, and Petro for short. As Filomena is our namesake, Filomena's Favorite is the largest grant we award. Dulci is a medium sized Rottweiler mix and Petro is a little bitty Chihuahua, so the grants bearing their names follow suit. These grants are given to support the general endeavors and operations of the receiving rescue organizations.
Filomena's Wish is our annual holiday grant, designed to assist with a special need for one specific foster pet under the care of a rescue umbrella.
Our Board Merit Award is a discretionary grant given when we have excess funds at the end of our fiscal year. During our grant cycles, we encounter so many deserving rescues and pets and sometimes we have just enough to be able to help a little bit more when we feel an extra special tug of the heartstrings. We exist solely to give in support of those in need, so we reserve this exciting award as a sort of "honorable mention" of the applications we've received throughout the year.
Filomena's Wish is our annual holiday grant, designed to assist with a special need for one specific foster pet under the care of a rescue umbrella.
Our Board Merit Award is a discretionary grant given when we have excess funds at the end of our fiscal year. During our grant cycles, we encounter so many deserving rescues and pets and sometimes we have just enough to be able to help a little bit more when we feel an extra special tug of the heartstrings. We exist solely to give in support of those in need, so we reserve this exciting award as a sort of "honorable mention" of the applications we've received throughout the year.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY:
- Must be a registered 501c3 nonprofit and must provide IRS determination letter granting tax exempt status.
- Must be what Filomena Farms considers a small to medium sized organization, defined as <$40,000 total in annual donations, adoption fees, other grants, and administrative costs.
- Must be willing and able to provide tax returns or e-post receipts at time of application submission.
- Must be in the greater San Jose area, including but not limited to the Silicon Valley region, Gilroy/Morgan Hill, Lower Peninsula, East Bay, and Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay.
If your organization is selected to receive a Filomena Farms Foundation grant, your President or Director will receive a phone call, an email, and a text message detailing the disbursement of your grant funds. We will highlight your organization on our social media channels, website, and in our quarterly newsletter.
Please keep in mind that if your organization received a Filomena Farms grant either in the immediately previous grant cycle or within this same calendar year, you will not be considered eligible for the current grant cycle *unless* we receive fewer than three eligible applications. This is simply an attempt to ensure we’re spreading the love; we encourage you to reapply!
Please keep in mind that if your organization received a Filomena Farms grant either in the immediately previous grant cycle or within this same calendar year, you will not be considered eligible for the current grant cycle *unless* we receive fewer than three eligible applications. This is simply an attempt to ensure we’re spreading the love; we encourage you to reapply!
POST-SELECTION REQUIREMENTS:
- Willingness to “share” news of your grant award on your website & social media pages.
- Willingness to provide a mid-year update on how your organization used the grant funds. Photos are welcomed!
- Please note that if your organization is selected as a grant recipient, you must reply to Filomena Farms by acknowledging your grant award via email, text message, or phone call / voicemail. This acknowledgement must occur within one week of the date you received notification of your selection as a grant recipient. Failure to do so will result in the forfeiture of your grant, in which case Filomena Farms reserves the right to award the grant to the runner-up applicant. Specific dates for this timeframe will be included expressly on each grant cycle's application.
ITEMS OF CONSIDERATION:
We receive a good handful of grant applications each cycle and the grant recipient selection process can be difficult. To help get an idea of factors that weigh into our decision, here are some examples of additional items we evaluate:
- Thoughtfulness of narrative response explaining why your organization is applying for a Filomena Farms Foundation grant and how you intend to use the grant funds if awarded.
- Board of Directors composition (number of members, role descriptions, etc)
- Unique community involvement or outreach programs
- Quality of website and social media pages
- Guidestar rating
Our bottom line: by alleviating some of the financial pressure, we can help in a way that will provide organizations with augmented resources to focus on the trench work of rescue: saving animals' lives. We are tremendously grateful for the tireless efforts these groups put forth in our communities; they make our mission statement purposeful! We look forward to developing friendships with our grant recipients and working together to make a difference.
Click here to view a sample grant application.
If you’d like to donate directly to our grant program, please click here.
If you’d like to donate directly to our grant program, please click here.
Organizations we've helped:
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