Duffield Foundation commits $250 million to veterinary care for pets and opens grants to nonprofit clinics
The Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation announced its five-year Big Bet for Pets on Sept. 17. Its first two open calls, 250 grants of $10,000 and a $10 million pool of multi-year grants for clinics ready to grow, close on Dec. 16 at the latest.
Incline Village. The Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation of Incline Village, Nev., said on Sept. 17 that it will spend $250 million over five years to widen access to veterinary care for family pets across the United States. The first two grant programs of the initiative, called Big Bet for Pets, opened the same day, and both are aimed at nonprofit community clinics.
The foundation estimates that 50 million dogs and cats nationwide fall into what it calls the access to veterinary care gap, largely because of what care costs. It said the initiative builds on a $100 million commitment PetSmart Charities made in 2023, and that over the five years it will fund organizations that provide care, pay for research and open more grant programs.
Two open calls for clinics
Duffield Boost Grants are 250 one-time grants of $10,000 each, $2.5 million in all, for any purpose tied to free or low-cost care for family pets. The foundation's examples include salaries for veterinarians and technicians, equipment, money to discount care or offer it free, and free pop-up clinics. It decides on applications as they arrive, and the call stays open until Dec. 16 or until the money runs out.
An applicant must be based and working in the United States or its territories and be a 501(c)(3) organization, a public body such as a county or city, or a group with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor. It must deliver the care itself and have offered low-cost or free care to owned pets for at least a year. Groups that pay for care other clinics provide do not qualify.
Expanding Access Grants draw on a $10 million pool for multi-year grants to established clinics ready to grow, for instance by adding wellness care to spay and neuter services, or a mobile unit or second site. Applicants need at least three years of affordable care for family pets and at least 2,000 pets treated in the past 12 months, and they start with a pre-application instead of a letter of inquiry. Shelters may apply, but only for care of owned pets. That call closes Dec. 16.
Research money to follow
At least $25 million of the total will go to research, program evaluation, and dissemination and implementation work, the foundation said, with the first open calls expected in winter 2026.
The foundation was founded in 2016. It belongs to the same family of Duffield foundations as Maddie's Fund, which works for shelter animals.
“Pets are members of our families, and they need veterinary care to live long, healthy lives. For too many families, that care is not easy to find or afford.”
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