We’re excited to share some great news for shelters and municipal agencies across the U.S.
The ASPCA’s 2025 National Shelter Grants Initiative is now open, with up to $2.5 million in funding available. Individual grants range from $10,000 to $95,000 and support programs that strengthen animal outcomes, animal psychological health, and access to veterinary care.
And here’s the exciting part: The ASPCA has confirmed that shelters may use this funding to cover the cost of Petcademy’s services.
That means shelters who have historically wanted to offer Petcademy but couldn’t fit it into their budget now have a new path to access our support.
Why This Matters
Adoption returns and behavior challenges are some of the toughest issues shelters face. They create stress for staff, tumult for animals, and erode community trust. Petcademy helps solve this by giving every adopter instant, text-based access to:
- Positive reinforcement–based training tips
- Early behavior intervention
- Onboarding and enrichment resources
When adopters feel supported, animals stay in homes, outcomes improve, and shelter capacity is preserved.
What If Your Petcademy Cost Is Less Than $10,000?
Because the ASPCA’s minimum request is $10,000, some shelters will need to combine Petcademy with other eligible expenses to reach the threshold. For example, a shelter with 2,000 annual adoptions would need $4,000 for Petcademy subscriptions — so they could add items like enrichment equipment, adoption marketing, or staff training to bring their total request to $10,000.
If your Petcademy cost alone is above $10,000, you can request funding just for Petcademy.
How Shelters Can Apply
Shelters applying for the ASPCA grant can now list Petcademy subscriptions in their budget at just $2 per adoption. The ASPCA has confirmed Petcademy is eligible under both Animal Outcomes and Animal Psychological Health funding categories.
To make things simple, we’ve created a plug-and-play grant template that shelters can copy directly into their application.
Get the Template
Want a copy of the Petcademy grant proposal template?
