Animal Shelter Fundraising Ideas: How to Raise More

Your animal shelter is doing awesome things for animals and people in need of companionship. However, you need funding to make that happen. We’ve put together our best animal shelter fundraising ideas, from year-round fundraising tips to event and campaign-specific ideas, that you can use when you need them. These ideas will not only help you raise critical funds but also strengthen your relationship with your community members, generating long-term loyalty.

Animal shelter fundraising tips

1. Share amazing pictures.

Fundraising for your animal shelter will be more successful if you can make your donors connect emotionally with your work—and your work happens to involve lots of adorable animals. You’ve got photo opportunities everywhere you look. Make the most of them!

Photos of the critters in your care are popular, emotionally compelling, and shareable. There are a few reasons for this:

• People love animal pictures. Seriously. Look at the Internet. Half of it is cat memes or dog pictures.
• Appeals are more effective when the donor feels emotionally connected to a cause. And, honestly, they’re much more likely to donate kitten formula if you show them the tiny kittens that need that food.
• Animal pictures are endlessly shareable, and more eyes on an appeal equals more potential donors.

These photos are shared everywhere—social media channels, donation forms, website homepages, newsletters, and more.

2. Make specific asks.

Animal shelters regularly need a variety of items to properly care for all the animals in the shelter. Let your supporters know what you need and host an in-person or virtual supply drive, with the funds raised earmarked for those items.

People want to help their animal shelters—they often just need to be asked. Almost no one looks at a pile of old towels or newspapers and thinks, “OH! I can take these to the shelter!” But they’re more than willing to donate them if they’re asked.

“We are in desperate need of feathers, hair ties, and pieces of string.”

If you need something for your shelter, just ask! Your supporters are open to adding an extra bag of dog food to their cart the next time they’re shopping, and they’d probably rather donate towels or newspapers to you than throw them away. If you need bigger-ticket items—maybe kennels, medical equipment, or other items your donors don’t just have lying around the house—consider creating a special appeal for them. That appeal can take the form of a virtual supply drive to show your supporters what you’re raising funds for.

3. Share success stories.

If you follow an animal shelter on social media, you’ve almost certainly seen pictures of animals in their new forever homes. They’re the ultimate success story—an abandoned animal is united with someone who will love them and care for them. You may also have seen other success stories—neglected dogs who recover from terrible circumstances, cats who were abused and abandoned who find wonderful homes, or animals with behavior problems who are successfully trained. They’re all popular stories.

There are several reasons animal shelters’ success stories are wildly popular online and in real life. First of all, they’re adorable, so people love sharing them. They also show donors that their gifts make a real difference in the lives of animals in shelters. And success stories are a bright spot in a tough sector. Seeing a smiling human with their happy adopted dog is a powerful contrast to pictures and appeals that focus on animals’ suffering. This is so much nicer than those TV commercials that make you cry.

It’s tempting to focus on animals’ suffering or bad circumstances to inspire people to give—after all, it’s hard to imagine someone seeing a picture of a neglected dog and not responding to appeals for support. But negative images shouldn’t rule the page, because they will drive away audiences: nobody wants constant negativity on their Facebook timeline or in their inboxes. Focusing on success stories is much more effective!

It’s important to share your stories from start to finish. Yes, you can illustrate the need for an abandoned or abused animal, but when that story comes to its conclusion, share the happy ending! Your ability to tell a story and tell it well will inspire your donors to give. Luckily, your shelter can share a great success story with every new adoption.

4. Share on social media.

If your animal shelter hasn’t opened a social media account to communicate with your supporters, now’s the time. You’re missing out on a no-cost way to share important animal shelter announcements, success stories, photos of adoptable pets, and links to fundraising campaigns.

Your supporters will value the ability to engage with your content, talk with you, and support your campaigns from their feeds. Better yet, you can run successful fundraisers on your organization’s Facebook page or Instagram account and pin urgent appeals to the top of your page. Social media platforms make it easy to share content, and that content can reach new donors, adopters, fosters, and volunteers in seconds. Many animal shelters are great at using social media to fundraise and meet the needs of the adoptable animals in their care.

5. Don’t be afraid to make requests.

People love helping out when animals are involved. A single adoptable animal with a name and a story will do more for an appeal than a general call for support.

Consider a shelter that posts about one dog who needs a home and mentions that other animals in its care need emergency surgery. Without that ask, no one would know the need exists.

Notice that the strongest appeals rarely state the need bluntly. Personalizing a post, making it fun, and telling donors where their funds will go works. Don’t shy away from asking. Your supporters want to help out! Thank them for their generosity and make sure they are always in the know about what the shelter’s needs are.

6. Be transparent.

Show your supporters what daily care actually looks like. When people can see that your animals are well fed, well housed, and well cared for because of donor support, they want to give even more. Photos that show the real conditions your animals live in are a compelling way to resonate and connect with donors.

Transparency is honesty, and it is the key to raising funds. Make the most of these photo opportunities! Adorable pictures of animals are often shared and liked by lots of people. A behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of your shelter is exactly the kind of post supporters pass along, and every share puts your cause in front of someone new.

7. Plan events.

Hosting any type of event is a win for nonprofits, but for animal shelters, it’s a game-changer. Posting events on social media is important to get the word out to the community! Ask your supporters to share the event and keep posting pictures and incentives to excite potential guests. Offer an incentive that is hard to pass up—the chance to meet adoptable puppies and dogs, and to puppy sit for an afternoon.

These events invite people not only to see behind the scenes but also to put a face to the organization. A human element is beneficial to creating lifelong relationships with supporters. Even if they can’t adopt an animal that day, attendees still have a rewarding experience. Visibility into your organization and spending time with the community that supports your cause will increase funding and donor retention rates.

Here are some more great event ideas you can put into practice at your animal shelter:

1. A Wags to Riches casino night featuring table games with an adoptable pet theme

Set up table games like roulette, blackjack, and poker, and encourage people to try to win the most chips by offering a fantastic prize for the luckiest gambler at your event. You can use this type of event to raise funds for adoption fees, fund food for adoptable shelter animals, and more.

2. Pet fashion shows featuring adopted animals in costumes

This pet-friendly fashion show is a pawsitively fantastic way to get supporters and their pets involved in your cause. Get supporters to dress their dogs and cats in their best costumes and strut their stuff on the catwalk. Charge an entry fee to walk and award prizes for best costumes in each category.

3. A dog washing event in which owners can pay to have their dogs bathed by volunteers

Another great way to get supporters and their pets to give to your shelter is to charge a small fee for your shelter volunteers to wash their pets. If you don’t have a pet that loves water, bathing them can really be a chore. This event is designed to make bathing your pet easier on the owner while raising crucial funds for your shelter.

4. Pet photo shoot event where donors pay to have their pets immortalized on a greeting card or put into a calendar

This next fundraising idea immortalizes supporters’ pets with a professional photo shoot. Offer supporters pet portraits for a fee. You can offer prints of the portrait or even turn the photo into a greeting card. To add to the fun, you can produce and sell a calendar featuring the best pet portraits from the photo shoots. This is a great way to raise extra funds from your community, especially if you start selling them around the new year.

5. Host a bark in the park

A bark in the park social event can be a great way for your animal shelter to meet new supporters and get the word out about the needs that you’re currently facing. This pet-friendly event offers a great opportunity for pet owners to socialize at a dog-friendly park. You can charge for drinks and food at the event to raise funds for your cause. You can even set up an information booth where supporters can come and learn about your cause and maybe even meet an adoptable shelter animal.

6. A pins for pups bowling tournament event

This last in-person event isn’t pet-friendly, but it does offer a fun way to support shelter animals in need. A bowling tournament is a great opportunity to get people of all ages and skill levels together to enjoy a day of bowling for a good cause. Try to partner with the bowling alley to earn a percentage of sales on food and drinks, and charge to take part in the bowling tournament itself.

8. Make it a game.

Ah, gamification. It works! Build a contest around a holiday like Valentine’s Day and let supporters compete. Offering incentives such as swag, mugs, and calendars is a sure-fire way to boost engagement and receive donations. Make it even easier by accepting donations via a simple text message. This creates a fun atmosphere on social media with participants checking back often to see the status of the competition. Supporters know their donation is going to a great cause, and they receive a prize, all while having fun! Raise more money by creating a unique donation request that makes giving fun.

Branded swag works well as a peer-to-peer incentive, too. In one simple sentence, you can list the prizes on offer and the goal you are trying to hit.

9. Participate in GivingTuesday.

GivingTuesday is a giving campaign taking place on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This global generosity movement asks people to participate by doing good. This can mean volunteering their time to support a cause or donating to a nonprofit organization.

Many nonprofits, including animal shelters, set up GivingTuesday fundraising campaigns and encourage their supporters to give. GivingTuesday campaigns are typically shared on social media and are highly visible. Encourage your supporters to share your campaign after making a gift to expand your reach. Set a fundraising goal for the day based on your specific needs and provide updates throughout the day. Tell compelling stories and share photos of the animals impacted by your supporters’ donations.

10. Use tech tools to enhance your fundraising.

There are a number of tools that make managing fundraising at an animal shelter easier.

Social media and email tools

You can create and schedule posts across platforms with tools like Sprout Social or Buffer. For a solution that also includes the ability to manage your marketing projects, there are project management tools like CoSchedule.

You can send stunning email appeals to your supporters using platforms like Constant Contact or Mailchimp.

CRM tools

You can build your list of donors to send appeals to with an integration between Bloomerang CRM and your email service provider. Even better, you can lean on Penny, Bloomerang’s AI fundraising partner, to instantly generate first-draft content for highly personalized email appeals. Penny helps you crush writer’s block so you can focus your time on building authentic human connections with your supporters.

Event management tools

When it comes to hosting fundraising events or accepting online donations, Bloomerang Fundraising offers solutions for both. With Bloomerang’s peer-to-peer platform, your supporters can register, create fundraising pages, and raise funds on behalf of your organization. You can also use the peer-to-peer tools to create an online store, track event fundraising with goal thermometers, and more! (Note: While social media is great for promotion, keep in mind that relying directly on platforms like Facebook Fundraising is often not the best choice because it makes it difficult to track your donor data and properly thank them. Using a dedicated platform like Bloomerang ensures you keep all that vital data in your CRM!)

Want to poll your participants about your events? Survey tools like SurveyMonkey and Typeform are a great way to get your guests’ opinions.

Online fundraising tools

You can also use Bloomerang Fundraising to raise funds year-round with online donation forms. These forms are customizable to match your organization, campaign, or event branding; are mobile-optimized for a great experience on any device; and integrate with matching gift service providers such as Double the Donation and HEPdata.

Thanks to these forms’ high level of customizability, you can include images of your animals and provide an impact statement for each donation amount. Your donors will see the images and connect that with the impact they’ll have, which makes them feel good about supporting the animals in your care.

When it comes to your fundraising efforts, it’s important to take stock of your organization’s online reputation. Maintain accurate listings on both Charity Navigator and Candid. Ensure you’re transparent about your spending. Monitor your ratings regularly to make sure they reflect an ethical and stable nonprofit.

Other fundraising resources

If your animal shelter seeks grant funding to meet some of its needs, there are a variety of resources that make researching grants easier. GrantStation, Foundation Directory Online, GrantAdvisor, and several other grant research solutions help take a lot of the guesswork out of determining whether a particular grantmaker is a good fit for your funding needs.

Virtual fundraising ideas for animal shelters

Looking for a way to connect with supporters virtually? Give these ideas a try!

1. A virtual supply drive

Chances are, there are supplies your animal shelter needs. In-kind gifts are great, but what if there were a way to get the supplies you needed delivered to your door? That’s where a virtual supply drive comes in. Create a donation form with a variety of donation amounts. Make sure each one corresponds to the supplies that you need. When users donate, you can purchase the supplies you need with their donated funds.

2. Animal trivia

Want a fun way to connect with supporters virtually? Try an animal trivia night! Put together your best questions about animals and charge a fee to take part in the event. Offer an exclusive prize to the individual or team that earns the most points. This can be special branded merchandise, waived pet adoption fees, or another prize your supporters are sure to love.

3. Virtual dog treat baking class

Another great way to connect with supporters virtually is through an online class. Your shelter could probably offer a variety of classes on training and caring for pets, but one of the most fun ways supporters can engage with you is through a cook-along class, where they make treats for their furry friends. Charge a small participation fee, then send a livestream link to those who signed up. They can watch and follow along to prepare pet-friendly treats for their dog or cat.

4. Livestream a day in the life of a shelter volunteer

This next idea gives supporters a behind-the-scenes look at shelter operations. They can see what volunteers at your shelter do, and you can even highlight adoptable pets during the livestream. Set up a donation form for the livestream, or use text fundraising and ask supporters to text their donations to your organization as they watch. This is a great way to show others how you do things at your animal shelter while earning valuable donations from viewers.

5. Host a virtual gala event

A great way to connect with supporters is with a gala event, but in-person galas can be expensive. Instead, consider hosting a virtual gala! For a virtual gala, you need to livestream your emcee and entertainment, but you can avoid table-seating troubles and save a ton on decor, furniture rental, and catering that would otherwise be part of your gala budget. Your gala should be more than an opportunity to ask for donations, though. Be sure to provide entertainment to those tuning in. Include a meet-and-greet with adoptable pets, live music, or even a virtual silent auction to keep supporters engaged and giving during your virtual gala.

Animal shelter donation ideas

Looking for fundraising ideas that don’t require an event? We’ve got you covered.

1. Sponsor-a-pet fundraiser

Do you have dogs or cats that have been in the shelter longer than others? Do you have adoptable pets with medical issues or special needs that require additional funding? If so, you probably wish that you could find sponsors to finance these special needs and cover the adoption fees of these animals. With a sponsor-a-pet fundraiser, you can do just that.

Set up a crowdfunding campaign where your supporters can raise funds on behalf of shelter pets in your care. Explain why they need sponsors and encourage people to support them until they’re adopted by making a recurring donation. People will connect emotionally with the animals in this type of fundraiser and work together to ensure they receive proper care. It may even be what helps get these adoptable animals adopted!

2. Partner with a sponsor for a matching gift campaign

Want to make sure your supporters know they’re making a difference? A matching gift campaign is perfect for that. Partner with a local business that matches employee donations or secure a private matching gift pledge from a major donor, and let your supporters know their gifts will be matched when they give to your animal shelter.

If you partner with a local business, you’ll be reaching out to their employees to let them know about your needs and the match. Try to work with the business to offer employees who donate an incentive (such as jeans days or casual Fridays).

If you’ve partnered with a private donor to make the match happen, reach out to existing supporters and ask them to spread the word in your community to earn as many donations as possible toward the matching gift pledge.

3. Text fundraising appeals

Do you want to reach donors where they’re at? Text fundraising is a perfect way to accomplish this. Create a list of donors who have opted in to receive text communications from you, and send them an outbound text asking them to donate to your cause (be sure to include a link to your donation form). Keep your text short and simple and let your donation page do the heavy lifting.

Most text messages are read within 15 minutes of receipt, so the donations from supporters will pour in quickly. This is perfect if you’re raising funds for an emergency need, like medical bills for an injured puppy or a sudden increase in expenses due to a packed shelter.

4. Host a donation drive

An easy way to raise funds quickly is to run a donation drive. Set up a donation form with asks that correspond to your specific needs. Make sure the dollar amounts appeal to multiple giving levels. You’ll likely find that many people make micro-donations, or donations under $100. That’s okay because these small donations can add up if given in greater numbers.

If you make your giving levels accessible, you’ll likely receive more donations. Pair your donation form with a challenge to collect cash and make your donation drive go even further.

5. Encourage recurring giving

Like the sponsor-a-pet fundraiser, your goal with a recurring giving drive is to get supporters to make monthly donations to your cause. This establishes a stable revenue stream you can use to purchase food and supplies for shelter animals in your care. This takes a significant burden off the shelter and frees up resources for further investment into your cause. To get donors to give on a recurring basis, it helps to ask them to make a monthly gift via an email appeal.

Explain how giving on a recurring basis will help and what their donations will fund. Then, offer recurring giving as an option on your donation form. To really hammer the point home, consider using a feature like Bloomerang Fundraising’s recurring giving nudges and modals. Nonprofits using Bloomerang Fundraising see an average increase of 19% in monthly recurring donation amounts and an average increase of 22% in the number of monthly recurring donations they receive compared to nonprofits who only use Bloomerang CRM.

Cat rescue fundraiser ideas

Looking for a way to spotlight your feline friends? Since many shelter fundraisers naturally lean a little dog-heavy, it’s important to host events and campaigns that cater to the cat lovers in your community. Give these cat-specific ideas a try!

1. Host a “kitten shower”

Every spring, animal shelters prepare for “kitten season”—a time when hundreds of orphaned or newborn kittens arrive needing round-the-clock care. Take advantage of this predictable seasonal need by hosting a “kitten shower”! Just like a traditional baby shower, you can create a registry or virtual supply drive for the exact items you need, such as kitten formula, specialized bottles, heating pads, and blankets. Host it virtually via livestream with a few of your youngest residents, or in-person with cat-themed treats for your donors.

2. Partner up for cat yoga

Cat yoga (often called “Purrs & Poses”) is an incredibly popular way to get the community through your doors and raise funds. Partner with a local yoga instructor who is willing to donate their time to lead a relaxing class while adoptable shelter cats and kittens roam the room. Charge a registration fee for attendees. Not only is this a great way to generate revenue, but the socialization is fantastic for the cats, and it almost always results in a few adoptions by the end of the session!

3. Run a “bad cat portraits” campaign

This highly shareable social media fundraiser is a proven viral hit for animal rescues. Here’s how it works: Supporters donate a set amount (usually $15 to $25), and in exchange, your shelter staff and volunteers will draw a portrait of their cat. The catch? Your volunteers aren’t professional artists, and the resulting portraits are intentionally goofy, disproportionate, and hilarious. People love seeing the “bad” art of their pets, and it drives massive engagement on your timelines.

4. Host a “Purrs & Paint” night

Host a paint-and-sip night where supporters pay a ticket fee to join a painting class and enjoy their favorite beverages. You can have attendees paint a pre-sketched canvas of a generic cat, or have a local artist guide them through painting their own pets. To make it even more special, host the event in your shelter’s cat room or partner with a local cat café so attendees can paint while surrounded by your adoptable felines.

5. “Name a litter” donation drive

When a pregnant stray arrives, or a new litter of kittens is brought into your rescue, turn their naming process into a fundraising opportunity. Create donation tiers where supporters can pay to name a kitten (e.g., $25 to name a single kitten, or $100 to name the entire litter with a specific theme, like “types of pasta” or “characters from your favorite TV show”). It’s a low-effort, high-reward campaign that gets donors emotionally invested in the kittens’ journeys from birth to adoption.

Frequently asked questions about animal shelter fundraising

What are the most profitable animal shelter fundraisers?

The most profitable fundraisers balance high revenue with low overhead costs. Peer-to-peer campaigns, recurring monthly giving programs, and targeted virtual events typically yield the highest return on investment. To maximize profitability, secure corporate sponsorships or employer matching gifts to multiply individual donations while keeping your upfront expenses low.

How can I get started raising funds for an animal shelter?

Start by defining a clear, measurable goal, like raising $5,000 for an emergency medical fund. Next, choose a low-cost, manageable campaign, such as a social media challenge. Lean on your existing volunteers and adopters first, and share emotionally compelling stories that highlight the direct impact of their support.

How can our shelter turn one-time event attendees into recurring monthly donors?

Follow up immediately after an event while their emotional connection is high. Send a personalized thank-you that shows exactly what a small monthly gift—like $10—can achieve, such as feeding a rescue dog for a week. Use automated tools to gently nudge one-time donors toward a recurring option during checkout.

What are the best ways to secure corporate sponsorships or local business partnerships?

Pitch partnerships as win-win marketing opportunities. Create a formal sponsorship packet that highlights the exposure their business will receive from your passionate audience through social media shoutouts, event signage, and newsletter features. Start by approaching local pet-friendly businesses, veterinary clinics, or companies where your current volunteers already work.

In conclusion

Animal shelters have unique funding needs that present challenges other nonprofits may never face. That said, animal shelters have many advantages in fundraising. Your organization likely has a ton of shareable pictures of adoptable animals you can use in appeals. Likewise, you also create a new success story every time an animal is adopted. With the right resources and fundraising ideas, your animal shelter can boost its fundraising and meet the needs of every adoptable animal in your care.