RedRover’s Safe Housing Grants

RedRover’s Safe Housing Grants are intended to support survivors of domestic violence by removing a key barrier to safety—finding shelter for their pets. This program provides funding to enable domestic violence shelters and animal welfare organizations across the United States to implement pet-inclusive housing solutions. The program recognizes the importance of keeping survivors and their pets together and offers flexible implementation options tailored to each community’s needs. Eligible applicants include nonprofit domestic violence organizations and animal shelters or rescues located within the United States. The funding may be used for a variety of purposes including the construction or renovation of facilities to house survivor-owned pets, the development of foster care programs, and coverage of temporary boarding services. Additional eligible expenses include routine and emergency veterinary care as well as pet-related deposits. Grants are designed to support these program costs for up to two years, during which time organizations are expected to develop sustainable funding strategies to continue their pet programs beyond the grant period. Grants are awarded up to a maximum of $60,000. Applicants must demonstrate a clear need based on local data, preferably including a minimum of six months of statistics that reflect the number of families and animals requiring pet-inclusive sheltering. These insights can be gathered through various means such as intake interviews, crisis hotline discussions, or previous participation in RedRover’s Safe Escape program. The application process includes three main steps: reading the full eligibility and grant information, reviewing the pre-application checklist, and submitting a complete application. RedRover encourages collaboration between domestic violence organizations and animal care providers to ensure holistic, community-based solutions. Veterinary partnerships are strongly recommended if the applying agency cannot directly provide medical care. In addition to the core program, RedRover also offers a parallel funding opportunity for homeless shelters that aim to become pet-friendly. While this specific grant is currently closed for the remainder of 2025, it may reopen in 2026 depending on funding availability. These homeless shelter grants follow the same guidelines but are submitted through a separate application process. At the time of this report, the Safe Housing Grants for domestic violence shelters are also closed for the remainder of 2025. However, prospective applicants are advised to monitor the program’s website for reopening announcements in 2026. No specific application open or close dates have been published for the next cycle.

Organizations are encouraged to collaborate with veterinary and community partners, collect six months of data on service demand, and identify the best approach to meet local needs