Animal Connection | Acton Family Giving

Compassion for animals make us better humans. Connecting with them takes us beyond ourselves and can be a gateway to applying caring and understanding in all aspects of our lives. We approach human-animal connection as an initial step toward building stronger relationships with other people, our communities, and our world. We also view grantmaking in this area as the practice of our own empathy.

What We Fund

We believe in building compassion for vulnerable animals throughout the world by protecting them in their natural environments, promoting humane and sustainable practices regarding their care, and supporting community education that strengthens the human-animal bond. In particular, we seek opportunities to support organizations that work towards:

Humane Education

Teaching people, especially children, to respect and care for animals, as well as highlighting our connection to them, their community, and our shared environment.

Community Conservation

Supporting at-risk animal species alongside the communities living near them, in order to protect their habitat, reduce human-animal conflict, and strengthen the relationships between communities and the animals that share their spaces.

Animal Compassion

Supporting organizations that are providing and improving care and treatment for animals.

Funding Priorities

We are still learning and exploring opportunities in this area. We expect our parameters to evolve and become clearer as we grant. We currently:

prioritize organizations with a broad reach (national or significant regional footprint)

seek partners implementing system-wide solutions or creating best practices

focus on vulnerable populations

do not fund volunteer-based companion animal rescue groups, sustainable practices around farming, fishing or food production, land trusts or environmental conservation efforts

Empathy Building Grantmaking Areas

First-Person Storytelling

Animal Connection

Good Fight Grants

Areas of Exploration