Contact:
Sharon Fletcher, Director of Marketing & Communications
925.310.5458
fletcher@maddiesfund.org
Pleasanton, CA, April 19, 2022 - Maddie's Fund®, a national family foundation established by Dave and Cheryl Duffield to revolutionize the status and well-being of companion animals, announced today a $1.7 million grant awarded to Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE). This three-year grant will support the expansion of their CARE Centers by adding five to ten centers each year.
CARE is a national nonprofit whose mission is to prioritize and amplify Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) voices using narratives, research, and community-centered investments. Using this multidisciplinary approach, CARE seeks to inspire all organizations to be more inclusive and less biased in an effort to keep families, including their pets, together.
"Equity is the outcome we seek for all communities,” said James Evans, CEO and founder of CARE. "Thanks to Maddie, CARE will expand its CARE Center model focused on work with proximate leaders, who have meaningful relationships with marginalized communities who seek to keep pets with their families. CARE Centers assist in creating workforce development opportunities that are created by and for the community, placing value on their wisdom.”
CARE Centers are networks of individuals and organizations working within their communities, who are already doing this important work. CARE’s intention is to partner with community leaders to add pet wellness and resources. The CARE Center model creates sustainable community-led networks by using a human and animal well-being model in an effort to keep pets home and uplift their human companions.
"We are proud to continue our support of CARE and the CARE Centers,” said Mary Ippoliti-Smith, Maddie’s Fund’s Executive Leadership Team. "Striving for equity and providing communities with the resources and tools they need to care for their pets will have a direct impact on keeping pets and people together.”
In 2020, Maddie’s Fund awarded CARE a three-year partnership grant of $750,000 to support diversity research within animal welfare, creation and staffing of the Atlanta CARE Center, and infrastructure staff for CARE. Through this funding, CARE has set up four new BIPOC-owned 501c3 organizations and facilitated funding for a total of six. Maddie’s Fund further supported CARE’s efforts towards diversity, equity and inclusion with a $100,000 grant toward African American scholarships for veterinary schools.
To learn more about CARE, visit their website.
About Maddie's Fund
Maddie's Fund® is a family foundation established in 1994 by Dave and Cheryl Duffield and is the fulfillment of a promise to their inspirational dog, Maddie. She provided them much joy from 1987 – 1997 and continues to inspire them today.
The Foundation has awarded over $275.7 million in grants toward increased community lifesaving, pioneering shelter medicine education and establishing foster care as a standard across the U.S.
Maddie's Fund proudly offers the industry a national voice, important funding opportunities for bold ideas, learning resources and access to collaborate and share innovative solutions. The Foundation invests its resources in a commitment to keeping pets and people together, creating a safety net of care for animals in need and operating within a culture of inclusiveness and humility. #ThanksToMaddie.