April 7, 2022
Categories: Uncategorized, Announcements

The Open Arms Challenge winners are here!

From November 22, 2021 to January 3, 2022, animal shelters and rescue organizations piloted new approaches that opened doors to adopters and volunteers, and welcomed their entire community. The 194 participating organizations embraced inclusive policies, including translating materials into multiple languages, creating new partnerships with organizations outside of animal welfare and removing barriers to adoption, foster and volunteering. These amazing efforts resulted in the adoption of 47,341 dogs and cats and support for 33,565 volunteers and 25,296 foster caregivers during the Challenge Period! 

“We were so excited to see all of the hard work that these amazing organizations did to make their programs and services more open to everyone in their community, and the positive response that resulted,” said Amber Eby, Grants Specialist at Maddie’s Fund. “We understand these changes can be difficult and truly appreciate the efforts towards equity and inclusion. We can’t wait to see what comes next for everyone!” 

One organization shared that their adoption leadership team expressed surprise that they did not ‘miss’ many of the questions they removed from their adoption application. One admitted that excluding some of the age and household information has helped them to not put adopters into unfavorable categories unconsciously. 

Another participating organization said that small changes made big changes, without a notice of “more work” on the staff’s behalf. They were able to reach and build relationships with all members of the community in ways that they weren’t able to before. 

Stay tuned as we share more in-depth stories from winners over the next few months. 

Below are a few of the winners. You can see the entire list on our website. Congratulations to everyone!  

 Best Overall Effort: $10,000 

  • Montgomery County Animal Services and Adoption Center, MD 
  • Pinellas County Animal Services, FL 

 Robust Programs: $5,000 

  • Animal Friends of the Valleys, CA 
  • Animal Harbor, TN 
  • Beautiful Together, NC 
  • Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition, Inc, NY 
  • Broward County Animal Care, FL 
  • Saint Louis County Animal Care and Control, MO 
  • Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Hancock County, ME 
  • Souris Valley Animal Shelter, ND 
  • SPCA of Brevard, FL 
  • Washington County Humane Society, WI 

 Most Effective Use of Open and Welcoming Menu Items: $3,000 

  • Animal Care of Davis County, UT 
  • Baywater Animal Rescue, MD 
  • Hands and Feet Pet Advocates, TN 
  • Hope Animal Rescue, NC 
  • Lifeline Animal Project, GA 
  • Salem Friends of Felines, OR 
  • Shelter from the Storm, WI 
  • Stray Paws Animal Haven, CA 

The Open Arms Challenge was all about opening our hearts and minds to more accessible and inclusive practices. This Challenge was funded by Maddie’s Fund® and Michelson Found Animals Foundation and in collaboration with Adopt-A-Pet.com, Adoptimize, American Pets Alive!, ASPCA, The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement, BISSELL Pet Foundation, Best Friends Animal Society, Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity (CARE), HeARTS Speak, Humane Society of the United States, National Animal Care and Control Association, Petco Love, Petfinder Foundation, and PetSmart Charities.