2027 Letters of Interest (LOI) submission window opens September 14!
Your Guide to the 2027 Rachael Ray No-Kill Excellence Grants and Rachael Ray Save Them All Grants
The Rachael Ray Foundation™ is funded by a portion of proceeds from each sale of Rachael's pet food, Nutrish®. The Foundation was launched by Rachael in 2016 to better support the causes she cares for most such as helping animals in need.
The Rachael Ray Foundation and Best Friends Animal Society are committed to helping Best Friends Network Partners increase lifesaving in their communities through impactful, innovative, and inclusive programming. Every year, there are two types of grants for which partners can apply. Organizations can only submit one grant proposal.
How to Choose the Right Grant For You
Use the decision tree below to help determine which grant would be applicable to your project.
2027 Grant Cycle Timeline
- September 14, 2026: Letter of Interest (LOI) submission window opens
- October 14, 2026: LOI, network partner application, and your data is due
- Early November 2026: LOI decisions
- December 16, 2026: Grant application due
- End of December 2026: Final decisions sent
- January 8, 2027: Grant contracts are due and project starts
- Late January 2027: Checks are sent
Data Reporting Status
Read the reporting requirements carefully.
If you are a shelter or rescue with intakes and outcomes:
- You must create an account to report your data in Shelter Pet Data Alliance (SPDA) and submit the following data prior to submitting your LOI.
- Shelter Pet Data Alliance (SPDA)-eligible organizations must submit monthly data for January 2025 through August 2026 to be eligible to apply for a grant.
- Create your free SPDA account. For detailed instructions, access the SPDA User Guide. If you run into any issues or have questions about SPDA that are not answered in the user guide, please contact us using this form.
- Create your free SPDA account. For detailed instructions, access the SPDA User Guide. If you run into any issues or have questions about SPDA that are not answered in the user guide, please contact us using this form.
- Shelter Pet Data Alliance (SPDA)-eligible organizations must submit monthly data for January 2025 through August 2026 to be eligible to apply for a grant.
If you are a spay/neuter group, intake prevention group, transport-only group or other group:
- You will need to submit your 2025 annual data using this form prior to submitting your application.
Please note that during an open grant cycle, our response time to emails and voicemails is significantly delayed. We ask that you take the time to ensure you meet all requirements and that you plan for those items you need us to verify. Since we are unable to fast track applications for partnership or respond to urgent requests during this time, we appreciate your understanding.
Stay Connected
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