A dog in a forest

2020 Banfield
Foundation Impact Report

 
A photo of a dog and a woman smiling

As we look back on everything the Banfield FoundationTM has accomplished in 2020, we are struck by the fact that the people and pets whose lives have been changed by our grants ultimately have you—our Banfield Foundation donors and Banfield Pet Hospital clients and associates—to thank. During a year that brought a range of unanticipated challenges, we are overcome with gratitude for the work we were collectively able to do. In 2020, we helped more than 475,000 pets receive access to veterinary care, shelter and disaster relief, including more than $500,000 in COVID-19 relief. We also celebrated our five-year anniversary, marking an incredible milestone of 5 million pets helped since we first began in 2015.
While there is still much more work to accomplish, we know that we are more confident today than ever that no matter what the future holds, we can use our resources to change the lives of pets who need us—and the lives of the people who love and rely on them.


Read the full report

Below is a snapshot of just a few of our accomplishments in 2020. Access the full report here:

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Celebrating Five years 

In September 2020, the foundation celebrated 5 years and 5 million pets helped. To celebrate the big day, the foundation launched its first official (virtual) Fun(d) Run, bringing together more than 275 Mars Petcare and Banfield Pet Hospital associates across five countries raising more than $13,000 in support of HOPE Funds, the foundation’s life-saving emergency care program. It was an incredible reminder that we are truly better together!

A photo collage of various Fun(d) run volunteers
A man petting a dog

Hope for pets and people

Jasmine’s owner, a veteran on limited income, was devastated when he learned Jasmine needed emergency, life-saving surgery. Richard was scared when he heard the news, not only because Jasmine was sick but because he didn’t have time to financially prepare for the unexpected cost. With support from Banfield Foundation’s HOPE Funds program, Jasmine was able to get the surgery she needed and Richard received financial assistance to make it possible. “Without assistance from HOPE Funds, I’m not sure what would’ve happened. I’m just so thankful this program exists to keep pets and the people who love them together,” said Richard.

A photo of a smiling dog

Education and awareness in New Jersey

In August, the Humane Society of the United States brought its “Humane State” program, already active in nine states, to New Jersey with the help of the Banfield Foundation. The Humane State program is a three-year training program focused on progressive animal care, increasing animal welfare standards and community-oriented education all while offering free services to remove economic and geographic barriers to veterinary care. In its first year, trainings reached 151 officers representing 38 different law enforcement agencies, as well as 136 shelter/rescue agencies and professionals, from throughout the state.

A photo of a Banfield Foundation-funded mobile veterinary vehicle

Mobilizing care

In many cases, low-income pet owners are faced with barriers such as unreliable transportation and financial inability to pay for basic medical care. In fact, as of 2018, nearly 18 percent of Arizona residents are living below the federal poverty line. In partnership with the Arizona Humane Society, a new Banfield Foundation-funded mobile veterinary vehicle will make veterinary services more accessible to pet owners facing financial restrictions and unreliable transportation. The Arizona Humane vehicle will provide free and low-cost preventive care 24 weeks a year impacting an estimated 6,500 pets in underserved communities in the Phoenix-Metro area annually.

A photo of a dog licking a volunteer

Staying safely on mission

In 2020, clinics, shelters and other animal welfare organizations had to dramatically change the way they worked in order to continue to help people and pets in their communities. As organizations like Banfield Foundation and Greater Good Charities rose to meet new challenges, they also discovered new opportunities. Banfield Foundation Executive Director Kim Van Syoc and Greater Good Charities CEO Liz Baker discuss how COVID-19 has changed how their organizations were able to serve people and pets, and what the future could look like as a result.

A group of dogs on leash together

Joining forces for good

The coronavirus pandemic, which forced the cessation of non-emergency veterinary services such as spay/neuter surgeries, created a backlog of unaltered shelter and owned pets. Between June and August, the Banfield Foundation partnered with the Humane Society of the United States and 25 other organizations including PetSmart Charities, Greater Good Charities, Maddie’s Fund and IDEXX, among others, in the historic SpayTogether Coalition. This “stimulus fund” provided more than $2.1 million to 100 animal shelters and spay/neuter veterinary clinics in hard-hit states such as Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, to perform 50,000 lifesaving spay/neuter surgeries in just three months.

Transporting pets, saving lives 

Despite reports throughout 2020 that animal shelters are empty due increased pet adoptions and fostering during quarantine, this is far from the truth. From October to December 2020, Banfield Foundation partnered with more than a dozen organizations to assist with the transport 1,800 pets from at-capacity shelters in the South and Hawaii to other areas of the U.S. These historic transports provided pets facing euthanasia access to care and resources they need to be successfully adopted. Banfield Foundation funded not only the transportation costs but also 100% of the preventive care for each pet.

A cat sitting in a pet carrier
Two dogs sitting and smiling

Preventive care for all

In 2020, Banfield Foundation launched $500,000 in COVID-19 Respond and Rebuild grants designed to help nonprofits across the country enable veterinary care and resources to our most vulnerable communities. Grant recipients included Michigan Humane and its two-weekend One Health Clinic, which brought veterinary care and resources to the most vulnerable people, pets and neighborhoods in the Detroit area, ultimately caring for more than 1,500 pets.

A photo of the Banfield Foundation Pet Park

A safe haven for pets

In 2020, New York City’s Urban Resource Institute completed the construction of the “Banfield Foundation Pet Park”— a 1,000-square-foot pet-friendly park at “Harmony House,” the first domestic violence shelter built in New York City specifically to permit domestic violence victims and their pets to live and heal together. This project was the first grant awarded as part of Banfield Foundation’s Safer Together initiative, a $1 million commitment to help pets and people impacted by domestic violence find safety and shelter together.