THE PETPLAN CHARITABLE TRUST WELFARE GRANTS
Grants from £5,000 to £25,000 are available to UK registered charities towards the welfare of dogs, cats, horses and rabbits. Grants are occasionally made to overseas projects.
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o Application deadline: FRIDAY 12th DECEMBER 2025.
o Funder: The Petplan Charitable Trust (founded 1993. Recently reregistered with the Charity Commission as no. 1199327 (previously 1032907). Total value of all grants awarded during the year ended 31 December 2024: £1,329,078 (2023: £641,456)).
o Who can apply: registered charities working in the UK and/or overseas. Please note that, before being able to apply, eligible organisations are required to complete a registration form on the Trust’s website.
o Key words: Capital, Revenue, Animal Welfare, Rescue Centres, Education, Science, Research, Dogs, Cats, Horses, Rabbits, Vehicles, Overseas, United Kingdom.
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The Petplan Charitable Trust’s Welfare Grants programme has recently reopened to applications from UK registered charities for initiatives that promote and improve the health and welfare of dogs, cats, horses and rabbits across the United Kingdom. Please note that the Trust’s other funding programmes for (1) Pump/Pilot grants and (2) Initial Scientific Grants remain closed to applications at this time
The Welfare Grants programme offers grants of between £5,000 and £25,000.
During the year ended 31st December 2024, the Petplan Charitable Trust awarded grants totalling £1,329,078 (2023: £641,456) to animal welfare charities and institutions both in the UK and abroad.
A list of all Welfare Grant recipients over the last two years can be found on pages 30 and 31 of the Trust’s annual accounts. Details of some of the projects supported are also presented as case studies on the Trust’s website.
Applicants should note and demonstrate, where applicable, one or more of the following:
o A direct benefit to one or more of the species supported by Petplan Ltd (for instance, dogs, cats, horses and rabbits). Grants to human charities will be considered when it can be clearly demonstrated that the grant will enhance/give support to the animals’ best interests.
o Education is seen as an important role for the welfare arm of the Charitable Trust and requests for funding for education in animal welfare will be considered.
o Animal ‘assisted therapy’ charities will be considered, however there is a requirement to detail the current and future (long term) welfare needs of the animals. Staff abilities and training will be an important factor.
o Applications are given preference when the animal welfare benefit is clearly demonstrated.
o Frequency of grants – charities receiving grants should not expect to be successful in their applications every year. If a charity has been successful in two consecutive years there will be a requirement for a 2-year break before applying again, and
o Larger charities with multiple branches should co-ordinate and send one application only.
Applications should include:
o Extracts from most recent audited annual accounts.
o Labelled photographs of where the animals are housed, and
o The name and contact number of a veterinary surgeon as a reference.
Applicants should demonstrate a reasonable record of rehoming. While charities operating in the UK will be given priority, applications from charities registered in the UK but working overseas will also occasionally be considered for grant support.
Grants to human charities will be considered when it can be clearly demonstrated that the grant will enhance/give support to the animals’ best interests.
Assisted therapy charities will also be considered as long as they can provide detail of the current and future welfare needs of the animals.
Funding is not available for:
o Breed studies, unless it can be shown that there is a potential for the study to be beneficial to many other breeds.
o Clinical research.
o Clinical studies which involve invasive procedures.
o Grants to enable charities to attain registered status.
o Rescue Centres that want to keep recued animals permanently as their own or that take in more animals than they can reasonably cope with.
o Studies that use experimental animals, or
o Tuition fees or other fees for qualifications completed as part of a project (for example, costs associated with writing up a thesis).
The deadline for applications is Friday 12th December 2025.
Further information, guidance and an application form is available on the Trust’s website.
Contact details for the Trust are:
Catherine Bourg MSc
Trust Administrator
Petplan Charitable Trust
Great West House (GW2)
Great West Road
Brentford, Middlesex
TW8 9EG
Email: info@petplancharitabletrust.