WHO WE ARE
Our Story For pets. For people. For good.
It’s more than a tagline, it’s our purpose. At PetSmart Charities we believe pets contribute to a healthier, happier and more connected society– uniting us through the power of unconditional love.
From our start in 1994 our mission has grown to mirror the needs of the communities we serve, with pets at the heart of everything we do. Today, we are proud to be the leading funder of animal welfare in North America.
OUR MISSION
We make the world a better place for pets by investing in community partners that advocate and care for the well-being of pets and all who love them.
Our Vision
A world where communities unite in support of pets together with their families.
Our Programs
OUR INVESTMENT IN STRATEGIC GRANTS AND PARTNERSHIPS CREATE POSITIVE CHANGE IN THE LIVES OF PETS, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITIES.
CONNECTING PETS & PEOPLE
Everyone deserves the love of a pet. That’s why we partner with 2,500+ animal welfare organizations through grants that support pet adoption. Through our adoption centers & events at PetSmart stores, we’re dedicated to helping pets find loving families.
SUPPORTING PETS & PEOPLE
We support pets and their families by encouraging initiatives that keep them together. Our grants focus on partnerships with organizations that make veterinary care more affordable and accessible, prevent pet hunger, and provide disaster relief in times of crisis.
Dreams came true thanks to you
YOUR GIFTS IN 2023 TRANSFORMED LIVES.
370,417 FAMILIES CREATED
More than $18 million in funding to help pets find loving homes through adoption.
Granted to 30 organizations that help pets and their families impacted by natural disasters. OVER $750,000 MILLION IN RELIEF
39,000 PETS TRANSPORTED
Across the country to give them a better chance at finding a loving home.
10.9 MILLIONpounds of pet food Distributed to 68 food banks and other human service organizations.
Across the Country YOUR IMPACT
Cookie’s Golden Years Phoenix, AZ
One year after losing her pet, Regina decided she was finally ready to open up her heart to a new best friend. During March National Adoption Week, she met Cookie, a sweet and shy 11-yearold Shih Tzu looking for a loving home to spend the rest of her golden years. Regina fell in love and vowed to give Cookie the best years ahead.
Hank’s Health Journey Wichita Falls, TX
Hank was adopted in his senior years and his mom was determined to help him live the rest of his life to the fullest. With the support of grant funding from PetSmart Charities, P.E.T.S. Clinic helped Hank receive vital treatments for heartworm, deafness, and skin issues, ensuring his later years are filled with comfort and love.
Full Hearts, Full Bowls Ypsilanti, MI
Gigi, a senior on a fixed income, cherishes her dog Gidget, but economic hardship threatened to disrupt their bond. Thanks to donors, we partnered with Meals on Wheels America to help both Gigi and Gidget receive the nourishing meals they need to ensure neither faces hunger. With your support, we keep hearts and bowls full.
Together for Good / Campton,
KY
During the devastating Kentucky floods, Brownie’s pet parent was forced to evacuate her home. Brownie was the only family she had so she sought refuge that would provide relief for her and Brownie. They both found sanctuary at an American Red Cross shelter which is pet-friendly thanks, in part, to a 3-year partnership with PetSmart Charities. The American Red Cross now provides for pets in all of the emergency shelters they operate.
Connecting Pets & People
INTRODUCING RESCUE WRITER ™
In 2023, our adoption efforts reached new heights as our July National Adoption Week set a post-pandemic record with 23,000 in-store adoptions!
This huge adoption milestone is only one step toward creating a better life for homeless pets. With more than 6 million pets entering shelters each year, our work is far from over.
That’s why we introduced Rescue Writer™, a groundbreaking AI tool tailored for shelters, rescues, fosters, and volunteers. It’s the first of its kind, designed to craft compelling pet bios that showcase their distinct characteristics and captivate potential pet parents. Unfortunately, the workload on shelter staff, volunteers, rescues, and fosters is overwhelming, leaving them with little time to create unique bios for each pet.
This free, award-winning tool generates compelling, quirky, and heartwarming pet bios in seconds using only a few key terms. This means that pet caregivers can now devote more time to the animals, as the AI tool takes over the task of narrating each pet’s story!
In its first year, Rescue Writer helped create nearly 100,000 bios, which helped more pets in need increase their chances of finding a loving adopter.
Supporting Pets & People
COMMUNITY IMPACT
We estimate that 1 in 3 pets cannot access veterinary care, with pets in historically marginalized communities over-represented in that number. We believe that all families deserve access to affordable veterinary care. That’s why our grant programs support events such as Arizona Animal Welfare League’s vaccination clinic, which provides much-needed resources for families facing barriers to accessible and affordable veterinary care. One of the many heartwarming moments of the clinic event was witnessing the overwhelming relief and joy on pet owners’ faces as they received essential vaccines for their beloved companions, free of charge. For many, this event meant not having to choose between their pet’s health and putting food on the table.
Supporting Pets & People
ACCESS TO VETERINARY CARE
In 2023, our partnerships with veterinary universities were pivotal in addressing healthcare disparities, particularly in underserved communities. Integrating veterinary education with community outreach programs gave students valuable hands-on experience while delivering essential services to pet owners. Successful initiatives, including mobile clinics and communitybased clinics, effectively bridged the gap between academia and practical care delivery, ensuring that our future veterinarians are prepared to deliver care to all.
Supporting Pets & People
PREVENTING PET HUNGER
In 2023, we proudly celebrated our inaugural Pet Hunger Awareness Day™! When people experience food insecurity, often times their pets do too and with 30 million pets facing hunger yearly in the U.S., we knew we needed to take action. Pet Hunger Awareness Day aims to address the disastrous consequences families in need face, including making the impossible choice to surrender beloved pets when they can’t adequately support them. The events took place in 4 key markets across the country, contributing to our annual in-kind donation of 10.9 Million pounds of food distributed across the country.
Supporting Pets & People
DISASTER RESPONSE
In 2023 we provided essential aid for pets and their families displaced by crises, including providing emergency shelter, food, and medical care. PetSmart Charities’ commitment to animal welfare extended to ensuring that pets were not left behind during emergencies, recognizing the critical bond between pets and pet parents. We know that 76 percent of pet parents would not evacuate if they had to leave their pets behind. For those seeking refuge with their pets, options can be harder to find. That’s why the PetSmart Charities partnership with the American Red Cross, which now includes pet intake at all of their disaster shelters nationwide, is so important. This collaboration which supported 34,757 overnight pet stays, demonstrated a unified effort to alleviate suffering, promote recovery and underscore the importance of keeping families and their pets together –especially during challenging times.
A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
OUR 2023 FINANCIALS
OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH
Each year, PetSmart helps provide the critical support needed for PetSmart Charities to be able to advance our mission. From hosting pet adoptions at over 1,600 PetSmart stores to collecting donations from pet parents as they checkout, our friends at PetSmart stand by their brand promise – Anything for Pets.
When PetSmart was founded, it made a decision to never sell cats and dogs and instead made a commitment to help find them forever homes through adoption. That’s how PetSmart Charities was born and together, we have facilitated nearly 11 million pet adoptions inside PetSmart stores.
In addition to providing this ongoing support, PetSmart has deepened its integration with PetSmart Charities to highlight our shared passion to support pets and pet parents, and reward customers even more for donating to our cause. Throughout 2023, PetSmart Treats Rewards loyalty customers donated more than 24 million points to PetSmart Charities. In addition, the Chance & Friends donation program grew to include Halloween celebrations. For each purchase of a Chance & Friends plush toy, $1 was donated to PetSmart charities, totaling over $5.1 million.
OUR SUPPORT FROM
PetSmart Charities partners with corporations that share our vision of a world where communities unite in support of pets together with their families. We aim to be there for pets and families through the entire journey, beginning with pet adoption and through all of life’s moments. Thank you to our corporate partners that are eager to help – whether they’re inspiring customers to give, engaging their employees or supporting our work and driving our shared vision.
OUR LEADERSHIP
board of directors
Thank you to our Board of Directors for their tireless commitment to care for pets and the families who love them.
OFFICERS & DIRECTORS
Aimee Gilbreath
Janet Henry
Stephanie Jensen
J.K. Symancyk
Neal Litvack
Lisa Rojas Bacus
Elliott Francis
Ben Jacobs
Debo Mukherjee
Cherise Ordlock
Mike Schultheis
Manjit Singh
Dr. Mark Stetter
Dawn Willoughby
BOARD OBSERVER
Gary Shullaw
Ways to Give
Advancing the mission of PetSmart Charities only happens because of the generosity of our donors. You have options when making a gift. Choose to give by mail, phone or make your gift online now at:
Good
As a Champion for Good, your monthly donation plays a vital role in supporting families through pet adoption, creating access to affordable veterinary care, combating pet food insecurity, and assisting families who have experienced a natural disaster. Join us and make a monthly contribution for those in need.
Remembering PetSmart Charities in your final wishes is a lasting way to change the lives of pets and people who love them. Whether through an outright gift in your will/bequest or by designating us as the beneficiary of your life insurance or retirement account, you will help make the world a better place for pets and their families for generations to come.
As a corporate partner, your contributions lead the change for good. Your support not only helps homeless pets find loving families it also ensures that families stay together with their pets even during life’s toughest moments. Contact gifts@petsmartcharities.org to learn how your company can get involved.
To learn more about opportunities to support PetSmart Charities, please visit PetSmartCharities.Org/Take-Action/Other-Ways-To-Give
FOR PETS. FOR PEOPLE. for good.
Dear Friend,
I hope 2023 was a healthy and happy year for you. As I reflect on what we did together to make life better for pets and the people they love, I’m encouraged and inspired.
We’re grateful for the support of our generous donors and corporate partners. In 2023, $44 million in grants were made to pet (and people) serving organizations, and every single dollar made a difference!
I’d like to share just a few highlights. The 2023 Atlantic hurricane season was the fourth-most active one on record, and PetSmart Charities distributed $759,000 in immediate funding to support the rescue, rehabilitation and reunification of displaced pets. Together, we enabled the integration of pets into disaster response tracking and planning, ensured more seniors could feed and care for their precious companions and delivered 55 million meals of pet food to affiliate food banks.
As animal shelters continued to experience overcrowding, our in-store adoption program helped more than 370,417 pets find loving homes. It’s such a source of pride for our team, knowing so many lost and lonely pets found people to love and adore.
We continued to fulfill our commitment to investing $100 million in building access to veterinary care for the more than 50 million pets in need across the U.S. The largest grant in our history was made with a $6 million gift to name the PetSmart Charities Endowed Chair in Accessible Veterinary Care at UC Davis. This esteemed faculty member will leverage research strengths to build innovative, compassionate care for all pets, ensure hands-on clinical training for veterinary students and much more. Additionally, we launched two new grant portfolios: one to reach communities who have been historically excluded from the veterinary care system, and another to expand services for more low-cost clinics. These significant investments promise to carve systematic change across the entire ecosystem.
On behalf of our team, we are thankful to you, our donors, partners and friends at PetSmart for your heart and passion. Because of you, more pets are living their best lives giving love and companionship to people – and that makes for healthy families and communities.
With gratitude,
Aimee Gilbreath, MBA President PetSmart Charities
