By Cathy M. Rosenthal
I can’t believe I’ve gone the entire month of November without posting a blog. I had every intention of writing. I even scribbled ideas on napkins, sticky notes, and the back of grocery receipts as I always do. But every time I sat down to write, something else kept calling to me. That “something else” was a very big something — and I’m thrilled (and a little relieved) to say: Goal achieved. I just published my new book, Grant Writing Boot Camp for Animal Advocates, right before Thanksgiving.
I’ve spent the past 20 years helping animal shelters, spay/neuter programs, rescues, outreach teams, and community organizations write grants, train staff, and tell their stories in ways that funders understand. But I could never help everyone — and I kept hearing the same worry over and over again:
“I love animals. I know our work matters. But I can’t get funders to take notice.”
So I decided to teach it — one workshop at a time. Then those workshops turned into handouts, handouts turned into worksheets, worksheets turned into templates, templates turned into 21 lessons… and one day, I realized I wasn’t just teaching grant writing. I was teaching people how to tell their mission stories in a powerful, confident way — and get them funded.
And one thing I knew from the beginning: This book had to be written specifically for animal people.
Because writing a grant for a spay/neuter clinic is not the same as writing one for a museum. Explaining why a community cat program matters is different than explaining a youth art initiative. Describing compassion fatigue, or outreach in food deserts, or emergency veterinary care — these things require heart, context, real animal stories, and field language that non-animal groups don’t speak.
So, I wrote this book to help the people who write grants. I hope you find it practical, friendly, and straightforward. This book will walk you step-by-step through how to build your project, budget for it, find the right funders, write each grant section, and even avoid the common mistakes that get animal grants rejected. It includes 21 lessons, 110 Boot Camp Tips, 48 AI Pro Tips, and over 40 templates, checklists, and worksheets, because sometimes you just need to see exactly how something is done in order to do it yourself. And whether you write 50 grants a year or are just getting started, this book has something for everyone who wants to ensure they are addressing grant funders’ questions, and in language funders understand.
Check it out and download a free chapter when you d0! I’ll be back this week with more pet advice to help strengthen that beautiful bond we share with the animals in our lives.
