Maryland Veterans Service Animal Grant Program

The Maryland Veterans Service Animal Grant Program is administered by the Maryland Department of Veterans & Military Families, or DVMF. The program supports Maryland organizations that provide professionally trained service or support animals or equine-assisted therapy to eligible veterans and, where applicable, their eligible family members. For this funding opportunity, eligible family members are defined as a veteran's spouse and dependents. The primary purpose is to develop, implement, and support suicide prevention strategies in Maryland by improving veteran mental health and overall well-being through service and support animals and equine-assisted therapy. DVMF anticipates $211,930 in total program funding, subject to possible state budget revisions. Eligible applicants must be Maryland-based, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organizations and must meet the applicable professional standards for the services they provide. Organizations training and placing service or support dogs must be professionally accredited through Assistance Dogs International. Organizations providing equine-assisted therapy must be Maryland-licensed stables that are either Member Centers of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International or have EAGALA-certified professionals providing services to veterans and eligible family members. Each organization may submit only one application. Applicants must use a data-driven, evidence-based approach, explain how grant funds will be used, include strategies addressing veteran mental health and well-being, and describe outcome measurement and follow-up activities. Applicants must address at least one program priority. Priorities include expanding service and support animal or equine therapy opportunities in geographic areas with limited services; providing in-person training on military cultural competency, suicide prevention, and veteran mental health and well-being; including veteran suicide prevention and mental health subject matter experts in program planning; or creating staff certification opportunities that increase the number of qualified personnel. Required program narrative elements include partnerships, a statement of need and purpose of request, objectives and activities, anticipated metrics, outcomes, and deliverables. Applicants must provide two current letters of support from collaborative partners. Letters must be dated within the past year, be on the supporting organization's letterhead, be signed, and clearly describe the relationship to the applicant. Allowable expenses include qualifying salary and fringe costs, staff development and training, certain equipment and supplies related to development or training, program-delivery travel, equine training, equine or canine equipment, and supplies related to equine or canine care. PATH or EAGALA certification training, associated travel and hotel costs, certain subject matter expert costs, and software directly related to service delivery may be supported. The application guidance instructs applicants to budget program-delivery mileage at $0.725 per mile. Unallowable costs include rent, printing, utilities, food and beverages, marketing giveaways, fundraising, lobbying, research, and audit or consulting costs. No match is required, and applicants are specifically instructed not to enter a match in the budget. Other financial or in-kind contributions may instead be described in the narrative. Applications must be submitted through the Maryland Department of Veterans and Military Families Service Animal Grant Program Fund Google Form Application. Attendance at the Technical Assistance Conference Call on September 10, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM is mandatory for an application to be considered for funding. The application requires organizational information, grant program information, a program narrative, partnership information, anticipated outcomes, a budget and budget justification, and supporting documentation. Required uploads include two professional collaborative-partner letters, the organization's most recent IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ, current organizational operating budget, current Board of Directors, proof of applicable PATH, EAGALA, or ADI accreditation or certification, and the required budget sheet. Applications that are incomplete or incorrect will not be considered. DVMF staff will first conduct a technical review for basic eligibility and required documentation. A Review Committee will then conduct a merit-based assessment. Evaluation considers the statement of need and purpose of request, objectives and activities, anticipated metrics, outcome evaluation measurement tool or questionnaire, estimated expenses and budget narrative, and, for a new program, a timeline. Particular emphasis is placed on the statement of need and purpose, outcome evaluation, and budget narrative. Final awards are determined through a deliberative evaluation using Gold, Silver, and Bronze performance categories. The guidance identifies an anticipated total of $211,930 and states that applicants may request up to $21,190, although one application-instruction provision separately states a $5,000 minimum and $12,000 maximum. This internal inconsistency should be verified with DVMF before submission. Applications are due October 2, 2026, by 3:00 PM. Award and denial notices are scheduled for November 6, 2026, award documents are due November 13, 2026, and the anticipated performance period is January 1 through December 31, 2027. Initial payments equal half of the individual award and are expected no later than December 17, 2026; the balance is disbursed after submission of the Interim Grant Report due July 16, 2027. The Final Report is due January 31, 2028. Award recipients must also attend required Technical Assistance Calls before interim and final reporting. Application assistance is available from Toni Gianforti, Grant Specialist, at Toni.gianforti@maryland.gov. The Department's general telephone number is 410-260-3838. No explicit recurring or annual application-cycle language is stated in the provided notice.

Attend the mandatory September 10, 2026 Technical Assistance Call or the application will not be considered. Give particular attention to the Statement of Need/Purpose of Request, Outcome Evaluation, and Budget Narrative because DVMF identifies these for emphasis during evaluation. Support the statement of need with data, establish measurable objectives, report unduplicated participant counts, and explain pre- and post-program evaluation. Submit two current signed letters from genuine collaborative partners rather than referral-only entities. Do not include unallowable costs or a match in the budget. Verify the conflicting maximum request amounts of $12,000 and $21,190 with DVMF before finalizing the budget.