Mike and Dotty Collett Animal Care Grant Program

North Valley Community Foundation administers the Mike and Dotty Collett Animal Care Grant Program to support local organizations providing animal care within NVCF's service area. The program was established to support programs and projects that provide direct services to animals and improve animals' quality of life. Examples identified in the guidelines include food, shelter, medical care, and similar direct animal-care services. The grant is therefore focused on tangible services and projects benefiting animals rather than general organizational support unrelated to animal care. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations recognized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, programs that operate under the fiscal sponsorship of a 501(c)(3) organization, and units of local government. Programs and services must be provided without discrimination based on age, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or religious belief. Funded programs and projects must clearly benefit residents of Butte, Tehama, Glenn, Colusa, or Plumas counties in California. NVCF states that its funds are deployed strategically where other sources of funding are not available. As much as possible, the foundation seeks to leverage its grants by first tapping available federal and state aid programs and insurance. Applicants should therefore be able to demonstrate how the requested grant fills a funding need after other applicable resources have been considered. The program will not consider requests for staffing, fundraising events, annual funds, endowment funds, political lobbying, grants to individuals, or activities restricted to members of a faith community. Individual grants will typically range from $1,000 to $5,000. The guidelines do not state the total amount available for the overall grant program, the anticipated number of awards, or a required cost share or matching contribution. For the 2026 application period, applications will be accepted beginning August 24, 2026, and continuing through September 30, 2026. The guidelines do not identify a letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, or other pre-application gating requirement, and they do not describe the application portal, required uploads, application questions, or separate evaluation criteria. Applicants whose requests are approved will receive a formal and legally binding grant agreement requiring signature. The agreement will establish the final scope of work, the timeline for outcomes, the reporting schedule, and other legal assurances. Awarded grantees must report on project progress and financial expenditures, with NVCF noting that timely reports assist the foundation in fulfilling its stewardship responsibilities to donors and the community. Grant payments will be made after execution of the grant agreement. The published guidelines do not provide a separate award notification date or a fixed grant performance period outside the timeline that will be established in the individual grant agreement. Any public acknowledgment of a grant must be coordinated with NVCF and comply with the guidelines contained in the grant agreement. David Little, executive vice president, is identified as the contact for questions concerning public acknowledgment and can be reached at dlittle@nvcf.org. Questions regarding the application process or program guidelines should be directed to the NVCF team at clientservices@nvcf.org. The source provides only the August 24 through September 30, 2026 application window and does not state that the opportunity recurs annually or on another regular schedule.

Show direct animal-care impact that improves animals' quality of life; demonstrate clear benefit to residents of Butte, Tehama, Glenn, Colusa, or Plumas counties; explain why other funding sources are unavailable and, where possible, first use applicable federal and state aid programs and insurance; do not request support for staffing or other expressly restricted uses.