ACE is now accepting applications for our fifth round of Movement Grants. Details for applicants are outlined below.

Overview

ACE Movement Grants is for anyone interested in making the animal advocacy movement more effective. ACE launched Movement Grants in late 2018 for three main reasons:

• We believe that a broad, pluralistic animal advocacy movement is likely to be more resilient—and, hence, more impactful—than a narrow, monistic animal advocacy movement.
• There is limited available evidence supporting the effectiveness of any given intervention, and we think that the movement can increase its chances of success by continuing to fund a wide range of interventions.
• We think that building relationships with a larger group of advocates and charities will make our own work more effective by providing us with new information to consider and new groups with which to collaborate.

Donations to Movement Grants will be distributed to a number of promising charities around the world as decided by a review committee consisting of several ACE team members.

Since 2018, we have organized four rounds of funding, received over 350 applications, and awarded 108 grants to charities in 30 countries. Thus far, grants have been between $4,000 and $60,000, with a mean grant size of $20,000. Moving forward we will have one round per year.

Guidelines for applying

Movement Grants awards one-time grants. Past grant recipients are welcome to apply in future rounds. We are able to provide operational support and invite charities to apply for funding for this part of their work.

We are more likely to fund:

• newer groups with high potential (around 75% of recent grants were given to groups with yearly budgets under $500,000);
• groups or projects focused on farmed animals, especially species farmed in the greatest numbers, such as chickens, fishes, or invertebrates;
• groups or projects focused on advancing wild animal welfare (for our views on wild animal welfare, see our page on cause priorities);
• groups or projects that support the movement as a whole (e.g., by building connections with other movements or by developing the skills of animal advocates);
• groups or projects that have a systemic or institutional scope;
• groups or projects that have a clear strategy or theory of change;
• groups or projects such as those funded during our rounds in April 2019 (updates), November 2019 (updates), July 2020, and November 2020; and
• groups or projects in regions where the animal advocacy movement is not well established, such as regions outside of North America and Western Europe.

We are less likely to fund:

• groups or projects focused solely on companion animals, animals used for testing, or animals in entertainment;
• groups or projects focused on rescuing and rehabilitating animals;
• groups or projects focused on direct care for animals (for our views on the value of sanctuaries, see our blog post on the topic);
• groups or projects focused solely on species conservation or projects prioritizing ecosystems over the well-being of individual animals (for our views on effectively helping wild animals, see our page on cause priorities);
• approaches that are relatively well funded, such as leafleting and other individual outreach; and
• groups or projects that rely on in-person meetings or that are otherwise high-risk with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are not able to fund:

• groups or projects that encourage any form of animal exploitation;
• groups or projects that do not support ACE’s views on diversity, equity, and inclusion;
• groups that are currently Top or Standout Charities (these organizations receive funding via our Recommended Charity Fund); or
• groups or projects that directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.

We are able to fund:

• individuals working in the United States^[1],
• registered charities inside or outside the U.S., and
• company entities inside or outside the U.S.

Language

A large number of applications for Movement Grants are received from organizations located outside of the United States, and we recognize that English is a second language for many of them. If any part of the Movement Grants process is unclear, please do not hesitate to contact our Movement Grants Program Officer, Marianne van der Werf. We offer the option to submit applications in languages other than English. Non-English applications will be translated using an internet translation service (e.g., Google Translate). Applicants should be aware that internet translation services do not always produce accurate translations. Organizations that make it to the third stage of the review process will be asked to provide backup documentation in English.

Please note that we may contact you with additional questions or for further clarification. If you have any questions, please contact our Movement Grants Program Officer, Marianne van der Werf.

Process after applying

For the current round, we introduce a multistage process, of which the application form is the first stage. Reasons for the multistage process include making the process less laborious for applicants and being able to tailor information gathering. After closing the application, the review committee will evaluate the first-stage applications over three weeks and decide what, if any, additional information we require from applicants. During stage two, we review this additional information and decide which applicants will continue to the third stage. Applicants in the third stage are those who we feel most confident in moving forward with us. At this stage, we request that applicants provide backup documentation as part of our due diligence process.^[2] Based on the backup information, the review committee and ACE’s board members will make final decisions. Several months after the grant has been disbursed, ACE will check in with the grantees via a questionnaire.^[3]

We accept applications once per year. This year, we will be accepting applications until 11:59 pm PT on March 12, 2021.

APPLY FOR FUNDING

Questions?

If you’d like to learn more about Movement Grants or have any questions for our Movement Grants Program Officer, join us for our upcoming Community Chat event on February 28, at 10am PT. For more information and to register for this event, click here.

REGISTER TO ATTEND MOVEMENT GRANTS Q&A