Animal Care Expo scholarships and awards

Thank you for your interest in attending Animal Care Expo 2025. Scholarships are generously provided by Petco Love, Hill's Pet Nutrition and Tomahawk Live Trap, while the Trailblazers in Animal Welfare Awards are made possible by the Humane Society of the United States. Meet the 2024 Trailblazer Honorees here. Scholarships and grants will be awarded to individuals working or volunteering in animal welfare and animal welfare organizations wishing to send staff or volunteers to the conference.

Recipients can use the scholarship for the purpose of offsetting costs associated with registration, travel, lodging, and other expenses related to attending Animal Care Expo 2025. All applications close at 11:59PM ET on Friday, January 3, 2025. Please direct questions to the Events team at expo@humanesociety.org.

Requirements and eligibility for Trailblazers in Animal Welfare Award

• Applicants must be able to attend Animal Care Expo April 15-18 in Las Vegas, NV.
• At the Humane Society of the United States, we have a commitment to cultivating diverse emerging leaders and the Trailblazer in Animal Welfare Award grants are open to those working and volunteering in animal welfare. The purpose of the Trailblazer Award is to recognize individuals who have significantly contributed to serving historically marginalized, underserved, and underrepresented communities.  Often operating in community shelters or as community pillars addressing the unique challenges of overlooked communities, these awardees provide equitable access to companion animal care and vital community resources.  Their contributions are crucial in addressing the vulnerabilities faced by both the individuals in these communities and their animals.
• Applicants must live in the United States and be employed by or volunteer for a 501c3 animal shelter, rescue organization, or a nonprofit veterinary clinic. Preference will be given to first-time attendees.
• Awardees will have the option to join a cohort of animal protection professionals and advocates from across the U.S. for onsite educational programming and networking opportunities. Awardees will also have access to post-conference community where educational resources, peer-to-peer learning platforms, and additional networking and engagement opportunities will be shared.
• If you are a confirmed speaker for Animal Care Expo 2025 and are receiving any grant/stipend support, Trailblazers in Animal Welfare Award grant funding will replace the speaker grant/funding if Trailblazers in Animal Welfare Award is approved.
• Trailblazers in Animal Welfare Award recipients will stay at one of the official HSUS headquarters' hotels, as assigned and arranged by HSUS staff.
• You should not register for the conference until you are notified if you received a grant; notifications will be sent prior to the advance registration deadline of February 8, 2025.
• No funds will be dispersed to the attendee.  Instead, grant recipients will follow HSUS's instructions for registering and booking their hotel and travel through designated HSUS channels, allowing HSUS to apply these funds directly to their expenses.
• Grants are non-transferable without written permission from the Humane Society of the United States. 
• The application must be completed in one sitting, as responses cannot be saved and returned to later.  Please download the application checklist to gather all necessary documents and information beforehand, including an employer consent form.

Requirements and eligibility for scholarships provided by Petco Love, Hill's Pet Nutrition and Tomahawk Live Trap

• Applicants must be able to attend Animal Care Expo April 15-18 in Las Vegas, NV.
• Applicants must live in the United States and be working in animal control organizations, nonprofits or municipal agencies with animal control contracts in under-resourced areas. 
• If you are a confirmed speaker for Animal Care Expo 2025 and are receiving any grant/stipend support, scholarship funding will replace the speaker grant/funding if scholarships is approved.
• Scholarship recipients will stay at one of the official HSUS headquarters' hotels, as assigned and arranged by HSUS staff.
• You should not register for the conference until you are notified if you received a scholarship; notifications will be sent prior to the advance registration deadline of February 8, 2025.
• No funds will be disbursed to the attendee.  Instead, scholarship recipients will follow HSUS's instructions for registering and booking their hotel and travel through designated HSUS channels, allowing HSUS to apply these funds directly to these expenses.
• Scholarships are non-transferable without written permission from the Humane Society of the United States. 
• Scholarship applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Important dates

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