Community Building Taking Action for Animals Scholarship

At Humane World for Animals, we believe that lasting progress in animal protection requires leaders who reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. The Community Building Taking Action for Animals (TAFA) Scholarship supports advocates who are working to advance animal protection through public or corporate policy—whether locally, statewide, or nationally—and who do so with a demonstrable commitment to equity, inclusion, and community empowerment.

A core priority of this scholarship is supporting advocates whose work intentionally uplifts and expands participation among historically marginalized, underserved, and underrepresented communities, helping ensure that animal protection advocacy is accessible, representative, and grounded in community needs.

We welcome Experienced Advocates–both those early in their advocacy efforts, and those with a demonstrated track record. Eligible applicants may be involved in a wide range of advocacy efforts, including grassroots organizing, community education, legislative or regulatory engagement, corporate policy reform, coalition building, or other civic activities that strengthen animal protection. Whether you’ve encouraged your local grocer to offer more plant‑based foods, mobilized your community around animal protection legislation, or spoken at public hearings about animal welfare concerns, this scholarship supports the full spectrum of policy advocacy work.

In addition, we expect to provide a limited number of scholarships to new Emerging Advocates–those with experience in animal protection efforts with, in or for historically marginalized, underserved and underrepresented communities, who are ready to translate understanding of the needs and priorities of those communities into policy and advocacy efforts.

Eligibility

The Community Building Taking Action for Animals Scholarship is available to United States residents working to advance animal protection through public or corporate policy, with a focus on equity and community engagement. Preference will be given to first‑time TAFA attendees, and attendees who are able to attend the entirety of the conference.

Important Dates

• Application Deadline: 11:59 pm ET on Friday, April 24, 2026
• Notification of scholarship: May 15, 2026
• Grant Agreement Deadline (if received): May 22, 2026
• Travel dates: Scholarship recipients will be expected to arrive early on July 31, 2026, attend the conference the evening of July 31 to the afternoon of August 3, and depart the evening of August 3, 2026. The total stay will not exceed three nights.

Important Notes

• The scholarship includes a grant to attend TAFA, which covers full conference registration, up to 3 nights hotel accommodation within the TAFA block, and economy roundtrip airfare.
• The application must be completed in one sitting, as responses cannot be saved and returned to later. Estimated time to complete: 15 to 30 minutes.
• Please wait to register for the conference until you receive your scholarship notification. Notifications will be sent after the advance registration deadline, but you will still be able to register at a discounted rate.
• No funds will be disbursed to the attendee. Instead, scholarship recipients will follow Humane World for Animals' instructions for registering and booking their hotel and travel through designated channels, allowing Humane World for Animals to apply these funds directly to these expenses.
• If you are a confirmed speaker for Taking Action for Animals 2026 and are receiving any speaker grant/stipend support, scholarship funding will replace the speaker funding if you are approved for the Community Building Taking Action for Animals Scholarship.

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