What role does funding play?

If you are reading this, thank you for your interest and support of all that we do at Cherished Pets. We are so grateful for visionary people who see the real impact we are making in our community. 

In 2022-2023, we secured $500k in funding from the Federal Government Animal Welfare Grants, which played a crucial role in scaling our Veterinary and Social Services for pets and their people facing disadvantage and crises. This support was aligned with parliamentary priorities at the time and, alongside our donor contributions, was instrumental in sustaining our community impact and achieving significant animal welfare and social outcomes.

However, our application for funding in 2024 was unsuccessful. This article outlines our response to this outcome and highlights how we continue to support our community while aligning with both local and national government priorities.

Meeting the milestones for successful service delivery

We are proud to report that our project successfully met all the expectations tied to the $500k grant, and this funding allowed us to scale our innovative Cherished Pets Model of Care, delivering over $4 million in social value through life-changing services for pets and their people in Geelong experiencing disadvantage and crises.

• We scaled our volunteer program to 60 volunteers, delivering over 5,000 hours of community support, including at-home pet care, dog walking, transport, and temporary boarding.

• We expanded our vet bill assistance packages, helping families escaping family and domestic violence with care for their pets, removing cost barriers, increasing pet safety, providing relief and encouraging help-seeking. This vet bill assistance also supports people experiencing mental illness, those experiencing homelessness and challenges due to disability and ageing by addressing pet care problems exacerbated by the challenges they face. This support means animals are given the best chance of a happy and healthy life.

• We increased emergency boarding services to ensure pets’ wellbeing while their owners sought emergency hospitalization, ensuring they could be reunited with their pets following the crisis. This reduces the burden on shelters and prevents euthanasia.

• Our Veterinary Social Worker team expanded, serving as the bridge between the vet team and human social services providing holistic support which supports people but also veterinary teams.

• 94% of our surveyed social service agency providers spanning housing, mental health, family and domestic violence, and aged care reported their clients experienced significant positive outcomes from Cherished Pets veterinary social work model linking with their social services.

• And all our surveyed pet owners reported experiencing positive health and wellbeing benefits from their pets.

By March 2024, this funding came to an end. With the previous round of funding depleted, we have been delivering our services dependant on private philanthropy and foundation grants. We are grateful to the Anthony Costa Foundation and Geelong Community Foundation for their support, among others. And while we waited for the announcement, we continued to fundraise and carefully plan our services.

For the latest Animal Welfare Grant Rd11 we applied for $150,000 — the maximum amount available and significantly less than previous rounds. Additionally, an unexpected gap between rounds further strained our resources. 

But, despite all our significant achievements, the obvious need in our community, the referrals daily from local agencies and vets, evidenced impact, and the feedback and recognition from those we support and within the veterinary and animal welfare sector, we have been overlooked.

Our applications for funding have been declined.

We feel like the rug has been pulled out from under us and are completely exasperated that the State Government would invest in us to expand a social veterinary service with evidenced positive animal and human welfare outcomes, that now receives referrals daily from local agencies and vets, to then place our community and our team’s jobs at risk.

This decision has us totally perplexed as to the government’s priorities and sends a confusing message. Our proven social impact should align with government priorities - we know it does. While we know diverse funding streams are required, not having government funding creates mixed signals to those supporting or considering supporting us.

However, the good news is that because of the Anthony Costa Foundation and Geelong Community Foundation grants, we have been able to continue our services, albeit with careful restrictions in some areas.

Our Home Care Assistance Packages and Cat Crisis Care packages, supported by our Veterinary Social Workers, remain in place.

Our volunteer program continues to provide invaluable at-home pet care and respite care alongside our Community Vet Nurses.

In 2023, we cared for over 1,200 pets of elderly people, contributed over 5,000 volunteer hours, conducted over 250 home visits, and provided over 2,036 nights of pet accommodation respite care, bringing relief to many. This essential support continues, supported through the generosity of our donors. 

Aligning with Government priorities and our commitment to community support

The Government’s national strategy to address loneliness and isolation states benefits for the future of Australians’ families includes reducing excess costs for healthcare by prevention and early intervention so that people can manage their own loneliness as much as possible. It also states a priority to reduce demand on general health, youth service, aged and community services and mental health services by redirecting socially vulnerable people to appropriate, effective, low intensity community support. We are this community support.

The Australian Governments Institute of Health and Welfare directly references companion animals as a key strength to combat the concerning issues in Australia of social isolation and loneliness which are among the many factors that can be detrimental to a person’s wellbeing. The wellbeing economic agenda states that more than a quarter of Australians experience loneliness at any one time. Lonely people are more at risk of death, with the impacts being equated to smoking 15 cigarettes or having six alcoholic drinks per day. Loneliness costs Australia $2.7 billion, approximately $1565 per person per year.

Research shows that companion animals significantly reduce social isolation and loneliness, especially for socially vulnerable people. Our survey of pet owners revealed that for every pet supported, four other people were positively impacted, evidence of the power of supporting the human-animal bond to reduce isolation and loneliness.

The Vic government’s Ageing Well Action Plan 2022-2026 Priority Action Area 1 is resilient, connected seniors. Key aims are to increase opportunities for older people to retain a sense of purpose through social connection. The action plan states that loneliness and social isolation can severely affect physical health and mental wellbeing. Loneliness in older people can lead to depression, mental impairment, heart disease and high blood pressure. These conditions can mean admitting a person to acute health services or aged care too early.

Older people told the Commissioner for Senior Victorians that volunteering and belonging to community groups is vital for having meaning and purpose in life. It also leads to social connections that they can sustain. It also acknowledges that people who are socially engaged are happier and healthier than those who are not. They have better levels of health and wellbeing that, in turn, allow ongoing social activity and wellbeing.

What we do is respond to helping combat isolation before it gets worse by keeping people together with their pets for longer. And we also reduce social isolation through our volunteer program and community vet nurses who visit people’s homes to assist with pet care, provide conversation, and foster connections.

While the government pledges to end violence against women within a generation, Cherished Pets is addressing immediate and at times life-threatening needs by caring for pets of people impacted by family violence, while also connecting with social service providers. Pets are often used by perpetrators as a form of control, and our services provide a crucial intervention, allowing women, individuals and families to seek safety without delay. Separation from a pet can cause stress and anxiety, which can dissuade pet owners from seeking help.

Services such as ours address pet safety and remove cost barriers, providing relief and encouraging help-seeking. We support families with pets to keep their animals or find temporary homes for them, only resorting to surrendering their animals to a shelter as a last resort. This alleviates the pressure on shelters and rehoming services.

Our vet care and crisis care services support people experiencing mental health challenges, including hospitalisation. Studies suggest that people with mental health conditions benefit from the direct support their companion animals provide. This support includes helping their owners to manage their mental health condition, reducing people’s stress and regulating emotions, particularly beneficial during times of crisis.

The Wellbeing Economic Agenda states that people on lower incomes and with less wealth have a health burden 40% higher for anxiety, twice as high for heart disease and more than twice as high for diabetes. Researchers explain this link as stemming from disempowerment, social discrimination and disadvantage. Research findings show that pets reduce loneliness, anxiety and provide motivation for physical activity.

78% of the people we care for reported improved mental health due to their pets, 62% said they experience greater physical activity and motivation to exercise with a pet, and 93% reported their pet makes them feel less lonely!

The rising cost of living affects many, and unexpected challenges compounded by pet ownership create additional stress. When pets need care, it is akin to humans needing care and cannot always be delayed without causing significant stress and hardship. Our vet bill assistance alleviates these pressures, ensuring pets receive timely care and reducing the burden on their owners.

At least 50% of the crisis cases handled by Cherished Pets in the last year required urgent and crucial funding for veterinary care as well as crisis accommodation and social emotional support.

Alarmingly, 1 in 3 pets we assisted had not received veterinary attention in over two years due to the barriers faced by their humans .

The Government has a priority for sustained and inclusive full employment and seeks to promote a labor market with jobs that are safe and secure.

Increasing the number of staff to respond to the need in our community and funded by the grant was critical for service delivery.

Volunteers are pivotal in establishing, bolstering, and maintaining organisations like ours, which play a crucial role in our communities and align with State Government priorities. Engaging in volunteer work reduces loneliness and social isolation not only for people in our community but for our volunteers as well. Our volunteer program has over 60 volunteers.

We tick many boxes across socially disadvantaged sectors. While great charities don’t need to tick every box, we tick all these boxes: 

> We help combat social isolation and loneliness before it gets worse by keeping people together with their pets for longer.

> We reduce social isolation through our volunteer program and community vet nurses

> We address immediate and at times life-threatening needs for people impacted by family violence by caring for pets so they can access safety, while also providing a linkage with family violence services..

> We ensure pet health and improved safety by removing cost barriers to vet care for people experiencing cost of living pressure and financial strain, resulting decreased numbers of pets ending up in shelters, being rehomed or euthanised.

> With 44% of our clients being seniors, our at-home pet care assistance reduces isolation and enhances wellbeing for elderly folk who are more likely to be socially isolated.

> We are an upstream solution, preventing downstream pressures on shelters, reducing emergency veterinary surgeries caused by prolonged medical issues that owners cannot afford to address, and reducing the number of pets being rehomed and at worst euthanised.

We keep pets with their families - where they belong. And by addressing the needs of animals, we open the door to supporting their humans as well.

Funding from many sources is vital to sustain our services or individuals in aged care, experiencing homelessness, family and domestic violence, mental illness, or disadvantage face dire consequences for their pets and themselves, including the loss of companionship, increased isolation, exacerbation of animal health problems and human mental health conditions, or even the risk of harm to themselves or their pets.

These negative outcomes for both pets and people have significant financial and emotional costs for both individuals and society. 

One-off “hits” of funding are not the right way to respond to the crisis our society is in. 

Has the Government considered the implications of their investment (and disinvestment) and the significant impact of their decision?

Why didn’t it come up in any of our conversations?

There are many nonprofits and social sector organisations helping to solve problems, but whose contributions are overlooked and underfunded. There needs to be a reliable, ongoing commitment to funding to ensure support for our community and professions.

Our community's future depends on us. On all of us. And we believe that the government has a part to play, and funding should come from both the government and private sectors.

As a charitable enterprise, we have a funding and philanthropic model that spans individual giving, bequests, grants from foundations, organisations and government.  Each time our community choose to support Cherished Pets, it helps keep beloved pets with their families and out of shelters. It provides assistance in times of crisis to families at risk of having to say goodbye to their furry family members.

Having and keeping a pet should be accessible to everyone. This is why the work we do is so important.

If you can make a donation, assist with large scale funding, or know someone who can, please reach out to us for a confidential conversation. Together we can work for a future where people and pets have what they need to thrive.