First Step Grants
During 2010, The Binky Foundation awarded First Steps grants of $2500 or less to 19 organizations and one individual in 13 states. These awards include support for local animal rescue and humane facilities to help establish or maintain animal welfare programs, including food pantries for rescued animals, hay banks and nutritional programs for equines, medical care, spay and neuter programs, and other related animal welfare services. These grantees include:
- All About Equines Animal Rescue, Inc., for its equine nutrition and development program in California
- Mountain View Rescue, Inc. in Kentucky for its Hay Bank Program
- Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland in Maine, for its animal wellness program providing restorative treatment to nurse neglected and injured animals back to health
- Center for Animal Rescue and Education (C.A.R.E.), shelter, spay/neuter assistance, education and referral resources in southeastern Massachusetts
- Central Coast Humane Society in Oregon, supporting its program providing veterinary services for low-income pet owners
- Saving Animals for Everyone (S.A.F.E.) Sanctuary, a rescue facility in Florida, so it could provide electricity to its kennels
- Expansion of an Illinois shelter’s kennels and grooming areas, Domestic Animals in a Safe Haven (D.A.S.H.)
- Bobbi & the Strays, an educational program on animal care for New York City children
- The Wildcat Sanctuary in Minnesota, supporting its program to relocate rescued wild cats
- A study of the effect of feeding wild birds on their health and survival by a doctorial candidate in Illinois
Forward Steps Grants
We also provided support in 2010 for a few new larger Forward Steps programs that our grant committee determined would provide long-term, valuable benefits for animals or habitat, including:
- Contributing toward the acquisition of new radiology equipment for a wildlife center in Illinois (Willowbrook Wildlife Center)
- Helping purchase a badly needed horse trailer for transporting rescued equines in Washington State (Wind Haven Horse Rescue)
- Funding for a new, progressive educational program about living with and understanding animals (The Kerulos Center, in Oregon)
The Binky Foundation also continues to provide ongoing support for a number of organizations that provide significant and important services to animals and their habitat, including grants to:
- A small refuge in Southern New Jersey providing a haven for beavers, other indigenous wildlife and migratory birds, protecting them from encroachments of farmers, hunters and civilized development. (Unexpected Wildlife Refuge)
- An organization in Central New Jersey providing for the rehabilitation and re-entry in to the wild of injured or orphaned raptors and other birds, most of which are harmed by their proximity to the New York metropolis. (The Raptor Trust)
- Provide educational internships through conservation groups with compatible goals and excellent educational track records. (Alaska Conservation Foundation)
- Support an environmental law fellowship dedicated to wildlife protection initiatives in the Midwest (Environmental Law & Policy Center)
- A nationally and internationally known animal sanctuary in support of its educational programs (Best Friends Animal Society)