AVMF REACH Program™

Reaching Every Animal with Charitable Healthcare

The AVMF REACH Program™ aims to break down barriers to access to immediate veterinary care by offering grants to any of the more than 105,000 AVMA members nationwide, increasing assistance and access to the most vulnerable communities. This program empowers AVMF to bring our “Helping Veterinarians Help Animals” motto to fruition on a much greater national and regional scale, potentially assisting thousands more animals in need every year, including those owned by veterans. For details, see frequently asked questions.

Important: Due to the immense success and popularity of the AVMF REACH Program, we will be temporarily closing down applications on November 30, 2024. This year we provided more than $1.5M to 1400 clients with the average grant size being $1,100. We are currently averaging over 20 REACH grant requests a day – 100 a week. If your grant is not marked “Final” by this date it will not be processed. The program will re-open in 2025. Please consider making a gift to support the program for 2025.

 

Reaching every animal with charitable healthcare

AVMF team member, Melanie Kreiling shares why the REACH program is an important resource for AVMA member veterinarians, supporting charitable care when financial barriers keep pets from getting the care they deserve. Questions? Email Melanie at avmfreach@avma.org or check out our FAQs for this program.

AVMF REACH Program™ is supported in part by PURINA through the ProPlan Veterinary Support Mission.

AVMF REACH Program™ is supported in part by PURINA through the ProPlan Veterinary Support Mission.

Eligibility and guidelines

To be considered for a AVMF REACH Program grant you must meet the following requirements:

  • Be a veterinarian who is a current AVMA member* – pet owners are not eligible to apply.
  • Have already provided veterinary medical care to an animal for an illness and/or condition requiring immediate care and whose owners are experiencing financial hardship.

*Not an AVMA member? Find out why more than 105,000 veterinarians call AVMA their professional home. Visit the AVMA website.

Exclusions

Grant requests will not be considered for:

  • Elective surgery (e.g., spays and neuters)
  • Routine preventative care
Grant Guidelines

For more information, read the complete Guidelines and FAQs.

  • Grants are provided as reimbursement for veterinary charitable care services that have already been provided. No pre-approval is required.
  • Services/treatment must have been rendered within the past 2 months to qualify for grant funding.
  • Each charitable care grant request may be funded for up to $2,000 per case as determined by reviewers, for a total not to exceed $2,000 per applicant per calendar year (January through December). These caps allow us to help as many animals and veterinary practices as possible, nationwide.
  • Members within the same practice can pool funds for a single case.
  • Grant applications are limited to one request (may include multiple patients up to three) per animal owner/client.
  • Grant application guidelines must be met for funding to be considered.
  • Submission of a ‘Final’ application is not a guarantee of approval/funding.
  • Approval emails are sent to the participating veterinarian’s email address associated with the AVMA member ID.
  • Important: Payments will be issued to the name provided on your W-9 form. Please submit your W-9 and any other required documentation within 30 days of your grant submission. Failure to do so will result in forfeiture of payment.

 

*Pet owners: AVMF does not provide direct support to the public for veterinary care. We are a 501c3 tax-exempt charitable organization supporting veterinary care teams. If you have a question about the care of your pet, please contact your local veterinarian.

What your peers say about REACH™

The REACH program lived up to everything it had in its mission. An owner who was facing euthanasia for their cat because of financial hardship was able to take their friend home because of the help of REACH. For a hospital/veterinary perspective, the application was seamless and required only a very small amount of time and paperwork. The program WORKS and is not in any way taxing on the veterinarian or hospital.”

As an urgent care practice, we often see pets with immediate medical needs whose owners have financial limitations. REACH has helped us provide care to pets that would otherwise have been euthanized.”

It took me just a few minutes to provide some basic information on behalf of clients that would benefit from some financial assistance – it took just a few minutes out of my day, but will make such an enormous difference to these clients /patients in need.”