July 13, 2026

   By Brianna Lovell Myers, Executive Director, United Spay Alliance

There’s a particular kind of momentum that’s hard to see when you’re in the middle of it. You’re responding to emails, coordinating trainings, reviewing grant applications, preparing for conferences — and the work just keeps moving. It’s only when you stop and look back that you realize how much ground has actually been covered.

That’s what this report is: a moment to stop and look back at the first half of 2026. Not just at the numbers, but at what they represent — a network of advocates, veterinarians, shelters, and State Leaders doing the unglamorous, essential work of prevention every single day.  Because when spay/neuter access grows, communities change. That’s the mission of United Spay Alliance, and this is what it looks like in action.

Here’s what we’ve built together.

People Are Looking for Help — and Finding It

In the first half of 2026, our interactive spay/neuter map and state resource pages were viewed more than 84,000 times — with nearly 31,000 of those visits going directly to the main map. Every single state plus DC is represented in the traffic.

That last part matters. It would be easy to assume that the demand for affordable spay/neuter is concentrated in certain regions, certain demographics, certain kinds of communities. The data says otherwise. Virginia, Texas, Wisconsin, Oregon, and New York led state page traffic — but behind them, every other state is represented too. The need is everywhere. And people are actively looking for help.

The directory is only as useful as the information in it. If your state or region isn’t fully represented, now is the time to check.

Building Veterinary Capacity Where It’s Needed Most

In the first six months of 2026, we held 9 wet lab trainings across 5 states — 6 feline, 3 canine — with 38 veterinarians trained. Most courses were approved for 8 CE credits, including our first-ever AAVSB RACE-approved course in Kentucky, with CE availability varying by state. At least 3 more trainings are confirmed for later this year, with 14 more participants expected — and ever more still coming together.

Since our first wet lab in April 2023, United Spay Alliance has facilitated 28 events in 10 states, providing hands-on training to 121 veterinarians. Those aren’t just numbers. Each one represents a veterinarian who left with more confidence, more skill, and more capacity to serve the community around them — for years to come.

None of this happens without the hosts, trainers, clinic support teams, and local partners who make each event possible. And none of it happens without the funders who believe that building veterinary capacity is how you build a durable solution. Thank you.

The Conversation Is Traveling

This month, United We Spay released its 32nd episode. In the first half of 2026, the podcast logged more than 4,000 verified downloads across its full episode library, with six new episodes covering everything from mobile clinic models to TNR strategy to the veterinary shortage. The podcast now reaches listeners in 62 countries — a reminder that the conversation around spay/neuter prevention is truly global.

Our back catalog continues to earn its keep, with listeners regularly discovering and working through earlier episodes. Episode 008 on Neuter Before Adoption remains our all-time most-downloaded — a good benchmark for what resonates with this community.

Grant Programs: Building Organizations, Not Just Funding Them

Two of United Spay Alliance’s grant programs operate on the same core belief: that the most durable change happens when you invest in the organizations doing the work, not just the work itself.

The Community Cats Grants program, which transitioned to United Spay Alliance’s administration in 2024 after launching in 2017 under the Community Cats Podcast, asks grantees to do something most funders never require: prove they can raise money before they receive any. Organizations must design and launch a brand-new fundraising campaign — something they’ve never tried before — and raise a minimum of $2,000 before they’re eligible for a matching grant of $2,000. The result is an organization that walks away with not just funding, but a new skill and a stronger donor base.

So far in 2026, we wrapped up Group 22 in April and kicked off Group 23 in May. Since 2017, the numbers reflect what happens when you invest in organizational capacity: 351 organizations mentored, $953,838 raised by grantees themselves, $613,601 in grants awarded, and more than 26,111 community cats spayed or neutered — a combined $1.6 million investment in community cat health across the country.

The next application deadline is August 31, 2026.

The Sustainable Solutions Grant Program takes a different approach to the same goal. Funded by the Summerlee Foundation, with additional support from the John J. Sparacio Foundation, the program combines professional certification, peer learning, and targeted funding to transform grassroots TNR organizations into high-impact, data-driven programs. Every grantee completes an 8-week certification course through Benerd College at University of the Pacific before receiving funds — ensuring they arrive equipped to use them well.

This spring, we celebrated the conclusion of our very first cohort: 39 organizations across 22 states and the USVI, $246K in total funding awarded, and more than 1,000 cats sterilized mid-program alone. We shared lessons learned at Animal Care Expo 2026, and the response confirmed what the data already showed — this model works, and it scales.

We’re actively seeking funding partners to support the next cohort. The Summerlee Foundation has committed to a partial grant, and we’re looking for funders ready to join them in a matching capacity. If that’s you — or if you know someone it might be — we’d love to start a conversation. Email us at summerleegrants@unitedspayalliance.org. 

Ready to apply? Details for the next application cycle have not been finalized. In the meantime, join the interest list to be notified when the next funding cycle opens.

Keeping Prevention in the Room

Numbers and programs are part of the story. So is the quieter work of making sure spay/neuter stays visible in a field that has a tendency to look downstream.

This year, our State Leader Network continues to grow — new states, new leaders, new connections forming between communities that are facing the same challenges and building toward the same goals. 

Our Vet Shortage Task Force is working to understand and address the pipeline problem that threatens to limit surgical capacity for years to come. And our Keeper of the Flame Task Force is doing exactly what its name suggests: keeping the case for prevention alive in the conversations that shape how animal welfare is funded and framed.

That work is less visible than a wet lab or a grant cycle. But it may matter just as much.

Showing Up

In the first half of 2026, we were in the room at the New England Federation of Humane Societies conference, delivered the keynote at the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies conference, presented at Animal Care Expo 2026, and presented at The Kitten Conference 2026. Each of those appearances is an opportunity to make the case — to funders, to practitioners, to policymakers — that prevention is foundational, not optional.

We’ll keep showing up. We’re grateful for every organization and individual in this network who does the same.

The second half of 2026 has more to come; more trainings, more grant cycles, more episodes, more conversations. We’ll see you there.