Sustainable Solutions Grant Application

Summerlee Sustainable Solutions

Grant Application

Welcome! We’re excited you are interested in the Summerlee Sustainable Solutions Grant Program. This program is designed to help organizations like yours strengthen, expand, and sustain community cat programs through a unique combination of funding, education, and mentorship.

Please complete the application below with as much detail as possible. Applications will be accepted from November 8–22. Organizations will be notified of their acceptance in early January and will receive next steps for program onboarding.

If you have any questions while completing your application, please reach out to us at summerleegrants@unitedspayalliance.org.

Summerlee Grant Application

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Contact and Organization Details

First Name*

Last Name*

Organization Name*

Contact Email*

This is the email address we will use for all communications regarding your grant application.

Contact Phone*

Organization Address*

Street Address Address Line 2 City State ZIP Code

Link to organization's website*

Link to organization's Facebook

Link to organization's Instagram

What is your organization's legal status?*

Fiscal sponsor name and EIN*

Link to organization's Candid (GuideStar) profile (municipal or government entities: enter N/A)*

Organizations must have claimed and updated their profile on GuideStar.org to be eligible for the Summerlee Sustainable Solutions Grants program. Visit this link for more information on claiming your GuideStar profile: https://help.candid.org/s/article/How-to-Claim-Your-Nonprofit-Profile

What level of transparency is your organization's GuideStar profile?*

What is your organization's EIN? (municipal or government entities: enter N/A)*

Which category BEST describes your organization?

While you may offer multiple programs, please select the option that most closely fits your organization's primary focus.

What is your organization's mission statement?*

Tell us a little about your organization.*

In what year was your organization founded?*

Tell Us About Your Community Cat Program

Do you have a TNR Program?*

Yes

Other

In what year did your TNR program start?*

If you do not have a TNR program, enter N/A.

How many cats do you TNR every year?*

None yet (planned program)

1-50

51-150

151-300

301-500

501-1000

1000+

We do not provide any TNR services directly (referral/support only)

How do people contact you for assistance with community cats?*

Phone/hotline

Web form

Social media

Walk-in

Referral from animal services/shelter

Other

Do you have access to low cost spay/neuter?*

Yes

Other

What is your average cost for surgery for community cats?*

Less than $50

$50-74

$75-99

$100-149

$150+

At what age and/or weight do you spay/neuter?*

2 lbs / 8 weeks

3 lbs / 12 weeks

4 months

5 months

6 months or older

Other

Do you spay/neuter before adoption?*

Yes

Not applicable

Do you routinely combo test community cats (FIV/FeLV)?*

Yes

Other

We are specifically asking whether your standard TNR protocol includes combo testing for healthy cats who are being returned to live outdoors. Please do not include testing done only in cases of illness/injury or foster/adoption.

Course and Program Participation

Who will complete the certification course and participate in the cohort calls? (Name, Title, and Email)*

Has anyone from your organization completed the Community Cat Program Management Certification Course?*

Yes

Yes, but they are no longer with the organization

Who completed the course and what semester/year?*

I understand that my organization is responsible for all communications between the grant/fiscal contact and the operational contacts (course representative, program staff, etc) in regards to my organizational logistics and obligations.*

Yes

I am both the fiscal contact and the course representative for ALL matters related to this grant and the course/project

I understand that grant funds will only be released after successful completion of the certification course and project approval*

Yes

Are you willing to track and report basic organizational metrics related to this grant?*

Yes

This includes, but is not limited to: number of community cats sterilized, geographic areas served, number of people assisted, and outreach or fundraising activities. Grantees will be asked to submit brief monthly updates and a final summary report.

Our course representative has reviewed this application and can commit to the course (Feb 1-Mar 29, 2027) and biweekly cohort calls*

Yes

No, or we don't have a course representative yet

Readiness and Approach

How does your organization approach change? Describe a specific time you changed how you do something. What prompted it, and what happened?*

What are your organization's biggest challenges right now in serving community cats? Choose up to 3.*

Surgery access or capacity

Funding

Volunteers or staffing

Trapping capacity

Community complaints or ordinances

Data tracking

Burnout

Outreach or awareness

Other

Tell us more about your biggest challenge

How many paid staff work on your community cat program? (This includes any time allocated to community cat program work such as marketing or administrative)*

0 (all volunteer)

1-2

3-5

6-10

11+

How many active volunteers support your community cat program through regular activities, such as trapping, transport, outreach, data tracking, etc?*

1-5

6-15

16-50

51+

Which partners do you work with? Check all that apply.*

Vet clinic

Animal services or shelter

Other rescues

Municipality (other than animal services)

None

Other

Finances and Stewardship

What did your organization most recently file with the IRS?*

Form 990

990-EZ

990-N (e-Postcard)

Not required (municipal)

Not sure

What year is your most recent IRS filing?*

What is your total annual operating budget for the current fiscal year?*

How much unrestricted funding do you expect to have available over the next 12 months?*

Under $5,000

$5,000-24,999

$25,000-99,999

$100,000-249,999

$250,000+

What percent of your budget goes to spay/neuter of community cats? (0-100 number only, please)*

For this grant, community cats are cats that are outdoors–four paws on the ground. They may be feral or friendly, on owned or public property.

How does your organization currently fund its community cat work? Check all that apply.*

Individual donations

Grants

Events

Adoption fees

Municipal contract

Fee-for-service

Other

What are your biggest financial challenges in sustaining or growing this work? Choose up to 2.*

Inconsistent donations

Reliance on grants

Rising vet costs

No fundraising staff or skills

Mostly restricted funds

Other

You chose "other" in the previous question. Tell us a bit more.*

Which best describes how your board works?*

Board members mainly set direction, approve budgets, and oversee finances. Day-to-day work is done by staff or volunteers.

Board members do both: they oversee the organization and also do hands-on work like trapping, transport, or fostering.

Board members do most of the day-to-day work. There's little separation between the board and the people running the program.

We're building or rebuilding our board.

Is the person who leads your community cat program day to day also on your board?*

Yes

We don't have a defined program lead

For each decision below, what actually happens in practice?

Buying $200 of traps or supplies*

Program lead decides on their own

Program lead decides, then tells the executive director or board