How to Start an Animal Rescue with No Money [Including Tips for Fundraising]

If you're an animal lover, starting an animal rescue is a great place to begin helping out animals who are in need.

According to Shelter Animals Count, 5.8 million dogs and cats entered shelters and rescues in the United States in 2024, with stray animals making up nearly 60% of all intakes. With the limited number of ready and willing rescuers and animal rescue organizations, these animals rely on compassionate people like you to garner extra support.

When it comes to starting an animal rescue with no money, it can be challenging and overwhelming to know where to begin.

Keep reading to learn:

• How much it costs to start an animal rescue
• How animal rescues make money
• 7 types of animal rescue fundraisers that you can start
• What times of year you can get more donations for your animal rescue
• How to use Pool for your animal rescue
• Things to ask your community to donate to your animal rescue

How much does it cost to start an animal rescue?

When starting an animal rescue organization, there are several steps to take, and each has an associated cost.

Before you are able to accept charitable donations, you will need to incorporate your animal rescue as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Every state has different fees and procedures in order to incorporate. You can visit the IRS website to learn more about the specific process your state requires. However, regardless of your location, you can expect this investment to be up to several hundred dollars.

In addition to the costs associated with establishing your animal rescue organization as a nonprofit, there are several other expenses to take into account:

• A website domain, provider, and designer
• A physical brick and mortar facility for your animal rescue, unless you are solely establishing a foster-based rescue
• Veterinary bills
• Transportation for the animals
• Liability insurance
• Legal services

How do animal rescues make money?

Starting an animal rescue organization is a big but worthy undertaking. It will likely require a sizable investment. However, you do not have to bear the financial burden alone.

Donations make up a large majority, if not all, of the funding for animal rescue organizations. The right financial support is essential to keeping a rescue open and ready to save animals who are in need. This money helps animal rescue organizations cover the costs of food, bedding, veterinary care, and other essentials.

However, you can also start a for-profit animal rescue organization, which can make money by charging a fee when a pet is surrendered and when a pet is adopted.

When you're just getting started, sign up at Poolmoney.com to begin budgeting and allocating money towards your animal rescue.

7 types of animal rescue fundraisers that you can start

Here are seven suggestions to get your wheels turning!

1. Host a "Dog Wash" A classic twist on a car wash fundraiser — pet owners can come to have their dog washed with donations for the service going to your rescue organization.

2. Host a Dog Walkathon Just like a typical walkathon fundraising event, but get the pets involved! Simply charge an admission fee, or feel free to sell other concessions and swag as well.

3. Host a Pet Bake Sale Another twist on a classic: the bake sale. Instead of typical sweets, bake up batches of cat and dog-friendly treats to sell.

4. Host a Costume Contest A particularly fun idea if you are fundraising around Halloween. Similar to the walkathon, charge an admission fee for the contest, and consider bolstering your fundraising with a concession stand.

5. Host a Talent Show Almost every animal, young or old, has a signature trick, whether it's simply catching a tennis ball or performing a more challenging feat. Encourage owners to put their pets' best acts on display and charge an admissions fee for entry.

6. Host a Charity Auction Charity auctions are another common fundraising method. You can engage local businesses to donate items for the auction, with proceeds going directly to your animal rescue organization.

7. Host a Trivia Night Charge an admission fee for trivia teams to enter. Then see if the local bar or restaurant hosting the event would also be willing to donate a portion of the food and drink sales to your organization.

How do you choose the best time of year for your fundraiser?

The holiday season is the perfect time of year to start a fundraiser for your local animal rescue organization. People are often more generous during the holiday season because they are in the spirit of giving and know how much money they have left to donate for the remainder of the year.

While December is often the busiest month of the year for donations, November is a great month to host an animal rescue fundraiser because of National Animal Rescue Appreciation Week. Every November, rescues throughout the country are recognized for their efforts in caring for millions of displaced animals in America. Many people will look for ways to support animal rescue organizations during this time — your fundraiser will be the perfect place to show their appreciation.

How to set up Pool for your animal rescue

What is a Pool?

A Pool is a dedicated place to collect, manage, and spend funds for your animal rescue. When you're just starting an animal rescue, you may not have a bank account open yet. You can use Pool to avoid mixing money and contributions for your animal rescue with your personal funds.

Set up as many Pools as you need

Create Pools to budget different aspects of running your animal rescue organization, like a food and supplies fund or an animal transportation fund. You can create Pools for the different types of fundraisers that you want to have, or make one big Pool to collect donations for all fundraisers.

For example, you can set up one Pool for all donations — this approach gives supporters one central place to participate in your fundraising efforts. Or divide your Pool for finances by type of animal, one for cat lovers and one for dog lovers. This option gives contributors something fun to choose from that aligns with their passions.

How to use Pool to collect money for your animal rescue fundraiser

Pool helps animal rescue organizers collect, manage, and spend funds together in one dedicated place.

Create a Pool for your fundraiser and invite trusted volunteers or organization members to join. Once they sign up and join the Pool, they can contribute funds from linked bank accounts and help manage fundraising efforts based on the permissions you assign.

Personalize your Pool

Customize it so it clearly reflects your animal rescue fundraiser with wording like "Atlanta's Local Animal Rescue Fundraiser" or "Fulton's Animal Rescue Costume Contest."

Add a photo and a brief caption to let contributors know how their contributions will be used to help animals who are in need.

Invite members to your Pool

Once your Pool is set up, invite volunteers, board members, and supporters to join. Contributors can participate in your fundraising efforts while organizers keep donations, expenses, and fundraising activity organized in one place.

Pool makes it easy to collaborate on fundraising year-round, helping your rescue stay organized long after a single fundraising event ends.

Don't forget to thank your contributors!

Every contribution is tracked in Pool with the contributor's name and their gift amount. You can also generate a monthly statement that lists this information.

This concise record helps you save time when writing thank-you notes to everyone who donated to your cause.

What can you ask your community to donate to your animal rescue?

In addition to raising money for your animal rescue, you can also ask for other donations to your organization. Below is a list of items that animal rescues need that people can contribute if they want to make a non-monetary donation:

• Towels and blankets
• Toys
• Animal nursing bottles
• Cages and crates
• Unopened food or treats
• Leashes, collars, and harnesses

Starting an animal rescue with no money may seem daunting, but with Pool, you'll be able to start helping the animals in your community in no time. No matter what you’re doing for your animal rescue, Pool gives you a dedicated place to collect, manage, and spend funds with your team.

As your rescue grows, you can continue using Pool to organize fundraising efforts, collaborate with volunteers, and keep animal rescue finances separate from personal accounts throughout the year.