The New York region is a diverse ecosystem inhabited by both domesticated and wild animals. More than a million dogs and cats are kept as pets, and an estimated 500,000 strays call the city home. Many nonprofits support companion animals, including accepting surrendered pets and helping with the financial burden of pet ownership and veterinary care. Meanwhile, thousands of acres of forests, wetlands, beaches, and parks provide shelter to wildlife of all kinds. Many groups have stepped up to protect habitats and rescue and rehabilitate the hundreds of species, including those that are threatened and endangered, that reside in or visit the region over the course of their lives.
Each year, The Trust’s grantmakers support nonprofits, some of which are shared below, that protect wildlife and their habitats as well as companion animals. Consider giving to these groups and helping them continue to protect all creatures great and small.
Companion Animals
Animal Care Centers of New York City is the largest provider of animal care in the city, offering spay and neutering appointments, end of life services, and surrendered pet and adoption services, including programs that help support the expense of pet ownership and care.
Bideawee’s founder created the first “no kill” shelter in Brooklyn in 1903. Today, the group offers pet adoption services, training, and free food and veterinary care in under-resourced neighborhoods.
Located in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Flatbush Cats trains community volunteers to safely trap, neuter, and release stray cats; partners with local veterinarians; and facilitates the fostering and adoption of cats. The Trust supported this group with a grant to open Brooklyn’s first high-volume, affordable spay-and-neuter clinic.
For 75 years, the Guide Dog Foundation, based in Long Island, has trained and placed service dogs to help people who are blind, have low vision, or have other disabilities, gain increased independence and enhanced mobility.
Wildlife
New York City Audubon safeguards migrating and nesting birds; connects people to birds and nature through trips, classes, lectures, and community programs; and protects and restores wild bird habitats and green spaces.
The NYC Plover Project protects nesting sites along the Rockaway Peninsula for piping plovers, a small and endangered sand-colored shorebird. Populations of threatened coastal birds like the piping plover grow faster when they are actively stewarded. The NYC Plover Project works to educate beachgoers and local communities, monitor and protect nests, and collect data.
The Wild Bird Fund provides medical care to sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife, from great horned owls and peregrine falcons to snapping turtles and opossums. Each year, it rehabilitates more than 7,500 animals and releases them back to the wild spaces of New York City.
Local Habitat Protection
Marine Park Alliance stewards Marine Park, the largest park in Brooklyn, which is composed of salt marshes, coastal woodlands, meadows, gardens, and recreational areas along the shore of Jamaica Bay. It includes 500 acres of land preserved as natural habitat for resident and migrating species like ospreys, herons, and monarch butterflies.
Save the Sound protects the Long Island Sound region’s shoreline, marine habitat, and air and water quality through research, legislation, and ecological restoration projects.
Van Cortlandt Park Alliance fosters community stewardship of the forests and wetlands of Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, the third largest park in the city—which has recently seen an exciting increase in sightings of native bobcats and coyotes, a sign of improved water health.
This list is not exhaustive. There are many incredible nonprofits helping make our city a better place for all; we seek to highlight a few that may not be on your radar, but please reach out to our philanthropic advising department at info@nyct-cfi.org if you would like even more recommendations tailored to your charitable goals.
