Apply for Movement Grants Funding

Applications for our 12th round of Movement Grants are open now and close on October 18, 2026 (5 pm, PT).

Note: If you have already sent us an expression of interest or full application that is still sitting with us, you do not need to do anything. We are working through that backlog now, and everyone who submitted one will hear from us either way. If your work has significantly changed in scope since you submitted your expression of interest, you may reach out to us to clarify.

Our Movement Grants program is designed to strengthen the animal advocacy movement by supporting impactful and innovative projects around the world. To stay responsive to movement needs, no two funding cycles look the same. ACE is currently significantly shifting our program strategies to make sure we are filling neglected gaps in the movement.

The money available for effective animal advocacy is growing and concentrating at the same time. Some grantmakers are raising their minimum grant sizes, and some are narrowing their mandates to particular species, regions, or intervention types. That is a rational response to scale, and it works well for the organizations that fit those specializations. But it leaves a set of things under-funded: the layer below the new grant minimums, the regions where the dominant intervention model does not yet work, the animals who suffer at enormous scale but who sit outside most mandates, and the capacity building that determines whether large grants turn into amplified impact or into inefficiencies.

ACE is restructuring our grantmaking around those margins. The strategy shift is ongoing; however, it already shapes what kinds of applications we are seeking.

 
Two key things have changed for this round.

• First, we are only seeking applications from organizations that a) are under three years old, b) have a budget below $500,000, c) incubate other groups, or d) are applying specifically for funding for monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) using an external consultant.
• Second, for this round, we’re more specific about what we will and will not fund, so you can tell quickly whether it is worth your time. Please read both lists below carefully before you apply.

For this round, we are specifically seeking applications in any of the following areas.

 
Priority animal groups

• Aquatic animals kept in aquaculture or harmed by fishing.
• Insects and other invertebrates, including policy and standards work, advocacy, and other projects that constrain or slow the industry’s expansion.
• Wild animals, particularly those affected by human activity or whose suffering intersects with that of humans. For instance, but not limited to fertility control for rodents or pigeons, disease prevention, or animal-friendly urban planning initiatives. Projects should focus on the experiences of individual animals who suffer at scale, rather than on biodiversity, conservation, or ecosystems.
• Amphibians, reptiles, and birds farmed in vast numbers and with few to no advocacy organizations working on their behalf. For example, frogs or ducks raised for meat.

Priority regions

• We are especially interested in receiving applications from Africa and Asia.
• Within those regions, we are particularly interested in work to support lasting welfare improvements that complement corporate campaigning, including:
  • Policy, standards, and certification — government regulation, industry welfare standards, and the verification or certification that makes them stick.
  • Working directly with farmers and producers — outreach, training, and databases that capture how animals are farmed, where, and by whom.
  • Making the case for animals in terms that make sense locally — developing effective welfare arguments grounded in the region’s own ethical, cultural, and religious traditions, rather than importing framings from elsewhere.
  • Growing the movement’s people and organizations — talent pipelines, professional development, incubation, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), and movement capacity building.

Work that strengthens the movement

• Talent development (including fellowships, secondments, career transition stipends, and coaching) that helps organizations improve their work to help animals. This includes both organizations developing their own teams, and organizations helping others recruit and develop talent.
• Work to help organizations maintain or improve their organizational health (such as their financial management, staff support, or governance) as they scale.
• Collaboration initiatives between groups that have a clear purpose and practical output.
• Strategic movement gatherings that increase movement impact.
• Exit and pivot grants for people and organizations that have found their current approach less effective than expected and are seeking to redirect their efforts to more impactful work.

Research and evaluation that changes a decision

• Research on the effectiveness and potential backfire risks of different interventions. We are looking for proposals that can define who will use the research findings, what decisions this is likely to inform, and how the findings will reach those end users.
• MEL work exploring how diet change and meat reduction programs affect animals, provided the lessons can be applied by other organizations. For example, a program might reduce cow meat consumption while increasing consumption of chickens or fishes, potentially affecting many more animals.
• Projects at the intersection of AI and animals that have a clear pathway to reducing animal suffering.
• MEL implementation for organizations of any size, using an external MEL consultant.

Other

• Corporate litigation efforts.
• Alternative proteins work focused on government and policy outreach.
• Work that affects many animals positively on a short timeline.

If your project does not fall into one of these areas (and is not one of the areas in our ‘We will not fund’ list below), we will still be excited to consider it.

For this round, we will not fund:
 
Types of work

• Diet change and meat reduction programmatic work. We do fund restricted MEL work focused on these programs’ impacts on animals (see above).
• Alternative proteins work, with the exception of government and policy work, which we will still accept applications for.
• Public awareness work without a defined end user or recipient.
• Podcasts and documentaries.
• Direct care (including sanctuaries, rescues, and veterinary care).
• Research that doesn’t define who will use the research findings, what decisions this is likely to inform, and how the findings will reach those end users.
• Animal protection focused on biodiversity, conservation, or ecosystem health. We do fund wild animal work justified by the welfare of the animals themselves.
• AI work with no stated pathway to animals’ lives changing.
• Projects that plausibly increase the number of animals farmed or consumed (unless your proposal counts that effect in its own estimate, measures it, and commits to changing or ending the project if the evidence shows that is what is happening).

Organizations

• Organizations more than three years old, unless they do incubation work or have budgets under $500,000.
• Organizations that cannot legally receive our funds, or that lack basic financial controls (such as the ability to keep reliable financial records and track grant spending). See the FAQs below for full eligibility details.

The types of work we will not fund remain important, and this is not a judgment on their value. It reflects where we think ACE can add the most value right now, based on our expertise and on the margin, and where other funders are better placed than we are.

Please apply only if your proposal fits this outlined scope. We recognize the time involved in preparing an application and hope this guidance helps you decide whether to apply. Applications that fall within our “will not fund” list will be declined, and we are unable to provide individual feedback on those decisions.

 
Submit your application via Granti