During the financial downturn of 2008 Bay Area veterinarians and shelters were seeing a significant increase in the number of cases of euthanasia and surrender for pets with treatable medical conditions. Families could not afford life-saving care for their beloved companions and were facing the devastating choice between huge financial debt or euthanasia or surrender.
As this crisis grew, four Bay Area veterinarians were asked by the local shelters and the SF Veterinary Medical Association to start researching solutions. They found that very few programs existed across the US to address this issue and that there were none in the Bay Area. Starting from scratch, the idea of San Francisco Aid for Animals (SFAfA) was born.
History
SFAfA partners with Bay Area veterinary hospitals and together we provide grants and in-kind donations
from our member hospitals for the treatment of urgently needed veterinary care to financially challenged families. Our goal is to prevent needless suffering, euthanasia, or surrender of a beloved family member.
Many thanks to each and every one of you. We couldn’t do this important work without YOU. Please
consider helping our cause and increase the number of lives we can save every year.
Thank you for being a part of the SFAfA Family!
IN THE MEDIA
SF Gate, July 2012
Timeline
2008 - 2011
We started
2012
Official launch of the Grant in Aid (GIA) program
2013
We start growing
2015
2017
Tauber Fund for Animals is established
2018
In-Memoriam Program launched
2019
Durfee Fund established
2020
SFAfA Emergency Fund established
2021
2022
The financial downturn triggered the need for a SFAfA model org. After a year of researching, development, and fundraising, SFAfA began!
The first pilot grant went to Riot, a terrier mix, for treatment of his bladder stones.
SFAfA provides grants and hospitals provide a 1:1 match of in-kind services to help clients pay their veterinary bills. 22 were animals helped with over $30,000 in aid.
Our all-volunteer board begins to grow and we get help from experts in veterinary medicine, industry, technology and the non-profit sector
129 animals total helped and over $167,000 of aid provided
Through the generosity of Ingrid Tauber, we establish a
fund for more complicated high-cost cases. SFAfA provides the grants and the hospital provides a 25%
match.
Individuals and hospitals donate to SFAfA in memory of a deceased pet. The pet’s family receives a condolence card, memorializing their pet. To date: 386 animals helped and over $570,000 of aid has been provided.
In honor of Phil Durfee, DVM a retired SFAfA board member. Our first member hospital that utilizes their entire annual GIA allotment gets additional grant funds with no match required.
Due to a devastating fire season, this fund helps families
impacted by disaster. SFAfA provides the grants. In a disaster, many hospitals, themselves, are impacted. No match is required of the hospital when awarding our grants.
1 million dollars in aid provided, helping over 675 animals.
Thanks to the generosity of our many donors, our community partners and our member hospitals over $1,286,000 in aid provided to over 700 families and their beloved pets.