When you’re applying for a grant, your Need Statement is often the first thing funders really read. It sets the stage for your entire proposal. And if it’s not strong, clear, and focused on community impact, the rest of your application may never get the attention it deserves.

In animal sheltering, we’re used to juggling too much with too little. It’s tempting to start the Need Statement by explaining how tight your budget is or how short-staffed you’ve become. But here’s the truth:

Funders don’t fund your need—they fund your community’s need and how your organization addresses it.

Let’s break down how to get this section right – and what to avoid.

What Is a Need Statement?

The Need Statement (sometimes called the Problem Statement) explains:

• The issue your shelter is addressing
• Why that issue matters
• Who it affects
• Why your organization is equipped to help solve it

In simple terms: It answers why this work matters, and why now.

Common Mistakes in Shelter Grant Applications

Here are a few things we often see that weaken otherwise great applications:

❌ Too Much About the Shelter

“We are a small shelter with limited funds. Our kennels are aging, and we desperately need support to continue.”

Why it doesn’t work: This centers the organization, not the problem. Funders want to support impact, not just infrastructure.

❌ No Data or Specifics

“There are so many homeless animals, and we’re doing our best.”

Why it doesn’t work: “So many” isn’t measurable. General statements don’t demonstrate a real, research-backed need.

❌ Guilt-Based Appeals

“Without help, dozens of animals may suffer.”

Why it doesn’t work: Emotional language without facts or context can feel manipulative. Funders want need. Not drama.

A Better Way to Write It

Start with the problem as it affects the community. Then explain how your organization fits into the solution.

✅ Center the Community Need

“Our county has no municipal animal control services, and residents rely solely on nonprofit shelters to house and care for stray or surrendered pets. Over the past year, our shelter took in 782 dogs and cats – an increase of 31%. We remain the only facility in the area providing low-cost adoptions, spay/neuter services, and medical care.”

✅ Use Specific, Local Data

“In the past 12 months, 47% of the dogs and cats we’ve taken in were surrendered by owners facing housing insecurity. This applies especially large dogs and unspayed cats, who are often the hardest to rehome.”

✅ Show Why Your Shelter Is the Right One

“As a community-based organization with an established volunteer foster network, we are uniquely positioned to expand our lifesaving impact—if we can secure the resources to support this growth.”

A Simple Formula You Can Follow

1. Define the Problem Clearly
“Our community has more homeless dogs and cats than available shelter space. There are no municipal services to respond to calls about strays, abandoned litters, or cruelty cases.”

2. Support It with Local Data or Trends
“In the past three years, we’ve seen a 40% increase in cat intake, primarily from kitten season and hoarding situations, while intake of large-breed dogs has increased 22%.”

3. Connect It to Your Shelter’s Work
“Our shelter is already fielding over 100 calls per week from residents needing help with animal placement or support, and our intake team processes an average of 25 animals weekly.”

4. Emphasize Urgency Without Guilt
“With kitten season peaking earlier and lasting longer, our ability to care for neonatal kittens and medical cases is stretched thinner each year. Without increased capacity, we risk turning away animals we know we can help.”

Final Tip: Keep It Focused

When writing your grant application, a strong Need Statement is one to two paragraphs, max. This isn’t the place to describe the entire project or program. That comes next. Your job here is to set the hook—to show the funder that there’s a real issue worth solving, and that your shelter is already stepping up.

Convincing them to care about your shelter is not important. Rather, it’s about helping them care about your shelter’s role in protecting cats, dogs, and the people in your community who depend on you.

Ready to Strengthen Your Grant Writing?

Check out our Grant Review Tool to analyze each part of your grant and see where it works, and where it doesn’t.