$15,000
Full Circle of Life Grant

The Full Circle of Life Grant is designed to help mentor other horse welfare organizations that's willing to pilot a Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter. The selected organizations will be showcased in the TV show Horse Rescue Heroes.

Application Opening!

Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter Pilot Process

Applicants may be featured in the reality TV show Horse Rescue Heroes.

1: Grant Application is Open | Submit a grant application and describe how you would use the $15,000 grant. We will be looking for an organization who will be able to utilize the funds to become set up to rescue and shelter horses in all stages of life. The grant funds should not be used for day-to-day operations, but rather in a tangible way towards helping the organization long-term, such as a larger horse trailer, new barn, etc. Projected grant projects should not exceed a $15,000 grant.  Only 1 organization will win the $15,000 grant.

2: Grant Deadline - March 1st | After the grant deadline, all applications will be reviewed and considered by our grant committee.

3: Approval for Mentoring May 2-4 - 2023|Up to 25 organizations (two people per organization) will be chosen to attend 3 days of intensive mentoring with Jason and Tawnee Preisner, along with other horse rescue professionals. In the horse rescue community, networking and working with others can be difficult, this is a great opportunity to put opinions and differences aside and work together for the good of horse welfare within the United States and beyond. The mentoring will be free, but organizations are responsible for travel and lodging.

4:  Mentoring |Topics being discussed will be operating a Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter, fundraising, sheltering procedures, medical care within a sheltering environment, operating within your organizations financial budget and so much more. Days one and two will be in a classroom setting and on the third day there will be a tour of Horse Plus Humane Society's facility and final question and answer time.  During the three days of intensive mentoring, organizations will be considered for the $15,000 grant. Only one organization will receive the $15,000 grant, but the organization must be present for all three days of the mentoring in order to be considered as a potential candidate for the $15,000 grant.

5:  Testing the Philosophy | All organizations who attend the mentoring are encouraged to pilot a Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter at their facility with the tools they will have learned from the intensive mentoring. Mentors will be available to help with these organizations during a 3 month testing time, to see if a Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter works well for their organization, and their demographics. There may be multiple organizations chosen to be considered for the grant, these organizations may receive a visit from Jason & Tawnee, plus the media team during the visit, the focus will be capturing the work that the organization does and how the organization is doing testing out a Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter at their facility.

6:  Horse Plus Boot Camp September 11-14 -2023 | After observing the organizations who attended the mentoring, and testing out the ​Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter philosophy, up to three organizations will be chosen to come to Horse Plus Humane Society's facility in Hohenwald, TN for Horse Plus Boot Camp. During Bootcamp there will be more intensive mentoring on fundraising and donor follow up, ways to massively increase adoptions, along with assisting with a large-scale rescue mission and intake of a large number of horses. Travel and lodging will be provided for 2 people from the piloting organizations. If other organization team members would like to come they are responsible for their own travel and lodging.  At the end of Boot Camp, one organization will be presented with a big $15,000 check! 

7: Follow up visit | The winning organization will receive a follow up visit with Jason & Tawnee, plus the media team. The purpose of the visit is to check in to see how piloting a ​Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter is going, and see the project the $15,000 grant was used for.

8: Independence | In no way do we want your organization to lose its identity while participating and piloting a Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter. A Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter is a philosophy that means you are there for horses at every stage of their life.  It is not a partnership with Horse Plus Humane Society or a branch shelter of our organization. We will share with you what works for us and mentor you and your unique needs in your community. 

9: Becoming a Mentor | Becoming a mentor is an important part of the future of this program. You may be asked to be a speaker at one of our events or help mentor a horse rescue organization in the future.

Subject to Change Without Notification

Grant Requirements

1: Be a horse welfare organization that is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit and in good standing with the IRS and yearly income over $20,000.  If outside the United States, must be registered with the country as a nonprofit/welfare organization.

2: A letter of intent for what the grant would be used for. The grant funds should not be used for day-to-day operations, but rather in a tangible way towards helping your organization long-term.  The letter of intent is included in the grant application.  Projected grant projects should not exceed the $15,000 grant, unless you already have money set aside to complete the project and the grant would be completing the project financially.                                                

3: Organization must understand and support that a Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter must offer humane, compassionate euthanasia options for unwanted and unadoptable horses in accordance with the AAEP.

4: Willing to pilot a Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter for a minimum of 3 months. 

5: Have a suitable facility for sheltering horses of all ages, temperaments, training levels and genders. 

6: A good working relationship with a veterinarian and farrier. 

7: An adoption program adopting out a minimum of 5 equines a year.

8: The ability to have horses humanely euthanized and equine disposal.  We will work with your organization, if necessary, to help you figure out options when it may seem there are no options in your area. 

9: Participating organization's director, staff and veterinarian agree to meet or have a conversation with Horse Plus Humane Society staff to discuss plans and operations for piloting a Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter. 

10: The transitioning of a horse rescue to a Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter will be documented through photos, video, audio and any other media deemed necessary by Horse Plus Humane Society and made into the reality TV show Horse Rescue Heroes! Participating organizations, staff volunteers or anyone else connected to the organization could end up in the TV show and all must fill out a filming release form.

11: If your organization was previously a participant in the TV show Horse Rescue Heroes, and ​previously applied for this grant, you are not qualified to apply again at this time. If you applied in the past, but have not been chosen yet, we encourage you to apply again.

Subject to Change Without Notification

Season 3
2022 
Episodes Airing Weekly!

Hosts Tawnee and Jason Preisner, founders of Horse Plus Humane Society, travel across the United States and visit four very unique horse rescue organizations. All four organizations desperately need financial support and mentoring, but only one of those organizations will win the $15,000 grant. For nearly 20 years Tawnee and Jason have been rescuing horses, and they know first hand what it takes to operate a successful Full Circle of Life Horse Shelter. Their experience is put to the test as they navigate the complexities of rescuing horses across the nation in such diverse areas in this incredible journey.

Watch All the episodes

Horse Rescue Heroes

Watch Now!