Eligibility and guidelines

Eligibility
To be considered for a REACH™ Animal Care Program grant you must meet the following
requirements:

  • Be a veterinarian who is a current AVMA member – pet owners are not eligible to
    apply.
  • Have provided veterinary medical care to an animal for an illness and/or condition
    requiring immediate care and whose owners are experiencing financial hardship.

Exclusions

  • Elective surgery (e.g. spays and neuters)
  • Routine preventative care.

Grant guidelines

  • Grants are not considered for medical care that has not yet been provided.
    Therefore, pre-approvals are not available.
  • Each charitable care grant request may be funded for up to $500 per case as
    determined by reviewers, for a total not to exceed $2,000 per applicant per calendar
    year (January through December). These caps allow us to help as many animals and
    veterinary practices as possible, nationwide. Please note: AVMA members working in
    the same practice are permitted to combine their individual eligibility to cover more
    than $2,000.
  • Grant applications are limited to one request (may include multiple patients up to
    three) per animal owner/client.
  • If the grant application guidelines are not met, requests for funding will not be
    considered.
  • Submission of a ‘Final’ application is not a guarantee of approval/funding.

Application

  • Applications can only be submitted through the REACH™ Animal Care Program
    application portal.
  • Visit https://vcare.avmf.org. When you click on the login button, you will be taken
    to your AVMA member login. Once logged in, you will be able to begin filling out the
    application.
  • First, you will need to select REACH™ Animal Care Program from the dropdown
    menu to create your application.

  • Verify your prepopulated “AVMA Member Veterinarian Information.” Be sure to
    select your Practice Name from the dropdown menu. If your practice name is not
    listed, select “01. Manual Practice Entry”.

  • If your address pre-populates and it is incorrect, revise the information.
  • Be sure to fill out all required fields.
  • The application must include a detailed description of the case presented, how and
    what medical care was provided, and the outcome. Please provide as much
    information as possible (including photos and/or video if appropriate) to
    demonstrate to the reviewers that immediate veterinary care has been provided as
    per the program guidelines.
  • If the request involves more than one animal in the household, complete the Patient
    Information fields for each animal included in the request (may include multiple
    patients up to three per animal owner/client).
  • If the request includes more than one expense category, enter the respective
    amounts and leave “0” zero in the field as the default for those that do not apply.
    Please Note: Although there is a reimbursement cap of $500 for requests, applicants
    are encouraged to insert the actual expense to assist ongoing program assessment.
  • You can stop and start your application any time. Be sure to save your work
    periodically prior to final submission.
  • When you have completed all fields, click on the Submit as Final button to apply.

Approval

  • You will receive email notification of your application status within 10 business days
    from the date of submission.
  • If your grant request is approved, you will receive a link to important W-9 instructions
    for securely submitting your practice’s bank account information

Payment

  • You will need to submit a W-9 with your practice’s banking information through our
    secure portal. It is important to submit the W9 as soon as possible to avoid a delay of payment. As a precaution, DO NOT attach a copy of a W9 to any email communication.

Questions? If your question is not addressed in the guidelines or the FAQs, email
avmfreach@avma.org.


Back to REACH™ Animal Care Program | Frequently asked questions