Big Survey 2025: Giving Back

Tell us about your favorite brand partner in charitable efforts:

Many of you answered that you don’t ask for help, with some saying you didn’t know you could. Be inspired by these examples and start asking!

• “NutriSource has been a great partner. We affix a dollars-off voucher to bags of food, and customers can either use it as a coupon or donate the value. About 75% of customers donate, and then NutriSource gives us the total value donated in free food to give out to those in need.”
• “World’s Best Cat Litter. They will give to me no charge and no questions.”
• “Precision Sharp has donated a lot of products for prizes.”
• “Farmina is really helpful in providing a bag of food to each foster we get adopted out.”
• “Messy Mutts gives us products for our puppy bags that we leave at local hotels.”
• “Our favorite brand partner in charitable efforts is Northwest Naturals. Our amazing rep, Kevin, consistently goes above and beyond to support us, whether it’s providing samples for community events, helping us stock products for adoption drives, or simply checking in to make sure we have everything we need.”
• “Grandma Mae’s Country Naturals will always contribute in the form of samples, free food, and free food for a year to a lucky customer, as well as feed dogs of military families serving abroad.”
• “Fromm has been great. We partner with our local NPR station during their yearly fundraiser, and we donate dog and cat food for every donation made to the station.”
• “Weruva. Whenever we ask for samples or products to donate to our local rescues, they are always the first to respond.”
• “Evanger’s has been great for this.”
• “Steve’s Real Food partnered on a low-cost microchipping event. They sponsored the first 15 pets and also had coupons for those who participated.”
• “Annamaet. We participated at an Iron Dog police K9 event, and as a raffle they offered a year’s worth of food for a lucky winner.”
• “We have had Cuddly donate a lot of food to a local rescue we work with.”
• “EarthRated is so willing to support our store, even though we are probably the smallest fish in their pond.”
• “Health Extension helped a jail/shelter program we helped start in our area. They fed the dogs for months.”
• “BayDog always gives us product.”
• “Portland Pet Food has donated to the Eagle Cap Extreme sled-dog races. They donated products that I carry, so then participants came in for more!”
• “Suzie’s CBD never hesitates to send samples and/or information for any events we have.”
• “Pets Global/Zignature. This year they offered to match all the sales of their food for a 30-day period. We were able to donate 1,000 pounds of food.”
• “Our Rawz rep makes gift baskets of products for almost every special event we have, as well as gives out coupons.”
• “Petcurean has consistently supported our community initiatives by donating pet food for events, fundraisers and programs that help pets in need.”

In what ways do you support charitable organizations? Check all that apply:

Candace D’Agnolo Tip: With over 90% of respondents donating product, it’s clear this is a big way pet businesses support their communities. But these donations should work harder for your brand. I’m shifting toward more intentional visibility — like packaging everything in a bold, logoed bag so that anyone passing a silent auction table notices our business first. Donations are generous, but they can also be powerful marketing tools when done strategically. Make sure your giving builds awareness, not just for the recipient but also with anyone who sees your brand because of the donation, potentially driving future sales.

If you give back, what percentage of your sales did that work out to in 2024 with all methods combined?

Do you think you will donate more or less in 2025?

Do you set an annual budget for giving?

Candace D’Agnolo Tip: There’s an expression I love: “Givers get.” These results make me think that many of us could be more strategic with our donations so they truly work for us. A set budget might actually create more opportunities and make it easier to manage requests. And for those without one, giving more intentionally could build stronger community visibility and leadership. All very interesting to think about!

How do you handle requests for donations?

Rank these business benefits of giving back to your community:

Tell us about a cause or organization not related to pets that you support in your community?

Many respondents said they only support pet-related causes. You might want to reconsider because as this respondent pointed out, “We sponsor a few Little League/kids programs. Families with children generally have pets.” Other answers:

• “We raise funds for and volunteer with ClearPath for Veterans. Their primary mission is pairing service dogs with veterans.”
• “Families Fighting Cancer Together is a local charity that I donate to yearly with funds, along with donating my time and advertising their events at the store.”
• “Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park. We volunteer to help keep costs low for visitors so they can see animals up close.”
• “We sponsor a high school robotics team.”
• “We donate our time every year for the local pre-K classes to have a field trip at the store. We have also taken animals (ferrets, ball pythons, etc.) to private schools, church youth groups and charity events.”
• “We participate in local ‘band cards,’ which go toward raising money for the school bands.”
• “We are BIG supporters of our local LGBTQ organizations. We sponsor several Pride Events, including our beloved Gayest Pet Competition that we’ve held for about 15 years!”
• “I support Main Stay Therapeutic Farm. They provide horseback riding, petting zoos to those with physical and mental disabilities. We sponsor their large gala event and also let customers donate their $5 loyalty reward.”
• “We provide food for the working K9s in our county and city. There are three dogs we donate food to monthly, and we love doing it.”
• “We participate in a monthly bingo fundraiser at a local brewery. We meet a lot of new customers at these events.”
• “In the past, events have wanted goldfish for carnival games. We would donate 50-100, but we’ve found that a lot of people don’t want the fish or will go elsewhere to get what they need for the fish. So we’ve started allowing the organizations to create vouchers for a free goldfish instead. The winners are not obligated to come get it if they don’t want it. This also makes them come into our store to shop instead of going elsewhere.”
• “Every year we pick one non-pet related organization to support. This year, we donated products to the local Fly-In event, which supports students learning about aviation.”
• “We hire young adults who have maxed out of foster care due to their age. There is a small community for them down the street.”
• “A local coffee shop employs young adults with special needs. We sponsor a pup cup made with healthy ingredients.”
• “We give all the ‘oops’ biscuits from our bakery to the local animal control officers for the dogs in the shelters.”