Editor’s note: Dogster’s pet-finding sister site, Petcha.com, has a new partnership with Trupanion. Those who use the site to adopt a dog or cat from a participant in the Trupanion Shelter Support Program are offered medical coverage and other benefits. Learn more about the partnership.
Last year, Trupanion, a company that offers medical insurance for dogs and cats, raised an impressive $209,885 for nonprofit animal welfare organizations. This year, it aims to raise more, but it’s putting a unique twist on its Member Donation Program: It’s letting the public vote on which nonprofits receive money.
How does that work? Until May 14, you’ll be able to vote for your favorite nonprofit group, and the three that receive the most votes will be the sole recipients of Trupanion’s Member Donation Program.
Go check out Trupanion’s vetted list of contenders, and then vote for one or enter your own favorite, and tell your friends to vote, too.
It can make a difference. In 2014, the Member Donation Program raised $104,197. The money came from Trupanion’s insurance clients, who opted to pay an extra $1 a month, added to their premiums, to fund the program. That amount is expect to grow this year, as Trupanion gains more customers.
“This vote is an exciting opportunity to get our pet-passionate community involved to help support organizations we all truly believe in,” said Darryl Rawlings, CEO of Trupanion. “We feel these organizations represent Trupanion’s values well and wish them all the best of luck.”
Along with its Member Donation Program, Trupanion has two other significant ways it helps animal organizations as part of its TruGiving program. The Shelter Support Program donates money to shelters — $105,000 to 193 animal shelters last year alone — and gives them carte blanche on how to spend it: food, toys, technology, infrastructure, you name it.
And with its employee volunteer program, Trupanion workers band together to help animals. In December of last year, they collected and donated four tons of dog and cat food to a local animal shelter. They also volunteer in humane societies, shelters, and the like; in the second half of 2014, they volunteered 237 total hours in places such as the Seattle Humane Society, PAWS, and Pasado’s Safe Haven.
“Trupanion continues to blaze a trail in the pet medical insurance industry by setting high standards for animal welfare ethics and strong values,” said Rawlings. “Our passion for pets is the foundation of our company — our mission is to help the pets we all love receive the best care, even those who aren’t insured.”
If you see an organization you love on the list or want to enter your own, go vote.
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