There are a number of non-profit organizations that offer the opportunity to sponsor animals. In addition to the satisfaction of having helped an animal in need, many charities provide thank-you gifts to donors such as large photos and biographies of the sponsored animal, stuffed animals, books, games, puzzles, subscriptions to magazines, invitations to events, free tours, or other bonuses.
Help Wild Mammals
The following are just a few of the many organizations through which you can symbolically adopt charismatic megafauna such as whales, elephants, and tigers:
- Big Cat Rescue: Large and small wild cats
- International Society for Endangered Cats (ISEC): Small wild cats such as sand cats, oncillas, margays, and Geoffroy’s cats
- Scottish Wildcat Association: Scottish wildcats
- The Jane Goodall Institute: Chimpanzees
- The Diane Fossey Gorilla Fund: Gorillas
- The Marine Mammal Center: Whales, seals, sea lions, porpoises, dolphins, and otters
- The British Columbia Killer Whale Adoption Program: Killer whales
- The African Wildlife Foundation: Giraffes, elephants, warthogs, lions, leopards, rhinos, wild dogs, and zebras
- Animals Asia: Bears
- The World Wildlife Federation (WWF): Tigers, pandas, wolves, elephants, polar bears, owls, Tasmanian devils, and more (to make the gift more personal, have your recipient visit the site and take the “Find Your Inner Animal Quiz” and then provide a gift sponsorship for his or her inner animal)
Help Birds
The following organizations are dedicated to helping injured, ill, and orphaned birds:
- Alberta Birds of Prey Foundation: Owls, eagles, hawks, and falcons
- The Avian Reconditioning Center: Eagles, hawks, falcons, owls, and kites
- International Bird Rescue Research Center: Orphaned ducklings, egrets, herons, and pelicans
- HawkWatch International: Hawks
- Audubon of Florida: Eagles, hawks, owls, osprey, vultures, kites, and falcons
- Suncoast Sea bird Sanctuary: Pelicans and various other birds
- Birds of Prey Foundation: Hawks, kestrals, owls, and more
- Raptor Education Group: Owls, hawks, falcons, vultures, cranes, and eagles
- National Aviary: More than 600 birds from around the world, including penguins, flamingos, woodpeckers, mynahs, kestrals, starlings, condors, parrots, and ducks
- Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory: Hummingbirds
Help Bats, Reptiles, and Rodents
There are also organizations that care for for smaller, less popular, and commonly misunderstood animals such as bats. According to Bat Conservation International, bats provide free, non-toxic pest control by voraciously consuming many of the insects that attack commercial crops, as well as pollinating many plants including agave, avocados, bananas, cashews, cloves, dates, figs, mangoes, and peaches. In addition, they help to restore decimated rainforests by dispersing seeds – the seeds they drop in flight are responsible for as much as 95% of new forest growth. You can adopt a bat through Batworld.org and Batroost.com.
You can also sponsor various reptiles through organizations such as the Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary in the US, the UK’s Skye Serpentarium, and Australia’s Reptile Park, or a a rodent at Happy Endings.
Help Cats, Dogs, and Other Domestic Animals
There are many organizations caring for domestic pets and farm animals that offer opportunities to sponsor an animal of your choice, such as People for Animals in India, which cares for cats, dogs, rabbits, camels, donkeys, horses, and birds.
The UK’s PDSA also has sponsorship opportunities to provide veterinary care for the pets of people who are suffering financial hardship. Visit the sponsorship page to read the stories of individual cats and dogs and learn how you can help both animals and people with a single gift.
Visit the Animal Charities page to find more charities in your area that help domestic or wild animals. This page provides directories to charities throughout the world, many of which have sponsorship opportunities.
For links to gift shops that support various animal charities, see Christmas Gift Ideas: Online Shops That Help Cats and Dogs and Christmas Gift Ideas: Charity Gift Shops That Help Wild Animals.
Jennifer Copley - Jennifer Copley, BFA, BEd, has a diverse base of expertise that includes research, writing, education, pet care, and various other ...
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