Maddie's Fund

What Maddie's Fund does

Maddie's Fund is the operating brand of The Duffield Family Foundation, a Nevada nonprofit corporation established in 1994 by Dave and Cheryl Duffield. The foundation's stated mission is to create a no-kill nation where every dog and cat is guaranteed a healthy home or habitat, pursued through grant-making to animal welfare organizations rather than commercial operations. Headquartered in Pleasanton, California with 11-50 employees, the foundation distributes resources to municipal shelters, rescue organizations, animal control agencies, pet families in underserved communities, and the broader animal welfare professional workforce.

The foundation's product surface centers on three digital platforms and a portfolio of programs. Maddie's Pet Forum is an online community platform (built on Higher Logic) with 95,000+ members, 28,500+ discussion threads, and a 2,400+ entry resource library serving animal welfare professionals. Maddie's University is an online learning management system delivering free courses, webcasts, and conference recordings, including CE credits toward CAWA and NACA certifications and free UC Davis Koret Shelter Care Specialist credentials. Maddie's Pet Assistant is a shelter and foster management app. Supporting programs include Community Conversations (weekly peer Zoom calls with up to $10,000 in monthly grant giveaways), Champions for Pet Health (multi-foundation free spay/neuter initiative), Camp Maddie (half-day learning sessions), Maddie's Candid Conversations (equity-focused discussions), and Maddie's Pet Adoption Days (a past signature program that placed 36,000+ pets across 591 cities in nine states).

The business model is endowment-funded philanthropy, not commercial revenue. All educational content, community access, and grant funding are provided free of charge to eligible animal welfare organizations. The foundation generates no disclosed revenue from operations; capital for grants and programs is drawn from the Duffield family endowment, established when the foundation was created in 1994. Distribution is self-serve through the Grants Portal, Maddie's University, and Maddie's Pet Forum, supplemented by channel partnerships with PetSmart Veterinary Services, Cornell University, University of Florida, Purdue University, UC Davis, UW-Madison, ASPCA, Best Friends Animal Society, HASS, Shelter Animals Count, AAWA, and NACA. The foundation has no parent company, no subsidiaries, no funding rounds in the venture sense, and no public ticker.

Name

Maddie's Fund

Legal name

The Duffield Family Foundation

Website

https://maddiesfund.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Maddie's Fund is the operating brand of The Duffield Family Foundation, a 1994 private foundation that distributes grants, education, and community platforms to advance no-kill companion animal welfare in the United States. It serves animal welfare organizations, shelters, and pet families through free digital products and direct program funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Animal Welfare Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Endowments (Universities, Foundations, Nonprofits) (FSAAAGAC)

Keywords

• Animal welfare grants
• Shelter medicine education
• Pet adoption programs
• Companion animal care
• Animal welfare foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Pleasanton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Grants to organizations, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Foundation Endowment: Maddie's Fund is The Duffield Family Foundation, established in 1994 by Dave and Cheryl Duffield as a private foundation. The organization operates as a philanthropic endowment distributing grants rather than generating commercial revenue. The foundation's operations are funded from the endowment principal.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Maddie's Fund is a private animal welfare foundation that distributes grants and provides free educational resources and community platforms to animal welfare organizations, shelters, and professionals. Its core offerings include grant funding for innovative animal welfare programs, the Maddie's Pet Forum community platform (95,000+ members), Maddie's University online learning system, and direct service programs such as Champions for Pet Health free spay/neuter events.

Product overview

Maddie's Fund operates as a comprehensive animal welfare platform rather than a single product. The core offerings include Maddie's Pet Forum (an online community powered by Higher Logic for animal welfare professionals), Maddie's University (an online learning management system with free courses and webcasts), and Maddie's Pet Assistant (an animal shelter and foster app). Supporting programs include Community Conversations (weekly peer Zoom calls with grant opportunities), Champions for Pet Health (free spay/neuter initiative), Camp Maddie (interactive learning sessions), Maddie's Candid Conversations (equity and diversity discussions), The Foster Assessment System (FAST-15), and educational content through Chew on This Blog and Maddie's Tail Wag. The organization provides grant funding, professional development resources, and community engagement platforms to help keep pets and people together.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Maddie's Pet Forum: An online community platform for animal welfare professionals to discuss, share resources, and collaborate on animal well-being topics.
• Maddie's University
• Maddie's Pet Assistant
• Maddie's Pet Adoption Days
• Maddie's Tail Wag
• Champions for Pet Health

Products and services

• Maddie's Pet Forum

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 36,000 pets adopted through Maddie's Pet Adoption Days across 591 cities in nine states
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• PetSmart Veterinary ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 March 2026PetSmart Veterinary Services provides a five-year free lease for Cornerstone Animal Center to open a low-cost veterinary clinic inside the Visalia PetSmart location. Maddie's Fund contributed a $1.4 million grant to support the clinic which will offer vaccinations, spay/neuter, and microchipping services to improve pet healthcare access in the Valley.
• Champions for Pet Health (Four National Family Foundations)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2025Four national family foundations collaborate on the Champions for Pet Health initiative to provide free spay/neuter surgeries and vaccines. Nine animal well-being organizations across five Bay area counties are partnering for the December 2025 event targeting 600+ surgeries.
• Cornell UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership for shelter medicine conference recordings and educational content. Maddie's Fund has hosted Cornell University Conference recordings since 2011.
• University of FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Maddie's Graduate Certificate in Shelter Medicine and online master's program for shelter leaders and managers. UF Conference recordings hosted on Maddie's University platform.
• Purdue UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Purdue Symposium and Conference recordings. Maddie's Fund has hosted Purdue University Conference recordings since 2010.
• UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUC Davis Koret Shelter Care Specialist and Master Shelter Care Specialist certifications are free thanks to Maddie's Fund funding. Shelter Med LIVE webcasts hosted in collaboration.
• University of Wisconsin-MadisonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for shelter medicine coursework and educational content delivery.
• ASPCAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASPCA-Maddie's Shelter Medicine courses available through ASPCApro. Maddie's Shelter Medicine Conference 2020 hosted with ASPCA. Joint public service campaigns including The Shelter Pet Project (2009-2023).
• Humane World for AnimalscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnimal Care Expo, the national conference for animal welfare leadership tracks, is now under Humane World for Animals. Maddie's Fund participates in and supports this conference.
• Best Friends Animal SocietycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaboration on Open Arms Challenge initiatives. Best Friends is a key partner in Maddie's Fund's national animal welfare programs and conferences.
• Human Animal Support Services (HASS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHASS is a national partnership transforming animal sheltering through collaborative community support. Referenced in site index as a topic/resource area.
• Shelter Animals CountcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaddie's Fund Shelter Animals Count Incentive Grant supports data collection and tracking. Shelterluv partnership for data interoperability.
• The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement (AAWA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAAWA offers the CAWA (Certified Animal Welfare Administrator) credential, the executive credential for animal welfare leadership. Maddie's University CE credits count toward CAWA certification.
• National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNACA covers animal control and field services management. Maddie's University offers NACA Field Services Series courses. CE credits count toward NACA certification.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ASPCA: The ASPCA is one of the largest and oldest U.S. animal welfare organizations, combining national grantmaking, advocacy, and direct shelter support. Maddie's Fund partners with ASPCA on shelter medicine courses and joint campaigns, making it a direct mission peer with significantly greater scale.
• Humane World for Animals (formerly Humane Society of the United States): Humane World for Animals is the largest U.S. animal protection organization, running Animal Care Expo and broad advocacy. It is a longstanding Maddie's Fund partner (co-developed The Shelter Pet Project) and competes for influence among national shelter leaders.
• American Humane: American Humane is a national animal welfare organization running the Hero Dog Awards and certifying humane treatment standards. It pursues overlapping advocacy and shelter support work and competes for the same national visibility.

Direct peers

• Best Friends Animal Society: Best Friends leads the no-kill movement that Maddie's Fund champions, operates a major sanctuary, and co-runs the Open Arms Challenge with Maddie's Fund. The two foundations share donor and grantee constituencies and compete for leadership of the no-kill agenda.
• PetSmart Charities: PetSmart Charities is the largest funder of animal welfare in the U.S., granting tens of millions annually to shelters and access-to-care programs. Maddie's Fund partners with PetSmart Veterinary Services on the Visalia clinic and competes for the same shelter grantees.
• Petco Love (formerly Petco Foundation): Petco Love funds adoption, spay/neuter, and access-to-care initiatives nationwide and operates within Petco stores. It overlaps with Maddie's Fund's mission on community spay/neuter, adoption events, and shelter grants.
• Banfield Foundation: Banfield Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Banfield Pet Hospital, funding preventive care, disaster relief, and shelter medicine programs. It shares Maddie's Fund's focus on access-to-care and veterinary-driven shelter outcomes.
• Pedigree Foundation: Pedigree Foundation funds shelter dog adoption and operates the One True Grant program. It is a corporate-backed grantmaker working in the same companion-animal welfare space with similar shelter grantees.

Emerging players

• RedRover: RedRover provides grants and emergency sheltering for animals in crisis, including domestic violence survivors and disaster response. It is a smaller, mission-aligned grantmaker focused on a narrower subset of animal welfare needs.
• The Pet Fund: The Pet Fund provides financial assistance for veterinary care to pet owners in need, complementing Maddie's Fund's access-to-care focus (e.g., Cornerstone clinic). It operates at smaller scale with a more direct beneficiary model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/maddiesfund
• Facebookfacebook.com/maddiesfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maddie's-fund
• Instagraminstagram.com/maddiesfund
• Xx.com/maddiesfund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments225 records

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Frequently asked questions about Maddie's Fund