Rescue Me
Rescue Me is a 501c3 nonprofit online marketplace founded in 1999 that connects pet adopters with independent rescue groups, shelters, and individuals rehoming pets, serving 2 million-plus registered users through free breed-specific listings and operating a 135-acre special-needs animal facility.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Rescue Me does
Rescue Me is a 501c3 nonprofit animal adoption platform operated under World Organization (EIN 61-1577084) since 1999. Founded by Jeff Gold, the organization runs a free, web-based marketplace that connects pet adopters with independent rescue groups, animal shelters, and individuals rehoming pets. The platform serves over 2 million registered users — the vast majority in the USA — and has facilitated more than 1.4 million animal adoptions across dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits, farm animals, small mammals, reptiles, and wildlife.
The core product is a website at rescueme.org backed by three major data centers, complemented by over 350 breed-specific dog subdomains and 50+ cat subdomains (e.g., dog.rescueme.org), an email-based Rescue Alerts module, and an Advice Portal. Operational assets also include a 135-acre physical center for special needs animals and a separate donation-processing system supporting credit cards and PayPal, with breed-specific and animal-type donation targeting.
Revenue derives entirely from donations — both one-time tiers ($50–$500+) and recurring monthly gifts ($10–$100/month) — which fund infrastructure, programmers, and support vendors. Distribution is primarily organic, driven by SEO on indexed breed-specific pages, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and a success-stories blog. The go-to-market is essentially self-serve: shelters and individuals post animals free of charge, and adopters search by breed, location, and animal type. The organization holds US trademark registrations on the Rescue Me name and paw logo.
Rescue Me firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Rescue Me
- Legal name
- World Organization
- Website
- https://rescueme.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Rescue Me is a 501c3 nonprofit online marketplace founded in 1999 that connects pet adopters with independent rescue groups, shelters, and individuals rehoming pets, serving 2 million-plus registered users through free breed-specific listings and operating a 135-acre special-needs animal facility.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Rescue Me industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Pet Adoption Services
- NAICS
- Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (812910)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Animal Shelters & Adoption Services (BPAGAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Foster & Volunteer Network Programs (BPAGAIAF)
Keywords
Where Rescue Me is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Rescue Me business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel
Revenue model
- Donations: Rescue Me is a 501c3 public charity that generates revenue through donations. EIN 61-1577084. Donations support infrastructure maintenance at three major data centers, programmers, and support companies facilitating operations.
- Donation Processing: The vast majority of donations go to maintaining Rescue Me's infrastructure at its three major data centers, as well as to programmers and support companies who facilitate its operation.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Donation tiers from $50 to $500+ with perks |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Rescue Me product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Rescue Me operates a free online pet adoption marketplace that connects shelters, rescue groups, and individuals rehoming pets with potential adopters across dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits, farm animals, small mammals, reptiles, and wildlife. The platform enables free posting for organizations and individuals and free searching for adopters, supported by a donation processing system that funds the platform's infrastructure across three major data centers.
Product overview
Rescue Me! operates as a comprehensive pet adoption platform that connects animals in need with potential adopters through a network of breed-specific websites. The core offering is the animal adoption marketplace at rescueme.org, which enables shelters and individuals to post animals for adoption free of charge across multiple animal categories (dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits, farm animals, small mammals, reptiles, wildlife, and wild birds). The platform includes a donation processing system that supports breed-specific and animal-type donations with multiple payment options. Additional modules include Rescue Alerts for email notifications when matching animals are posted, and an Advice Portal providing pet care guidance. The platform serves millions of pages monthly to hundreds of thousands of users and has facilitated over 1.4 million animal adoptions, with dedicated subdomains for over 350 dog breeds and 50+ cat breeds.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Rescue Me! Animal Adoption Platform A comprehensive online pet adoption marketplace that connects animals in need (dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits, farm animals, small mammals, reptiles, wildlife) with potential adopters. Shelters, rescue groups, and individuals can post animals for adoption free of charge, and adopters can search by breed, animal type, and location (state or country). The platform has facilitated over 1.4 million adoptions.
- Donation Processing System A donation platform that allows individuals to contribute funds to support animal rescue operations, with donations directed to specific animal types (dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, farm animals, small mammals, reptiles, birds, wildlife) or specific breeds. Supports one-time and recurring monthly donations, offers printable acknowledgment cards or email gifts, and integrates multiple payment methods including credit/debit cards and PayPal.
Companies that use Rescue Me
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Rescue Me technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Rescue Me partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Rescue Groups and Animal ShelterscoreThousands of independent rescue groups and animal shelters depend on Rescue Me for many or most of their adoptions. The platform enables these partners to post animals for free and reach millions of potential adopters.
- World OrganizationcoreRescue Me is a project of World Organization (WO), a 501c3 public charity. WO owns and operates the Rescue Me website.
- OLALminorOLAL released the benefit single 'Spot' in 3D Audio to help Rescue Me! as part of their Rescue Me Theme Song collaboration.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Rescue Me competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Petfinder: Petfinder is the largest online pet adoption marketplace in North America, now operated by PetSmart. It connects shelters, rescue groups, and adopters using a similar two-sided marketplace model to Rescue Me, with breed and location filtering. It is the most direct competitive analog.
- Adopt-a-Pet: Adopt-a-Pet is a leading North American non-profit pet adoption platform that lists adoptable dogs, cats, and other animals from shelters and rescue groups. It shares Rescue Me's core adoption-marketplace functionality and partner base of shelters/rescues posting for free.
Regional players
- Dogs Trust: Dogs Trust is the largest dog welfare charity in the UK, operating rehoming centers and an online adoption portal comparable in mission to Rescue Me. It does not directly compete in Rescue Me's primary U.S. market but represents the U.K. analogue of a donor-funded rescue organization.
- Battersea Dogs & Cats Home: Battersea is a major London-based dog and cat rescue charity that rehomes animals and operates a public-facing adoption platform similar to Rescue Me. It is comparable on mission and donor-funded model but operates primarily in the U.K. market.
Broad incumbents
- Best Friends Animal Society: Best Friends Animal Society operates the largest no-kill sanctuary in the U.S. and runs a national adoption/adoption-events program. It shares Rescue Me's adoption mission and donor-funded model, and its sanctuary operations parallel Rescue Me's special-needs facility.
- ASPCA: The ASPCA is one of the largest U.S. animal welfare nonprofits, operating shelters, advocacy, and a national adoption platform. It overlaps with Rescue Me across adoption services and donor-funded animal welfare, but operates at vastly larger scale and broader scope.
- The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS): HSUS is a major U.S. animal welfare nonprofit providing rescue, advocacy, and shelter services. While it focuses on policy and rescue operations rather than an adoption marketplace like Rescue Me, it is highly comparable as a donor-supported animal welfare organization.
- Petco Love (formerly Petco Foundation): Petco Love is the corporate-affiliated animal welfare foundation of Petco, funding and operating national adoption programs. It supports shelter and rescue partners similar to Rescue Me, and has substantially larger financial backing through Petco.
- PetSmart Charities: PetSmart Charities is the corporate-affiliated foundation of PetSmart and operates (alongside Petfinder) one of the largest U.S. pet adoption platforms. It is comparable to Rescue Me in the adoption-marketplace category but with dramatically larger capital and parent-company resources.
Emerging players
- PetHarbor: PetHarbor is a smaller online adoption platform aggregating shelter listings across the U.S. It competes with Rescue Me in breed/location-based adoption search but operates with materially less brand recognition and user base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Rescue Me social profiles
Digital presenceRescue Me compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Rescue Me financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Rescue Me leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Rescue Me funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Rescue Me M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Rescue Me
What does Rescue Me do?
Rescue Me operates a free online pet adoption marketplace that connects shelters, rescue groups, and individuals rehoming pets with potential adopters across dogs, cats, horses, birds, rabbits, farm animals, small mammals, reptiles, and wildlife. The platform enables free posting for organizations and individuals and free searching for adopters, supported by a donation processing system that funds the platform's infrastructure across three major data centers.
Is Rescue Me a public or private company?
Rescue Me is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Rescue Me founded?
Rescue Me was founded in 1999. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Rescue Me based?
Rescue Me is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Rescue Me make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations are the primary driver. The others are donation Processing.
Who are Rescue Me's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Petfinder and Adopt-a-Pet. Regional players are Dogs Trust and Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. Broad incumbents are Best Friends Animal Society, ASPCA, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Petco Love (formerly Petco Foundation) and PetSmart Charities. PetHarbor is listed as an emerging player.
Does Rescue Me have an API?
No public API is recorded for Rescue Me.
What industry is Rescue Me in?
Rescue Me's product category is Pet Adoption Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAIAA, Animal Shelters & Adoption Services, with a secondary code of BPAGAIAF, Foster & Volunteer Network Programs. Its NAICS code is 812910 and its SIC code is 8300.