Name

Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation

Legal name

Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation Inc.

Website

https://fidelco.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bloomfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Monthly and one-time donations from individual supporters through the Shepherd Club membership program and general giving campaigns.
2. Shepherd Club Monthly Giving: Monthly recurring donations at membership tiers: Puppy Pals ($120/yr), Guiding Friends ($300/yr), Canine Companions ($1000/yr), Leader of the Pack ($5000/yr), Visionary Sponsor ($12,000/yr).
3. Planned Giving: Legacy gifts through bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, IRA charitable rollovers, life insurance beneficiary designations, and retirement plan assets.
4. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate sponsorships and event support from partners including Kaman, Suburban Subaru, Harvey Lewis Opticians, and others.
5. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including clothing, accessories, drinkware, dog food, and promotional items through the Fidelco shop.
6. Naming a Pup Program: Donors can name a Fidelco German Shepherd pup with a $5,000 donation.
7. Calendar Contest: Annual calendar photo contest where voting donations support Fidelco's mission.
8. Foundation Grants: Grants from foundations such as Newman's Own Foundation that support guide dog placements, particularly for military veterans and their families.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels13 records

Core offering

Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation exclusively breeds, raises, and trains German Shepherd guide dogs from Bavarian stock and places them with people who are blind or visually impaired at no cost. The organization delivers its core In-Community Placement Program, in which professional trainers travel to clients' homes and communities for 2-3 week intensive training sessions, providing personalized placement, lifetime 24/7 client support, and annual checkups.

Product overview

Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation is a guide dog organization that breeds, trains, and places German Shepherd guide dogs with people who are blind or visually impaired. The organization offers its core service—the In-Community Placement Program—entirely free of charge to clients. Supporting programs include the Volunteer Puppy Raiser Program, Breed Caregiver Program, Pupsitter Program, and Pet Dog Adoption for career change dogs. The organization also operates donor engagement programs including the Shepherd Club monthly giving program, Vision Society planned giving, Shepherd's Brew on-campus coffee shop, an annual Calendar Photo Contest, and a podcast series featuring client stories. All guide dogs are German Shepherd Dogs bred from Bavarian stock.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Guide Dog Breeding, Training & Placement Services Fidelco breeds, raises, and trains German Shepherd guide dogs and matches them with clients across North America who are blind or visually impaired; dogs are provided at no cost to clients along with all training and lifetime support.
• In-Community Placement Program A training methodology in which professional trainers travel to clients' homes and communities for 2-3 week intensive training periods, allowing clients to learn in their actual living and working environments with lifetime annual checkups and 24/7 support.
• Volunteer Puppy Raiser Program Volunteers take Fidelco pups at approximately eight weeks old and care for them until they are 14-16 months old, participating in weekly training classes and teaching basic manners and commands, all near the Bloomfield, CT campus.
• Breed Caregiver Program Caregivers care for Fidelco's breeding dogs, living within an hour of the Bloomfield, CT campus and providing daily exercise plus regular visits to campus.
• Pupsitter Program Temporary home-away-from-home care for young German Shepherd guide dogs-in-training during Puppy Raiser vacations or holiday weekends.
• Pet Dog Adoption Career change dogs (those deemed unsuitable for guide work) are matched and placed as pet dogs with approved adopters through a structured trial process.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,650+ guide dog placements across North America since 1960
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Hartford Parking AuthorityminorOthersCorporate partner supporting Fidelco's mission through organizational sponsorship and community engagement.
• Robinson FoundationminorOthersFoundation providing grant support for Fidelco's guide dog programs and client services.
• KamanminorOthersCorporate partner named after co-founder Charles Kaman's company, supporting Fidelco through organizational sponsorship.
• Suburban SubaruminorOthersSubaru dealership partner supporting Fidelco through community sponsorship and donor spotlight recognition.
• Harvey & Lewis OpticiansminorOthersOptometry practice featured in donor spotlight, understanding the profound impact vision has on independence and quality of life.
• Newman's Own FoundationcoreOthersFoundation providing grants supporting guide dog placements, particularly for military veterans and family members of military personnel through generous grant funding.
• Connecticut Police Canine Training UnitminorOthersFive Fidelco German Shepherd Dogs assisted in search and rescue mission at World Trade Center site in 2001 following September 11 attacks.
• HireRightminorOthersBackground check provider used during the guide dog application process for prospective clients.
• VolunteerMatchminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVolunteer recruitment platform used to connect potential volunteers with Fidelco's volunteer opportunities.
• U.S. Department of Veterans AffairscoreOthersThrough the Wounded Warrior Service Dog Program (established 2015), VA provides grants supporting service dog placements for veterans.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• America's VetDogs: America's VetDogs, based in Smithtown, NY, trains and places service dogs with veterans and first responders with disabilities. It is comparable to Fidelco in the veteran-focused service dog niche but serves a broader service-dog mission rather than exclusively guide dogs.
• K9s For Warriors: K9s For Warriors is the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to providing service dogs to military veterans suffering from PTSD, TBI, and other service-related trauma. It overlaps with Fidelco's veteran placement channel but focuses on psychiatric service dogs rather than guide dogs.

Direct peers

• Guiding Eyes for the Blind: Guiding Eyes for the Blind, based in Yorktown Heights, NY, breeds and trains guide dogs (German Shepherds and Labradors) and provides them at no cost to clients with vision loss. It is the closest geographic and operational peer to Fidelco, also accredited by the IGDF.
• Leader Dogs for the Blind: Leader Dogs for the Blind, based in Rochester Hills, MI, breeds and trains guide dogs for people who are blind or visually impaired and is also IGDF-accredited. Comparable in mission, no-cost client delivery, and volunteer puppy raising model.
• Southeastern Guide Dogs: Southeastern Guide Dogs, based in Palmetto, FL, breeds, trains, and places guide and service dogs with people who are blind, veterans, and children. It is a directly comparable peer in scale, mission, and IGDF-equivalent service delivery.
• Guide Dogs for the Blind: Guide Dogs for the Blind, based in San Rafael, CA, is the largest guide dog school in North America, placing more dogs per year than most peers. It serves clients across the U.S. and Canada with Labradors, Golden Retrievers, and some GSDs, making it a comparable mission-driven peer.
• Canine Companions for Independence: Canine Companions for Independence is a large nonprofit that trains and places service dogs (not specifically guide dogs) for people with disabilities, including veterans. It is mission-comparable as a peer in service-dog training and nonprofit fundraising, though it serves a broader disability scope than Fidelco.
• The Seeing Eye: The Seeing Eye, based in Morristown, NJ, is one of the oldest and largest guide dog schools in the world, breeding and training guide dogs (primarily German Shepherds and Labradors) for people who are blind. It is the most directly comparable peer to Fidelco in terms of mission, IGDF accreditation, and client placement model.
• Guide Dogs of America: Guide Dogs of America, based in Sylmar, CA, provides guide dogs free of charge to blind and visually impaired clients across the U.S. and Canada. It is a directly comparable nonprofit guide dog school with similar breeding, training, and placement operations.

Others

• New England Eye Institute / Perkins School for the Blind: Perkins School for the Blind is a leading nonprofit serving people who are blind, including through educational and accessibility services. While not a guide dog school, it is an adjacent ecosystem partner with overlapping client base (blind/visually impaired individuals) and potential referral pipeline to Fidelco.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fidelco
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC2sUmMHK911KJ-fp1YwaFIQ/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/fidelcoguidedog
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fidelco-guide-dog-foundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/fidelcoguidedogs

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation