Safe spaces don’t just protect—they transform lives. We construct and renovate shelters that keep people and pets together, help wildlife recover, and create stronger communities.
Safe spaces don’t just protect people and animals. They change their lives. Greater Good Charities builds and renovates shelters that keep people and pets together, help wildlife recover, and make communities stronger.
Our construction work began in 2007 with animal shelters and wildlife sanctuaries. Then a domestic violence shelter saw our work on the news and asked for something new: on-site kennels, so survivors could bring their pets with them. Today our construction program is a national movement of volunteers and experts. We see every renovation as more than a new structure. It’s a launchpad for real recovery.
218
Shelters Transformed Through our Renovations and Coaching
500,000+
Safe Nights for Families
182,000
Hours Volunteered
Your Gift Builds More Than Walls
Since 2007, we’ve transformed 218 shelters and provided more than 500,000 safe nights for families. Your donation helps us keep going: pet-friendly spaces for survivors, play yards and catios that help shelter animals find homes faster, and habitats that give rescued wildlife a second chance. Give today and help create safe spaces that keep families together and help communities thrive.
Why This Work Matters
Removing a critical barrier to safety. For survivors, a pet can be the last source of stability, and abusers can use that pet as leverage. Half of domestic violence survivors wouldn’t consider shelter if they couldn’t bring their pets (National Domestic Violence Hotline). When shelters welcome the whole family, no one has to choose between their safety and the animals they love.
Design that helps people heal. We believe the well-being of people, animals and the environment is connected. Trauma-informed spaces give families room to sit in the sun, play with their pets and begin to heal. Nature and companionship aren’t extras. They’re core to dignity and recovery.
Faster adoptions. Welcoming spaces for visitors and functional spaces for staff help animals find homes sooner. After one recent renovation, a shelter’s adoptions rose 89% year-over-year in the first three months.
A multiplier for funding. A professional renovation helps a shelter attract more support. Our partner SPAN used its pet-friendly updates to win a major grant from another funder and expand its outdoor courtyard.
Apply for our services
Every build is part of something bigger. We also provide remote design services, 3D scans, grant support, and funding to help projects succeed even when we can’t be on the ground. After disasters, we help facilities rebuild fast, so lifesaving services can continue.
Is your organization in need of construction? Apply for a renovation grant below!
See Our Impact
Our construction team has traveled to shelters in 49 states and four countries. Check out our shelter map (below) to see just some of the places we’ve been! Click to learn more about our past projects!
Stories from the Field
READ OUR BLOG
Building Safe Spaces That Transform Lives
Since 2007, we’ve built and renovated spaces that keep people and pets together, help wildlife recover, and make communities stronger. Every project starts with the people and animals who will use the space, whether that’s a domestic violence shelter adding pet housing, an animal shelter that needs room for pets to play, or a sanctuary caring for rescued wildlife. To date, we’ve transformed 218 shelters and provided more than 500,000 safe nights for families, with the help of volunteers who have given 182,000 hours.
Human Service Shelters
When we first began renovating human service shelters in 2010, only 3% nationwide were pet friendly. Now, just over 20% are. Using trauma-informed design principles, we create supportive, calming environments where people and their pets can heal together. Ways we turn shelters into true sanctuaries:
Pet-friendly flooring to replace old carpet
Serene colors to promote calm
On-site kennels
Outdoor play yards and enrichment features
To start a pet program at your shelter, see our virtual and in-person training
Animal Shelters
We renovate animal shelters to create safe, welcoming spaces for animals and the people who care for them. Each project is designed around the needs of the organization, with improvements that boost pets’ quality of life and increase adoptability. Some of our favorite projects include:
Catios
Play yards
Indoor and outdoor kennels
And much more!
Wildlife sanctuaries
Our team considers the species and the facility to create ideal spaces for rescued wildlife, ensuring the safety and survival of critical species. These projects help preserve ecosystems and promote biodiversity. Projects include:
Tiger habitats
Seabird aviaries
Wolf enclosures
Coaching & Consulting
Our work has expanded into a coaching and consulting model that helps organizations modernize their spaces, ultimately allowing families to heal and rebuild their lives together. Our free resources include:
3D renderings
Floor plan, space optimization and material suggestions
Plan and contractor reviews
Best practices and protocols
Budget prioritization and feasibility studies
Fundraising tools
Virtual and in-person trainings
Get Involved In Our Upcoming Projects
Our team is constantly traveling and renovating shelters, and we frequently use volunteers to help.
For some non-animal shelter projects, we will require background checks for volunteers.
Join Our Volunteer List
Join our volunteer list to stay current with our volunteer opportunities.
Corporate Team Building
A great way to get involved with Rescue Rebuild is to ask your company about partnering with Rescue Rebuild! Contact us today to see how we can work together to serve animals in our community! Click to email Rescue Rebuild for more information.
Don't Forget The Pets
Looking to better support people in crisis by learning about starting and funding a pet program at your shelter? Join Greater Good Charities and RedRover virtually (in-person returning soon) for a FREE training seminar intended to help domestic violence shelters, homeless shelters, and animal shelters achieve just that.
We will explore:
The importance of the human-animal bond on recovery, child welfare, and PTSD sustainability
Ways to improve staff and board buy-in for your pet program
Examples of policies and procedures currently in use
Ways to create and sustain pet programs
The best construction and design options for your pet program
How to apply for funds from Greater Good Charities and RedRover
Help Build the Next Safe Space
When a survivor of domestic violence has to choose between their own safety and their pet, too many choose to stay. Your gift helps change that. It funds renovations that make shelters welcoming to the whole family, trauma-informed spaces where people and pets can heal together. It also supports animal shelters and wildlife sanctuaries across the country. Every dollar helps turn a building into a place where restoration begins.
Upcoming Training Webinars
Explore ways to create and sustain pet-friendly housing programs through free trainings hosted by Greater Good Charities and RedRover. Attend the next Don't Forget the Pets virtual webinar to learn more!
How-To Videos For Your Next Project
The construction team is always coming up with new ways to improve shelter spaces for animals — from cat bridges, to tire tunnels, to repairs, and more! Our how-to videos will walk you through how to bring these projects to life in your space.
Apply for coaching and grant opportunities
We help in a variety of settings: Animal Shelters, Domestic Violence Shelters, Homeless & Veterans Housing, and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
Animal Shelters - We'll Build With you
Complete our Build With You application to be considered for a renovation grant and to automatically be entered into our Build With You coaching program.
We'll help you with renovation concerns and ideas in our coaching program.
Our Build With You services give you access to our team of design and construction experts.
Applying for our Build With You Grant automatically makes eligible for a renovation grant.
Human Service Shelters - We'll Build With you
We have both our grant and coaching applications below. We encourage you to sign up for our free coaching services as well as any grant your organization is eligible for. You remain eligible for all grants while in our coaching program.
Learn about the importance of preserving the Human-Animal Bond
Learn about policies, getting staff and board buy-in, and help with fundraising
Free opportunity for renovation + facilities recommendations
Access to our team of experts (Including our Partners from RedRover)
Wildlife Facilities
Complete our renovation grant application to be considered for one of our wildlife grants. All applications are reviewed and held for the next opportunity.
Temporary Housing at Animal Shelters
Are you an animal shelter trying to make a larger impact in your community? Apply here if your animal organization is trying to start or expand a temporary housing program to help keep people and pets together. Not all human service shelters have the ability to go pet-friendly, so some animal organizations help by housing pets for people and then returning them to their owners when it is possible. You are welcome to sign up for our coaching services so we can help you with your plans for free, even if you do not receive a renovation grant.
Questions?
If you have any issues or questions with your applications please reach out to us at Construction@greatergood.org.
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