About

CPOF

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Colorado Pet Overpopulation Fund?

The Colorado Pet Overpopulation Fund (CPOF) is a specific charitable fund established in 2001 by the Colorado State Legislature. CPOF exists to work with animal care and control organizations (including pet rescues), veterinarians, and local communities to curb pet overpopulation in Colorado and to educate the public about the importance of controlling pet overpopulation. CPOF is administered by an eight-person board of directors appointed by the Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture and offers an annual grant cycle for each program.

What Grant Programs Are Available For Pet Animal Funding? 

  • Tax Check-Off Grants: Application Cycle Open From May 15 - July 15
  • Pet Population Supported: Spay/Neuter for Owned Animals
  • How It's Funded: Private donations made by Coloradans via their tax refunds are granted to organizations that provide spay/neuter services for owned pets
  • Adopt a Shelter Pet License Plate Grants: Application Cycle Open from December 15 - February 15
  • Pet Population Supported: Shelter Animal Care (spay/neuter, veterinary medical treatment, and microchip)
  • How It's Funded: Private donations from the Adopt-a-Shelter-Pet license plate are granted to licensed animal shelters and rescues, providing state-mandated spay/neuter services and life-saving veterinary care in order to increase the adoptability of pets in need

How Have CPOF Grants Impacted Communities Throughout Colorado? 

Thanks to the generosity of Colorado drivers from across the state, more than 26,000 pet plates are on the road today, generating more than $5 million for shelter and rescue pets since 2011. These funds support more than 50 municipal and private shelters and local rescues each year.


Over the last 24 years, the tax checkoff has distributed more than $3.7 million to grantees, providing more than 85,000 surgeries to pets in rural communities and areas of the state without easy access to veterinary care. Grantees include veterinary clinics which help clients in need, local nonprofit animal welfare groups, and municipal agencies.

How Much Does the Adopt-A-Shelter Pet Plate Cost?

The cost to purchase the plate includes an initial $30 donation to the Colorado Pet Overpopulation Fund to benefit homeless animals, plus the $50 standard fee for a Special Use License Plate, which goes to the State. The total price for the license plate is $80 in addition to your registration fees. At the time of renewal, the plate holder will be charged a $25 annual donation. Learn more here: https://www.coloradopetfund.org/purchase-plate

Where Can I See Who CPOF Grants to?

Please see a current list of grantees here: https://www.coloradopetfund.org/grants

Who Is Eligible for CPOF Grants & What Are the Application Requirements?

For the Adopt-a-Shelter-Pet License Plate Grants:

  • Only Colorado animal care and control organizations that principally serve Colorado animals and Colorado communities are eligible for license plate funding.
  • License plate grants are only available to fund the following for shelter and rescue pets: 
  • spay/neuter surgery
  • veterinary medical care
  • microchip identification (implant and registration)
  • The maximum allowable expenditure of license plate funds per shelter or rescue pet is $1200. Any amount above the limit is the responsibility of the grantee. Grant funds cannot be used for the purchase of equipment or capital improvements. 


For the Tax Checkoff Grants:

  • The application must propose a program that promotes and/or subsidizes spay/neuter surgeries for pets owned by residents in underserved Colorado communities.
  • Grant applicants must represent one of the following entities:
  • Government entity with animal care or control function.
  • Local, not-for-profit humane organization working within the community to assist pets.
  • Colorado-licensed veterinarian who owns, operates or is employed in a private veterinary practice in Colorado. Veterinarians who participate are expected to support the program by discounting services that are subsidized by CPOF and reporting the dollar value of that discount on the CPOF final report form.


Learn more and access the application portal here: https://www.coloradopetfund.org/grants

How Many Applications Does CPOF Typically Approve?

Most applications are approved. See average numbers below from the previous five years (2020-2024):

  • Average Annual Applications Submitted: 81.2
  • Average Annual Applications Approved: 72.4
  • Average Annual Applications Denied: 8.8

What Colorado Communities Do Grantees Serve?

Most of the funds go to groups serving rural communities of Colorado, where access to veterinary care is more challenging:

  • License Plate Granted Funds - Previous 5 years:
  • $2,155,300 (72.1%) granted to rural Colorado communities
  • $834,300 (27.9%) granted to non-rural Colorado communities

Donations from License Plate purchases come from all areas of the state and are distributed across Colorado.


  • Tax Checkoff Funds - Previous 5 Years:
  • $833,500 (90.3%) granted to rural Colorado communities
  • $89,500 (9.7%) granted to Colorado communities without access to veterinary care

100% of tax checkoff funding is allocated to communities with little or no access to veterinary care.

Why Was CPOF Created?

In 2001, a group of nonprofit animal welfare organizations, state and local officials, and concerned citizens came together to solve a problem:  How to increase access to spay/neuter surgeries for pets of Coloradans without the means or the ability to acquire veterinary care?


None of these organizations had the staff, funding, or wherewithal to address this issue independently, and the Colorado Department of Agriculture was concerned that taking on grantmaking would conflict with its existing inspection and licensing duties for shelter and rescue facilities (potential grantees). Out of this quandary, the Colorado Pet Overpopulation Authority was born. Owned by no one individual organization, nor state government, the Authority would pull a board of directors from a diverse set of pet animal-related organizations with the expertise to equitably allocate donations from tax refunds for the spay/neuter of targeted pet cats and dogs in Colorado.


After much hard work and dedication, another milestone was achieved to fund life-saving care for Colorado pets—the "Adopt a Shelter Pet" license plate bill successfully passed through the state legislature. In 2011, the Authority took on the work of administering the license plate donations because it served pet animals in Colorado. The license plate fund was specifically designed to help shelters and rescues increase adoptions and place pets into their forever homes faster by providing spay/neuter surgeries and medical care for shelter and rescue pets. These funds became particularly helpful in meeting the state-mandated spay/neuter requirement for all animals adopted from shelters and rescues.