Read FOAS’s response to OAS budget cuts
For 20 years, Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS) has been a lifeline for the animals at Oakland Animal Services (OAS). What began as a small group of passionate OAS staff and volunteers has grown into a powerful, community-driven movement—funding life-saving programs and giving animals at OAS brighter futures.
Today, more animals have been saved at OAS than ever before—a powerful reminder of what’s possible when a community comes together.
Thanks to FOAS-funded programs, foster care, adoptions, emergency veterinary care, behavioral support, and more—the transformation has been extraordinary:
- 14 FOAS-funded staff work side by side with OAS staff every day to save lives and help people keep their pets.
- More animals are in foster homes than in the shelter.
- Adoptions have tripled.
- Over 90% of OAS animals are now saved, compared to less than 50% when we began.
In the past few years, animal intake has surged by 40% while Oakland’s budget crisis has led to cuts in OAS staffing by 30% and to basic supplies—like food and veterinary care—by 40%.
Despite these challenges at OAS, we’ve made incredible progress. But we can’t sustain this without your help. Let’s not go backward!
Generous supporters have come together to offer a $130,000 matching challenge to help FOAS meet this moment and continue expanding what we’ve built. Share this message with your friends and ask them to join you in supporting the cause.
You can reach people we can’t.
Every donation, every share, every story you tell helps grow this community. You’re protecting the progress we’ve made and helping shape what comes next.
Oakland’s animals need your help now more than ever. Stand up for them.
Learn more by attending an upcoming FOAS town hall meeting! Register here.
How You Can Help
Donate. A few generous FOAS supporters have pledged to match up to $130,000 for donations made between May 16 to June 15, 2025. Make a one-time or recurring donation today and your contribution will be doubled.
Become a fundraiser. Over 50 individuals and teams are fundraising on behalf of FOAS to help reach new supporters. Please join them and reach out to your network to provide more support. A helpful toolkit and other materials to help you get started can be found here.
Volunteer. Outreach volunteers make a big impact by tabling at events to help increase awareness of FOAS, and the impact that FOAS makes for animals through our partnership with OAS.
Host a house party. If you know people in Oakland who might be interested in learning more about and supporting this work, please consider hosting a low-key gathering at your home and invite us to come by to speak. Meeting animal lovers in small groups has been an effective way to share this message and address common questions. We can also speak at your neighborhood meetings, club meetings, etc.
Put up a yard sign. In the next few weeks, FOAS will have yard signs available for you to show your support. Sign up to receive updates on when the yard signs are available.
Share this message with anyone you think might be interested. As an organization, we have a limited reach. We need to address this moment as a community. Please help us reach people we can’t.
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