Back in April we kicked off our annual 2021 Design for Good Community Grant by calling for applicants from around the state. Now in its fifth year, we created the Design for Good Community Grant as an additional outlet for us to focus our in-kind work and have dedicated time and space for creating something impactful for the grantees and their communities. Through the grant, we offer up to $25,000 in web design and branding services from Third Sun to help community-builders further their mission.
Selecting a grantee is always tough since Utah is home to a multitude of fantastic organizations. We had 17 applicants and selected a grantee not only working hard to improve people’s lives, but the lives of animals as well. This year’s grantee is Underdog Animal Rescue and Rehab!
Our second grantee based in Moab and our first animal care organization, Underdog works within the Native American reservations in the Four Corners region to provide animal transportation, veterinary care, spay/neuter and vaccination clinics, and adoption services. This region — and reservations in general — is seriously underserved in many ways, including animal care resources like vets or animal control. Underdog’s work is largely in the Navajo Nation, the country’s largest reservation. It’s roughly the size of West Virginia, and home to an estimated 250,000 stray dogs, but only has two veterinarians — making animal care extremely difficult for residents.
Underdog is the only Utah rescue dedicated solely to helping these animals, and in addition, they also collect and distribute donations for the communities on the reservations. Underdog’s founder, Katy Gullette, shared with us that she hopes for a future where the people living in the Four Corners reservations have so much support, stability, and resources that they are better equipped to help the animals their community cares deeply about, and Underdog’s work will become unnecessary.
All of us at Third Sun were moved by the tenacious spirit and deep compassion that the small but capable Underdog team brings to their work. The more they shared their story and goals with us, the more we knew they were the right pick for this grant. Read more about them and the site we created for them in our portfolio writeup.