Philanthropic foundation meeting — serious discussion about high-leverage giving

For Funders

The highest-leverage bet in companion animal philanthropy.

A coordinated commitment of 10% of companion animal philanthropic capital could fund the breakthrough that changes the lives of hundreds of millions of animals. Here's what that looks like in practical terms.

The Opportunity

Why this is the right bet.

Philanthropy has a structural advantage that commercial R&D does not: it can absorb risk, accept longer time horizons, and pursue outcomes that have no viable commercial return. Nonsurgical companion animal contraception and sterilization are precisely that kind of opportunity.

The commercial market will never spearhead this work at the scale required. The animals who need it most — free-roaming cats and dogs around the world, feral populations in urban environments — represent no obvious revenue opportunity. The clearest path to a deployed, accessible product will be led by philanthropic capital.

The ROI framing for this investment is not financial. It is population level. A single successful product, deployed at scale, could reduce the free-roaming companion animal population by tens of millions within a decade — reducing suffering, disease transmission, human-animal conflict, and the downstream costs borne by communities worldwide.

Researcher working in laboratory — scientific rigor at the core of Breakthrough10

Our Process

Our team works closely with scientists and research institutions around the world to advance technologies that might otherwise struggle to attract traditional research or commercial investment. We will also increasingly be relying on experts with regards to regulatory processes and hurdles, getting to market, and financial innovation to help inform the long view.

We emphasize scientific rigor, flexibility, and accountability — allowing research priorities and resources to evolve as evidence emerges.

Our objective is not simply to fund research, but to move promising science towards safe, effective, affordable, and scalable solutions.

Tiered funding model

Where your capital will go.

Seed

$50K–$1M

Breakthrough10's anchor funder, the Amber & Adam Tarshis Foundation, has already spent 5 years and millions of dollars investing in the scientific infrastructure and ecosystem to identify and pursue some plausible solutions. In November of this year, the first canine trials begin in Dominica where invaluable information will be gained around the safety and efficacy of 4 GNrH vaccines. In parallel, Breakthrough10 will be exploring various tiered funding models which would be applicable to any breakthrough. This is an exciting time to join a collective of people working tirelessly together to address the root cause of animal overpopulation. All potential pathways and solutions will be continuously assessed with the same level of rigor.

Outcomes

Canine trial results and decision-making around length of trials (range: 2 months to 2 years)

Publish research establishing scientific findings

A clear go/no-go decision framework for preclinical investment

Continuous evaluation of plausible pathways/solutions

Preclinical

$1M–$10M

Fund ongoing preclinical safety and efficacy studies, formulation development, and early manufacturing process work. This is the stage where promising candidates become viable products — and where the funding gap is most acute.

Outcomes

Safety and dosing data across diverse companion animal populations

Formulation suitable for field deployment, including oral delivery

A regulatory pathway engagement with USDA CVB and EPA

Clinical

$10M–$30M

Fund field trials, regulatory submissions, and the manufacturing scale-up required to bring a product to market. This is the largest single investment stage — and the one that converts scientific proof of concept into a deployable product.

Outcomes

Field trial data across multiple geographies and population types

Regulatory approval pathway established or achieved

Manufacturing partnerships and distribution infrastructure in place

Scale

$30M–$50M+

Fund global deployment, distribution partnerships with animal welfare organizations, and the ongoing manufacturing required to reach population-level impact. This is where the investment pays off — at the scale of hundreds of millions of animals.

Outcomes

Global distribution through established welfare organization networks

Population-level fertility reduction in target geographies

A self-sustaining model for ongoing production and deployment

Our Principles

What we believe about philanthropic capital.

The biggest risk in philanthropy is not going far enough.

A 10% commitment to breakthrough R&D does not jeopardize the other 90% of companion animal philanthropy. It extends its reach.

Patience is a competitive advantage.

Commercial R&D operates on 3–5 year return horizons. Philanthropy can commit to 5–10 year timelines. That patience is precisely what breakthrough biotech requires — and what the commercial world will not provide.

Coordination multiplies impact.

A single $1M grant is admirable. A coordinated $10M+ commitment from ten funders is transformative. A key goal of Breakthrough10 is to catalyze and guide increased philanthropic investment, while also seeking to leverage it to unlock other forms of capital.

Get in Touch

Start a conversation.

If you are a philanthropic funder, foundation, or major donor interested in learning more about this work — or in discussing what a partnership commitment could look like — we want to hear from you.

→Read the full case →Explore the science