We Have Raised $271,831.00 for The Donkey Project!

Let's Keep it Going--Just $15 Can Help One Donkey.

On July 1, we announced " The Donkey Project", an annual campaign to raise $1.5 million by June 30, 2024, helping 100,000 working donkeys worldwide.

Over the last three months we have raised $271,831, essentially helping more than 18,120 donkeys. We are 18% of the way to reaching our goal!

Thank you!

For 600 million people in some of the poorest places in the world, 100 million donkeys and other equines are the backbone of communities and their best means of making a living. Without healthy working donkeys, people would not be able to put food on their tables, send their children to school or build better futures for themselves and their families.

The impact of your donation:

$15.00 - Helps One Donkey

$45.00 - Helps 3 Donkeys

$150.00 - Helps 10 Donkeys

$300.00 - Helps 20 Donkeys

$750.00 - Helps 50 Donkeys

$1,500.00 - Helps 100 Donkeys

Will you help us reach the next goal of $500,000 by the end of December? That will mark 33% of the fundraising goal and will benefit more than 33,330 working donkeys.

Read down to the bottom of the newsletter to learn how you can help the most working equines this fast approaching holiday season.

We Raised $17,000 for the Moroccan Emergency Earthquake Relief Fund!

We did it!

Thanks to your kind support, Brooke USA raised $17,000 for our Moroccan Emergency Earthquake Relief Fund. We have already transferred your donations to SPANA, our on-the-ground partner, so that funds can be used to aid these incredible working equines as soon as possible. We know SPANA is finding many working horses, donkeys and mules who haven't had a day of rest since the September 8th earthquake. These animals are being cared for with water, feed and shelter while being treated for lameness and harness wounds. 

We are so proud of our generous donors who know how vital working animals can be to recovery and relief efforts after disaster strikes.  Donkeys have been the invisible heroes of the Morocco earthquake recovery process – reaching remote communities in the high Atlas Mountains where the normal modes of access have been severed. 

Restoring livelihoods for the most vulnerable disaster survivors – both human and animal – is at the heart of Brooke USA’s mission.  We could not do this work without our fantastic donors like you. To learn more about Brooke USA's disaster relief work please visit Brooke USA Emergencies.

See the letter of thanks from SPANA's CEO, Linda Edwards, below.

Brooke USA Foundation (Brooke USA) recently hosted its second National Advocacy Days on October 26 and 27 in Washington, DC. These Advocacy Days served as a cornerstone of Brooke USA’s 2023 advocacy program focused on banning the import and sale of ejiao in the United States while giving Board members, friends, and supporters the chance to meet with their Members of Congress.

Advocates helped educate Congressional representatives about the issues facing working equines and their families in vulnerable communities across the world, especially as it relates to the production of ejiao, a gelatin-based traditional Chinese medicine derived from boiling the hides of donkeys.

During the meetings, advocates sought support for the re-introduction of the “Ejiao Act” (H.R. 6021). This legislation, originally introduced in 2021, as H.R. 5203 and now H.R. 6021 by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), would prohibit the transport, sale, and purchase of ejiao products, as well as donkeys and donkey hides to produce ejiao. This legislation mirrors the penalties under the Lacey Act — widely regarded as one the strongest federal laws in the United States to protect a wide range of species from illegal trade and exploitation.

The Ejiao Act would restrict trade on all ejiao products made from donkey skins, which are decimating the species’ global population and threatening the impoverished families and communities who rely on them. Hundreds of millions of people, in some of the most impoverished parts of the world, rely on donkeys for survival, donkeys are a major part of the working livestock sector and support the livelihoods of millions of people in developing countries from farming to construction to hauling goods. Unfortunately, with the booming demand for ejiao products in China decimating the world’s donkey populations, global prices have increased. Today, it has become increasingly difficult for owners to replace their animals when they are killed or stolen.

“It is imperative that our nation’s policymakers learn how the shock of losing a donkey can destroy a person’s livelihood and push them further into poverty,” said Jim Hamilton, DVM, Chair of the Board of Directors of Brooke USA.

Brooke USA provides an easy online platform to write to Members of Congress directly; visit The Ejiao Act today to send your letter of support and to see the full Ejiao Act. Learn more about the Ejiao Act on November 9, when you join the Homes for Horses Coalition and Brooke USA for a free webinar. More information below!

The Fall season for Brooke USA kicked off with two amazing events in the Carolinas. Divertimentos & Dressage, presented by the Joe R & Joella F Utley Foundation Inc, returned to Tryon, North Carolina, on Thursday, October 19 with an outstanding lineup of Grand Prix Dressage riders. The event also featured the inaugural debut of the Dorothy Brooke Orchestra, led by music director and conductor Kyle Elgarten. The event was a tremendous success with more than $88,000 raised towards Brooke USA's mission by the Foothills Regional Advisory Council, led by Chair of the Council and Brooke USA Board Member Sally Frick. 

Only a couple of days later, in Aiken, South Carolina, Ponies & Pearls took the stage at the Newbridge Polo & Country Club. Now in its third year, the event has grown and become a staple of the Aiken community. Ponies & Pearls is the brainchild of Aiken Regional Advisory Council Chair and board member Katie Roth. From the Women's Polo Tournament to the signature drinks and silent auction, the event raised an estimated $34,000 with a portion benefiting the Aiken Equine Rescue. Mint Eco Carwash and Spencer Ranch battled on the field. However, Spencer Ranch took the final prize, with presenting sponsor, Lynne Rubino of Equestrian Trends & Trading Company presenting the trophies.

Thank you to everyone who supported! We look forward to sharing the full galleries on our event page at www.BrookeUSAEvents.org in the upcoming days. To see the video coverage of Ponies & Pearls, please click here.

We did it! Thanks to your reviews, we have achieved Top-Rated status for 2023 from GreatNonprofits. Brooke USA is one of the distinguished few to receive this community endorsement. Thank you to everyone who left a review.

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