Articles on: Stewardship

What is animal sponsorship?

Sponsoring an animal means you help pay for its care each month. The person or group that looks after it keeps ownership and every care decision, and you get regular updates with photos in return.

On Creatures, the person or organization that looks after the animal is its caretaker. Anyone who owns or co-owns an animal on Creatures can open a sponsorship for it.

How a sponsorship is set up

The caretaker enters what the animal's care really costs each month and how many people can share that cost. Each share is called a place. The price of a place is the care cost split evenly between the places, rounded up to the next dollar. A place is never less than $5 a month.

With one place, one person becomes the animal's steward and covers all of its care. With two or more places, the stewards together form the animal's circle.

The animal's profile shows how much of its care is covered, what the care costs, and how often the caretaker posts updates.

Petunia's circle panel showing 6 of 8 places filled, a $400 monthly care cost, two supporters and a Sponsor Petunia button

Stewards and supporters

There are two ways to sponsor:

A steward holds one place. Stewards pay each month, or pay for 12 months at once when the caretaker offers that.
A supporter gives any amount from $5 to $10,000, each month or one time. Supporters don't take a place, so they can give even when a circle is full. The profile shows supporters only as a count.

Anything above the animal's care cost helps the other animals in the caretaker's care. To see how places fill up and what happens when a circle is full, read How circles, places, and supporters work.

What sponsors get

Updates with photos on the schedule the caretaker promised, such as every 2 weeks. They arrive by email and stay on the animal's profile.
Private notes from the caretaker. These go to stewards only.
Your name on the profile, or stay private. Stewards choose how their name shows.
Any extras the caretaker lists, such as a visit day each spring.

What sponsorship doesn't do

Sponsoring doesn't make you an owner. You don't get custody, breeding rights or a say in the animal's care.

Health and care records that the caretaker marked private stay private. Stewards see them only if the caretaker turns on Show private records to stewards, and supporters never do. While an animal has sponsors, its profile stays public.

Every sponsorship panel has a What to know section that sums this up before you pay.

What to know list explaining that sponsoring doesn't transfer ownership and that payments stop if Petunia is adopted, released, moves or dies

Fees

Sponsors pay a 5% service fee on top of what they give. You see the exact fee before you pay. For a $50 place, it's $2.50 a month.

Caretakers pay a 5% fee out of each payment. That fee is waived when Creatures Pro covers the caretaker: their own plan, or Pro shared between an organization and its owners or co-owners. Sponsorship payments are processed by Creatures and aren't tax-deductible donations.

When a sponsorship ends

Monthly sponsors can stop at any time. A steward keeps their place until the end of the month they already paid for. Then it opens for someone else.
12-month sponsors stay until their end date. You can leave early, but your place opens right away.
If the animal is adopted, released, moves or passes away, sponsors hear about it right away and payments stop. Read When a sponsored animal is adopted, released, moves, or passes away.
The caretaker can also end a sponsorship. Sponsors hear about it right away, and payments stop.

Nothing is refunded when a sponsorship ends. The last payment still goes to the care of the caretaker's animals.

Updated on: 05/11/2026

Was this article helpful?

Thank you!