Programs and results
What we aim to solve
While parrots are loved for their beauty and their ability to speak, they do not make the best pets for many people for a variety of reasons, including longevity: many species of parrots can enjoy a human life span, and outlive even the best owners. Each year, an unknown number of parrots end up in temporary or permanent care in shelters and sanctuaries, and many are also seized from dire circumstances by law enforcement agencies. Most shelters need assistance with both parrot necessities and some "luxuries," and most animal control agencies are not equipped to care for these birds without outside help, which means all too often the agency will seize the dogs and cats, but leave the birds behind. Whether the birds are being held by law enforcement, individuals, or groups, they need food, cages, vet care, etc, all of which is expensive and resources for their care tend to be limited.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
2021
In 2021, The Parrot Posse continued its mission to help parrots awaiting for new homes by donating roughly 8 tons of high quality parrot food and in shell nuts, to over four dozen parrot welfare programs. We also supplied new cages, Austin Air Allergy Machines, Sweeter Heater heating panels, oxygen concentrators, toys, and other necessities to help thousands of parrots across the country.
Helping the Dothan AL flock
In March 2017, animal control raided a puppy mill and in addition to 64 bulldogs, 16 large macaws were seized. The Parrot Posse bought and shipped a large walk-in aviary for . family of five macaws, so the three chicks could safely learn to fly. For six months, we also sent many pounds of inshell nuts, including macadamias for the five Hyacinth macaws, and dozens of large toys for the flock to enjoy. In September, the courts determined the former owners would never get these birds back, and they are now settling in at the Columbus, Ohio, zoo.
Animal Rescue League Pittsburg (cockatiels and finches)
In 2017, the Animal Rescue League of Pittsburgh was asked to help an individual whose handful of cockatiels had bred until the flock was 187 birds, living uncaged in an attic. We had worked with ARL . A few months earlier when they took in 148 parakeets, and we again helped by shipping a pallet full of double-wide flight cages, an Austin Air HEPA filter, food, perches, and hundreds of toys. When Phoenix Landing, and Feathered Sanctuary, each took in dozens of these birds to help re-home them, we provided still more cages, perches, food and toys to these organizations to help care for them as they awaited new home.
Fresno County and Inland Valley CA
June 2017 brought us hundreds of little birds again in back to back California cases. The first, in Fresno, involved a large rental truck literally packed with a few chickens, ducklings, "pocket pets," and hundreds of small parrots. The total count was over a thousand animals. The bird count was over 600 and so yes, another pallet load of double flight cages, food, Nutriberries, and toys. A call to Leach Mills to buy food ended up very well because by the time I hung up, they had agreed to provide food for ALL the animals that could use their products, which was pretty much all of them!
Before the figurative smoke had cleared from that, Inland Valley CA found itself dealing with about as many birds. This time, some person had them flying around loose in a strip mall office/warehouse. Gave them a call, put them on to Leach Mills in the hopes they'd come through again for food, and suggested they check with Fresno and see if they could borrow some of "our" cages. We also sent food, millet, and toys.
Carolina Parrots Re-Homed
January 2017 found us helping Carolina Parrots Re-homed after another group took custody of some seized macaws, raised a lot of money using their sad story, then handed them off to CPR with no donated funds for their care. We helped by paying $500 for an ABVP-board certified avian vet to check them out and provide her top-notch care and guidance, especially for Meeko, a hybrid macaw who has no feet. (Meeko has been adopted and is doing great!). Plus a bunch of supplies.
2019 Seizures
The year has been notable for a large number of hoarding cases, law enforcement and animal control seizures, and the sudden "dumping" of birds on regional rescues and humane services.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of people on the organization's email list
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We use an email list solely to alert people to upcoming fundraisers.
Number of overall donors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Each year we add new members and donors.
Total dollars received in contributions
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We measure out growth in several ways, but annual donations is our primary metric. Our annual donations in, and help distributed, has steadily grown.
Number of animal clinics/shelters improved as a direct result of the nonprofit's efforts
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Parrot Posse helps parrot shelters and sanctuaries in the United States by easing some of the financial burden with our donations of supplies. We also hope to see more law enforcement agencies realize that when they find parrots and other animals in dire circumstances, they should not remove the dogs and cats and leave the parrots behind because they don't have supplies on hand to hold these birds while the legal process plays out in the courts. We have provided caging, food, toys, and when requested, parrot care advice for many agencies across the United States, from Maine to Florida, and New Jersey to Oregon with literally tons of food, nuts, and other necessities. Most recently (September, 2017,) we partnered with Lafeber Company to ship over five thousand pounds of high quality parrot food to birds left in need after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in Texas and Florida.
In 2019, we worked with 19 separate animal control agencies in 16 states, by providing cages, food, toys, vet care and other necessities for almost 900 parrots. While seizures usually make up about 10% of our budget, in 2019, they cost us almost a third!
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We hope to gain more members through our presence on Facebook and our ongoing missions, and to continue to fundraise so we can provide more help. We also will be seeking additional relationships with parrot supply companies, and manufacturers, so we can stretch our donated dollars by buying at wholesale prices, as we already do with several companies. We hope to partner when we can with companies, which is how during the hurricanes of September 2017, we were able to partner with a parrot food manufacturer to deliver 5,000 pounds of food to hungry parrots in TX and FL. We have asked those law enforcement and animal control agencies we assist with seized parrots to let others in their field know about us, and our willingness to provide the often expensive and sometimes hard to find supplies these birds require, as well as expert advice on their care if requested.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We have increased our donations steadily for the past five years and as a (501)(c)(3), and eligible for matching donations from employers as well as, obviously, being tax-deductible. We continue to have successful fundraisers and both regular and new donors. Each new and successful '"mission" raises our profile in the parrot welfare community as more people see that their donations to our group are used wisely, and all income and expenses are documented regularly, not just annually, and proven with receipts and invoices. We are also operating with virtually no overhead, no expenses, no administrative fees, no salaries, only a few filing fees required by the state, and some shipping costs for our raffle and auction items. This way, virtually every donated dollar is used for mission purposes. In order to be able to respond instantly in emergencies, especially law enforcement seizures, we always keep some funds in reserve.
We are also now searching for grant sources, though most are geared towards dogs and cats, not parrots.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have grown from six friends chipping in to buy a blind bird out of a bad situation to a group of over four thousand people that raised over fifty thousand dollars in 2017, and used those funds to buy twice that value of supplies that we sent to bird groups and law enforcement agencies from ME to FL, to CA and OR and points in between. We have helped provide food, toys, and caging for 1000s of birds seized by law enforcement as their cases worked their way through the courts, and we have helped 1000s more in parrot re-homing groups and sanctuaries. We have also helped some individuals dealing with unexpected hard times, so they could keep their birds rather than surrender them to an already crowded parrot welfare facility. We are also all advocates for more education about living with parrots and working to reduce the numbers of parrots needing help, but since parrots are so long-lived, our aging population will keep parrot welfare organizations full for the foreseeable future.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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The Parrot Posse
Board of directorsas of 04/20/2022
Judith R Archer
Nancy Walker
Theresa Packard
Bonnie Grafton
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Not applicable -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Not applicable -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data