Last winter, “in celebration of National Bird Day and in support of those organizations providing sanctuary or rescuing and re-homing homeless pet birds”  the ASPCA issued a call for proposals to improve the welfare of birds at risk and to save more lives. The ASPCA awarded a total of $30,000 in avian rescue grants nationwide and MickaCoo was extremely honored and proud to receive $5,000 to Rehabilitate & Rehome 20 Domestic Pigeons & Doves that would have otherwise been killed in shelters.

Here is our final Grant Report on this effort.

I’m having a very difficult time separating out the impact that this grant made on our efforts but I will do my best! I can definitively say that we succeeded in our promise to Rehabilitate & Rehome 20 Domestic Pigeons and Doves That Would Be Euthanized in Shelters

The first impact of the ASPCA grant was to strongly encourage us in our efforts to help these birds that are so typically overlooked and underserved. We are so proud to have been honored with this grant! We were very aware that a great many wonderful bird rescues were vying for a limited amount of funds and to have $5,000 of the $30,000 award invested in our little grass-roots rescue means a great deal to us. Thank you! The validation we gained from your grant is priceless.

The second impact was to provide a cash balance with which to sustain our work as we pursue and generate additional support. Your grant literally helped to keep our rescue alive. Thank you! We are in a time of challenging transition and, while we’ve more than doubled our donations from individuals, it is still not yet enough to cover our costs and so receiving a check for $5000 (10% of our total revenue for this FY, 8% of our costs) meant a lot in our ability to continue.

The third impact was that we were able to do the work that we are doing and which no one else in this area is and, in so doing, during the period of this grant (February through August of this year) we saved the lives of 56 domestic/unreleasable pigeons and doves that otherwise would have been killed for lack of homes and/or vet care, by bringing them into our foster care network!

RESCUED!
Charlie (deceased)
Lovie (adopted)
Bobby (deceased)
Snowflower (fostered, bonded with Moonshine)
Tesla (adopted)
Pidge (deceased)
Clover (adopted)
Ed (fostered, bonded with Uno)
Carlie (fostered, bonded with Buster)
Amity (adopted)
George (adopted)
Sally (adopted)
Honky (adopted)
Rambo (fostered, Special Needs)
Rocky 2 (fostered, bonded with Snow)
Tweedle (adopted)
Juliet (fostered)
Madalyn (fostered, bonded with Elsa)
Muriel (adopted, bonded to Beethoven)
Charlotte (fostered, bonded with Chanel)
Fred (fostered, bonded with Freckles)
Beethoven (adopted, bonded to Muriel)
Melvin (deceased)
Moby (fostered)
Moonshine (fostered, bonded with Snowflower)
Mr. & Mrs. Blue (adopted)
Mr. & Mrs. Green (adopted)
Persian High Flyer Flock (9, fostered)
Raquel (fostered, bonded with Ace)
Sam & Lana (fostered)
Pedro (adopted)
Buzz (adopted)
Elsa (fostered, bonded with Madalyn)
Dusty (fostered)
Slick (fostered)
Meulin (fostered, bonded with Jitsu)
Saraphin (fostered, Special Needs)
Gemini (fostered)
Mighty (fosterd, bonded with Minnie)
Minnie (fostered, bonded with Mighty)

During that same period, 46 pigeons & doves (not necessarily the same ones- some of our birds are fostered for many months before being adopted) were placed by MickaCoo into carefully screened, educated and supported non-breeding, non-sporting forever homes!

ADOPTED!
Buzz (Dove) on 2013-08-31
Lulu (bonded with Sprite) (Pigeon) on 2013-08-22
Sprite (bonded with Lulu) (Pigeon) on 2013-08-22
Cookie (Pigeon) on 2013-08-22
George (Pigeon) on 2013-08-22
Feathers (Pigeon) on 2013-08-19
Lovie (Pigeon) on 2013-08-17
Robbie (bonded with Stanley) (Pigeon) on 2013-08-10
Mr. & Mrs. Blue (Pigeon) on 2013-08-07
Mr. & Mrs. Green (Pigeon) on 2013-08-07
Lopez (bonded with Dot) (Pigeon) on 2013-07-27
Dot (bonded with Lopez) (Pigeon) on 2013-07-27
Ed (bonded with Lulu) (Pigeon) on 2013-07-14
Muriel (bonded to Beethoven) (Dove) on 2013-07-14
Beethoven (bonded to Muriel) (Dove) on 2013-07-14
Honky (Dove) on 2013-05-09
Opal (bonded with Pretzel) (Pigeon) on 2013-04-28
Pretzel (Pigeon) on 2013-04-28
Sugar Pea (bonded with Pretzel) (Pigeon) on 2013-04-22
Pretzel (bonded with Sugar Pea) (Pigeon) on 2013-04-22
Tweedle (Pigeon) on 2013-04-20
Sasha (friends with Sissy) (Dove) on 2013-04-14
Sissy (friends with Sasha) (Dove) on 2013-04-14
Sally (Dove) on 2013-04-14
Kishu (bonded with Miso) (Dove) on 2013-04-13
Miso (bonded with Kishu) (Dove) on 2013-04-13
Monty & Thomy (Dove) on 2013-04-13
Cosmo (Pigeon) on 2013-04-06
Amity (Pigeon) on 2013-04-06
Clyde (Pigeon) on 2013-03-04
Faye (Pigeon) on 2013-02-17
Tex (Pigeon) on 2013-02-17
Tesla (Pigeon) on 2013-02-16
Robin (Pigeon) on 2013-02-15
Frankie (Pigeon) on 2013-02-15
Melody (bonded with Junior) (Pigeon) on 2013-02-15
Summer (Pigeon) on 2013-02-15
Junior (bonded with Melody) (Pigeon) on 2013-02-15
Sweets (Pigeon) on 2013-02-15
Walker (Pigeon) on 2013-02-15
Chester (Pigeon) on 2013-02-15
Avery (Dove) on 2013-02-15
Faith (Dove) on 2013-02-01

And, while those new birds were being taken into our care and the adoptions were being developed, we sustained high quality, personal care of our ongoing foster case load (approximately 100 birds at any given time). During that time, we also participated in approximately 35 in-person & bird outreach and humane education events, connecting with many hundreds of people on behalf of pigeons and doves plus we also reached many thousands through the magic of social media and the internet. Additionally, we counseled and provided referrals, resources, introductions and care coaching for a great many other birds all over the country (and some outside of the US).

Part of the challenge in assessing your grant’s impact is how to measure it. This grant provided for 10% of a year’s revenue, covered 8% of a year’s expenses and spanned 7 months of the year… I believe that any way in which it is considered, the grant’s impact was profound and successful.

Our expenses are fairly simple- we spend about 60% of our revenue on salary & benefits for 1 full time director, 30% for avian vet care and supplies and 10% to our fiscal agent for general & administrative expense.

We tell our donors- You are giving a lot more than money when you support MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue. You are creating an alchemy wherein a donation becomes a hotline to coach a Good Samaritan through what to do when they’ve found an injured pigeon crouching on the sidewalk. You’re organizing teams of volunteers who, every weekend, will introduce hundreds of people to who pigeons really are. You’re helping MickaCoo to provide 365 day a year care to more than 100 foster pigeons and doves that would otherwise have been killed. You’re supporting humane education, adoption development and support, trainings for shelter staff and volunteers and a whole lot more. Together, we are reducing cruelty and increasing compassion. Thank you!

Foundation funds for animal rescue are scarce and grants for birds even more so. MickaCoo welcomes referrals to potential foundation partners with which to do this life-saving, culture-changing work.