Palomacy Saves Domestic Pigeons & Doves 2023

Dear Reader,  

You are a Palomacy donor and so it is you making everything we do possible. 

Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions rescues birds by the grace of our donors. We don’t charge for our services, though we do ask for donations because the services we provide aren’t free. We employ two (very) full-time staff to coordinate more than 100 highly effective, skilled volunteers to assist every step of the way as we save hundreds of birds and educate thousands of people every year. (See What Is All This Palomacy, Anyway?) Our vet bills alone average $8K a month. Palomacy bills will be at least $250K this year—but that only coves the expenses we pay for! Our work is largely subsidized by the incredible generosity of our volunteers who donate not only so much time and labor (and blood and sweat and tears) but who also cover the in-kind costs for everything from gas and tolls to foster-cage buying, aviary building, bird food, pigeon pants, and so much more. 

Palomacy’s donors and volunteers provide the foundation for everything we are able to do, for every plea we answer, and every life we help.

We have two big shifts to tell you about. Both are how we will stay aloft to continue doing this unique, important work ever better.

The first is a paradigm shift from scarcity to abundance. Instead of trying so hard (and unsuccessfully) to limit the number of birds we rescue to fit within our funding, we are going to increase our funding to better fit the need. We need more and we're going to ask for more. We are already doing everything we can to prevent a bird from needing rescue. And we are doing everything we can to build up the capacity of fellow rescuers, shelters and sanctuaries so that they can help more pigeons and doves. But, when a bird is referred to us and the options are we say no and they go unhelped or we say yes and seek more money, we are going to say yes. And going forward, we're going to do so without the anguish we have been putting ourselves through. Turning a bird away without a placement is no option at all.

And, as a long-time supporter of Palomacy, I know that you will appreciate this exciting news: On March 2nd, 2023, Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions, after being fiscally sponsored for 15 years (three by Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue & twelve with Community Initiatives), is now the independent nonprofit public charity that we have long aspired to be! THANK YOU FOR LIFTING US ALL THE WAY UP!

What’s New, Changing and Staying the Same with Palomacy Now?

What’s staying the same:

Palomacy’s mission is unchanged and our passion for this work has only been strengthened by the progress we are seeing! Our purpose is saving lives by closing the deadly gap in the animal welfare community that for too long has endangered and abandoned domestic pigeons and doves. Palomacy provides advocacy, education, rescue, coaching, referrals, veterinary care, foster and forever homes. Our programmatic work isn’t changing. Staying the same are our:

+ Purpose, people, programs and practices!

+ Website at www.PigeonRescue.org including all of our articles and stories (updates needed have been made)

+ GlobalGiving donor platform (all changes were made internally, no donor action required)

+ Our social media (@PigeonDiplomacy for Instagram and Twitter) and our Palomacy Help Group and Facebook Fan Page are the same

What’s changing: 

Our administrative processes have changed. We have spun off from being a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives (CI) and are now, as our own nonprofit, tax exempt public charity, taking over, with the professional support of virtual bookkeepping firm Good Steward Financial Company, the accounting, payroll, benefits, and tax reporting responsibilities CI had fulfilled. Checks and invoices can now be made out directly to Palomacy and sent to our same PO Box 24585, SF CA 94124.

+ Palomacy donations will no longer incur a 10% fiscal sponsorship fee

+ Employer matching plans need to be updated, changing our name by removing Community Initiatives/CI and switching to our EIN: 87-2836252, Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions

+ If your estate plan makes a bequest to Palomacy, you’ll need to update it the same way, removing Community Initiatives/CI from our name and switching to our EIN: 87-2836252, Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions

+ If you want a free and easy way to write or update your legal will, you can use FreeWill.com and if you want to direct a planned gift to help the birds, all the info you need to include is: Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions, EIN: 87-2836252, PO Box 24585, San Francisco, CA 94124


What’s new:

As an independent nonprofit, we are able utilize resources that we previously could not access through our fiscal sponsor’s status. For example, we:

+ Qualify for Facebook and Instagram fundraisers (no fees!)

+ Qualify for TechSoup, Google for Nonprofits, etc.

+ Qualify for nonprofit US Postal Services (thank you, Heather)

+ Can receive money as a PayPal Charity low fee account

+ Can receive money as a Venmo Charity low fee account

+ Expand our range of potential grant and donor sources

In the past month, Palomacy urgently needed $18K to clear our 2022 revenue shortfall. Five extremely generous and fast-acting emergency donors ransomed us from our debt while our ongoing supporters covered about $17K for the current monthly expenses. Then our biggest donor, Craig Newmark, invested $25K in Palomacy’s future, supporting our launch as an independent, nonprofit public charity. So, we are funded through the end of this month and we need your donations for April and beyond. Your support is always generous, And we need you more than ever. Please give now.

Every day, we are challenged to help the birds and people who depend on us. We are able to be here, doing this wholesome work, thanks to you.

Links:

• A Life Worth Saving: Moose's Story
• Freedom Thanks You