Annual Review

As one of our board members wrote just today..."Save Our Seabirds is doing fine...but we could always be better."

• We raised $180,000 this year to build 6 new aviaries. The new habitats will serve as a model for how we will make much needed campus improvements in coming years.
• We had a record breaking Sunset Soiree - raising over $525,000. Much of that money went into the Capital Fund account.
• We grew our Capital Fund to $1.2 Million. This money will be used to build a new Hospital and rebuild the entire campus in coming years, and cannot be used to cover operating expenses.
• The General Operating Fund LOST money. Increased expenses, combined with a noticeable drop in regular giving will leave us with a LOSS for the year in our General Operating Funds. Would you consider a generous year end gift to get us over the top?

The "Wild Bird Learning Center" is the "public" face of our organization. Sometimes it has been called "the birdwalk," or even a "living museum." This part of our facility is licensed with United States Fish and Wildlife.

• Expanded Education Programs: We greatly expanded our Educational program...including new signs, visual learning aids, a docent cart, and educational props.
• More tours and events: We scheduled more learning activities and tours - and will be publishing events on our website and Facebook to increase participation. We've had 1300+ people participate in educational programs in the past 6 months.
• Ambassador Training: We are training our resident birds daily to be able to participate in educational programs.
• Improving our "Welcome:" We've added new signage at the entrances, including flags and updated information.
• Daily Enrichment Activities: We've increased and improved daily enrichment activities for all birds - increasing and improving their quality of life.
• Community Outreach: We've begun participating in more community events - actively educating the community about our organization and inviting them to visit and get involved.

We continue to move forward with a desire for excellence and an expectation of growth. We have many improvement initiatives currently underway...

Increasing Capacity:

• Engaging the services of Mark Sultana at DSDG Architects to help us create a Master Plan for our Campus.
• Re-opening the Gift Shop on Campus
• Currently creating an improved SOS Website
• Currently creating a new smart phone app for visitors
• Establishing additional ways for campus visitors to give - including Apply Pay, text to give, Venmo, Cash App, and more
• Exploring a creative new fundraising event for 2024
• Speaking with Pepsi to provide us with a drink vending option
• Engaging a new volunteer with extensive financial experience (Retired CPA and Controller) to help us with in-office financial processes

Improving Efficiency:

• Working with Marine Exploration Center to improve pool drainage from our aviaries
• Upgrading office equipment, including copiers and phone system
• Transitioning to a new Customer Relations Database

Implementing Best Practices:

• Installing new signage and enhancing our entrance to make it more appealing and inviting
• Expanding our Wi-Fi signal across the entire campus
• Installing security cameras throughout campus
• Revamping our HR policies and creating an Employee Handbook
• Upgrading our banking practices to use features like reverse positive pay, ACH, Wires, Real Time payments, etc.
• Started a humane trapping program to deal with unwanted campus pests and visitors - 60+ and counting since October.
• Increasing and enhancing our Social Media strategy to better utilize our 10,000+ followers on FB and others.