Ten years ago, a small group of friends pooled their resources to get a disabled Blue and Gold macaw out of a bad situation and on to a better life. Since then, The Parrot Posse has become a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit with over four thousand people doing the same to help out parrots in need across the country. We are all volunteer, with no salaries, and virtually no overhead expenses.
In the past few years, The Parrot Posse has raised over $275,000, mostly $10 and $20 at a time, and donated over $500,000 worth of food, toys, nuts, perches, cages, and other supplies to dozens of parrot welfare groups. We have also helped out with supplies after large seizures, and natural disasters. After hurricanes Harvey and Irma, in 2017, we partnered with a parrot food company and paid to ship several thousand pounds of donated food to those in need, and most years we provide help for three to six large seizures of abused parrots. We have now sent help to parrots in every one of the lower 48 states, and we help literally thousands of birds each year.
We document how all donations are spent by posting receipts and invoices showing what we bought, what we spent, and where it was sent. While we have a number of dealer/distributor accounts, we always shop around to be sure we are buying at the best price. The Parrot Posse has always been completely transparent: you deserve to know how your money is spent. In addition to our IRS 990s, we post an annual report on our Facebook group each year, showing all our incomes sources, and how it was spent.
For over a decade, The Parrot Posse has proven that by working together, we can make far more of a difference than when we work alone. While the Posse started out as a handful of people gathering up donations to save one bird, it has grown into something so much bigger, but with the same goal: we may not be able to save all parrots, but “We can help this one!” Our goal for the future is to expand our ability to help people helping parrots.