AMERICAN HERITAGE WILDLIFE FOUNDATION 2016 ANNUAL
REPORT
American Heritage Wildlife Foundation has the mission to
conserve local wildlife through the efforts of rehabilitation of the injured or
orphaned and community education. We do not receive federal, state or county
funding. We exist only because of community support. We are a 501c3 nonprofit
organization and a registered state nonprofit incorporation. AHWF holds federal
rehabilitation permits from the US Fish and Wildlife Service for all migratory
bird species and Idaho State Fish and Game rehabilitation permits for all
species of birds and small non-game mammals. We are the only north Idaho
facility providing care for both mammals and birds. Late autumn of 2015 we were
informed by IDFG that we could begin construction on the large game enclosures
and obtain the rehabilitation permits to provide care for these megafauna
species. This year we received a generous contribution towards this
endeavor.
2016 Budget
EXPENSES: proposed
actual*
FundRaising & Marketing 1,600 5,098
Utilities 2,000
2,332
Mission 18,000 13,672
nature trail & classroom 0
0
REVENUE:
Memberships 1,500 see Grants
Merchandise 500
295
Events & Fundraising 4,500
5,250
Aluminum & recycle prgs 500 n/a
Grants & Donations 15,000
19, 855
Phase III Funding^ 79,000 0
in-kind donations (exc. labor) 3,119
I would like to express
extreme gratitude to everyone that supported AHWF in the 2016 calendar year.
Because of your contributions of time, treasure and talents, this year was an
incredible year. Without your generosity we could not exist. We will need our
community to step up and fill some large shoes as our longstanding
volunteer CPA is retiring and a three year exceptionally generous donor will
sadly not be able to continue her support into 2017.
WILDLIFE
In
one word the wildlife portion of our mission can be explained – BLUR. By
December 31, we had responded to 415 phone calls. This is over 100 calls more
than last year. The season of wildlife care began very early, by May we had treated
16 cases. At the end of July 50 cases; August brought 18 more cases. Case #79
was checked in on November 30. The total number of cases taken in was 80 with
an individual patient count of 121! Several of these patients are currently
being cared for through the winter. The past several years our average has been
50 cases with less than 100 individuals. This is a 60% case load increase from
last year.
We
have no paid staff and we rely on our community to volunteer. In an effort to
be more responsive to our community and provide round the clock care this has
been our second year with a summer college intern. The importance of having
more than one person during the ‘baby season’ of late May through August is
crucial to the mission. The total number of hours recorded 3,700.
There
were 39 different species. 1 Downy Woodpecker, 6 Violet Green Swallow, 5 Deer Mice,
10 Fox Squirrels, 1 Northern Painted Turtle, 10 Canada Geese, 8 Raccoons, 3 Mallard
Duck, 9 American Robins, 1 European Starling, 4 Common Ravens, 1 Brewers Blackbird,
1 Mountain Chickadee, 4 Northern Flickers, 13 Pine Squirrels, 8 California Quail,
1 Alligator Lizard, 1 Killdeer, 5 American Crow, 5 Least Flycatchers, 1 Wild Turkey,
1 Black- chin Hummingbird, 1 Great Blue Heron, 1 Pine Siskin, 1 Red Naped Sapsucker,
3 Muskrats, 1 Sharp Shin Hawk, 1 Chipping
Sparrow, 1 Song Sparrow, 1 Barn Swallow, 3 Gray Squirrels, 1 Northern Flying Squirrel,
2 Little Brown Bats, 1 Cedar Waxwing, 1 Cottontail Rabbit, 2 American Goldfinches,
1 Yellow Headed Blackbird, and 1 Ruffed
Grouse. We had a 65% release rate. (A recent national survey reported 35% is
the average rate)
Despite
very limited resources each animal was provided the best care expected from our
volunteers. We estimated the amount of funds required to pay, had these people
been staff, would be an estimated $30,000.
AHWF
is a member with two professional wildlife rehabilitator associations; they
provide a great deal of information relating to proper care. It is illegal to
possess a wild animal and attempt to provide rehabilitative care without proper
state and/or federal permits. Unfortunately several of the patients we admitted
were the victims of well-meaning private citizens. They chose to attempt
rehabilitative care first before contacting AHWF. Some we were able to restore
to health, some we were not and one is still in care with an uncertain future.
Please remember to spread the word about how important it is call the
professionals right away. Do not search the internet and ask the web ‘how to
rehab a wild animal’. Our lead wildlife care specialist volunteer has years of
experience and an extensive knowledge network.
Our
projects began early in the year by replacing our animal infirmary room floor.
After years of use it gave out while the electrician was checking the heater.
We started to put some finishing touches to the interior of the large aviary
but before we could get to the exterior by adding a second layer of metal wire,
the season began and the space was needed for rehabilitative care.
We
were blessed with wonderful ‘animal taxi’ service. So many of you were willing volunteer
your time and fuel to transportation needs for our native neighbors; without this
generosity these animals would not have been given the chance to recover. There
were four birds that needed to be transferred to different facilities – some
requiring quite long distances. Thank you to all those involve with helping the
Great Blue Heron, the Red Naped Sapsucker, the Brewers and the Yellow Headed
Blackbirds.
Education & Public Outreach
Our
website provides a wealth of information about all our native neighbors
(including tips on how to humanely evict); it also details the multitude of fundraising
programs, how to get AHWF merchandise, volunteer and board member forms, and
links purchasing our illustrated children’s books. After much searching we have
located offline software to redesign the website and construction will take
place over winter. We anticipate the new updated site to be launched in Spring
2017. We have created ‘hubs’ on the hubpages site so we can offer a variety of
information on North Idaho topics; due to the limited time we were not able to
post new articles in 2016 but we are hopeful 2017 will allow. We also have
several social media accounts established to keep the community up to date on
our activities. We do however need help maintaining them. If you
joy
posting and
weeting and
inning and
logging and
ideos or
, PLEASE give us a call and we will be ever appreciative if
you could take over as our s
ocial media coordinator.
Due
to the quantity of wildlife cases, the number of phone calls, the busy hectic
schedule of the primary lead volunteer- who also works at ‘paying jobs’ outside
the facility, was only able to arrange a few educational demonstrations. These
took place in January through March – the second Saturdays and the last
Wednesday we were at the Clark Fork or the Sandpoint or the CF Methodist
church.
We
sent out (snail mail, email, and blog) our newsletters twice each year, January
and July. There were two Scenic Highway 200 clean-up projects, scheduled for April
(near EarthDay) and early October. We also scheduled two in-house clean-up
projects – the spring spruce up and fall inventory days. The calendar relayed there
were Two events in January, Three in February, Three in March, Two in April,
Two in May, Two in June, Two in July, Three in September, Two in October and
One in December.
We continue to expand our ability to
introduce our nonprofit to the global community by reaching out through charity
listing on several shopping/online sites as well as crowdfunding/donation sites.
Each online donation site for fundraising has their own level of ease and fees
associated. Donation buttons are also linked to the facebook pages. Local
shopping for charity: Yokes Market & Fred Meyers. Online shopping or
donating: Amazon, Ebay, iGive, Good Shop/Good Search, Network for Good, Just
Give, Welzoo, Good World, Razoo, Giving Grid, Love Animals & Go Fund Me. We
have signed up with a company (Ethix) that offers businesses the ability to
process credit cards and have a percentage of the money go towards our charity.
If your company is interested in switching your credit card processing to this
group we will provide you with all the assistance you need. Ethix will also help
pay your cancellation fees. All these links are on our website.
One
more way to help local wildlife easily is to check with your credit card
company to find out if we are one of the recognized charities. For example
through American Express the ‘members
give’ program supports recognized 501c3 nonprofits.
The
wonderful magazine Bird Watchers Digest gives a portion of the subscription to
our cause. Find the link on our website. All proceeds go directly to AHWF when
you get our series of specially written books.
These children’s books are available at Vanderfords and Bonner Books, at
(online) or directly from AHWF. Five books have
been created: Three (Logger’s Story, Logger Returns,
Logger Makes New Friends) are enjoyable stories
for younger children –excellent for bedtime stories and young readers. One is
an activity book that everyone would find entertaining titled Fun time with
Logger. It includes 54 activities such as crossword puzzles, word searches,
dot to dot, wildlife trivia and color by number local birds. Adventures of a
Wildlife Special Agent is the story written unlike most – it is a chose your
own adventure book. The reader gets to decide which path the USFWS agent takes.
Our hope is that readers young and old will enjoy the lessons taught by the
story. We have been unsuccessful in connecting with a local artist to convert
the entire Loggers Story series into a graphic novel (aka comic book). I believe they are also found through online
book publishers – in the ebook formats: amazon’s kindle, barnes & nobles nook,
kobu, apple’s ebook. The Sandpoint and Clark Fork Libraries have been given
copies as well.
Funds
We
held a dizzying variety of fundraising activities and events this year. Each
event required varying levels of promotional expenses and return on investment
amounts. The first was a Gourmet Cheesecake & Coffee fundraiser in
February. We also had two ‘Pizza and a Show’ events. There were two online
donation competitions – one in March called BreadBoost and one in May called
IdahoGives. We also set up a gofundme page to help us raise funds for the
expenses incurred by the Great Blue Heron. Four summertime barbeques took place
at Monarch Market (Sharon & Ronda you are incredible) in April, May, and
June. 7B Sunday at Schweitzer Mountain in June, Clark Fork Independence Day
celebration, Firewood Raffle (Thanks Mike & Bev), Pints for a Cause at
Idaho Pour Authority and the 1st Annual Comedy Show in September
(thank you Kermet Apio & Jenny & all the local biz that donated gift
baskets), The 1st annual scarecrow contest at Hickey Farms, the SipnShop
at Pend Oreille Winery in October, and the Christmas Craft Fair at the Bonner
Mall in December (Thank you Diane, Judi and Lois).
Our
2016 total expenses for the year were are $21,102. The categories are Wildlife,
Education & Outreach, and Administrative & General Operating.
Wildlife
expenses were for food, medical supplies & attention, professional
membership fees, fuel cost to deliver or retrieve wildlife, and enclosure
building materials, Northern Lights electricity & Frontier phone. The
mission of Education & Outreach costs included venue reservations,
educational materials, & fuel reimbursement. The total for this category is $13,672. This included
$550 – the small weekly stipend and fuel reimbursement for the qualified intern
who assisted with the busy Spring/Summer season – April/May through September.
We found a candidate that was willing to learn and be taught, able to live
without cell phone or high speed internet and remain courteous despite long
hours. Applications to apply for the 2017 position will be available on the
website. Upon leaving the intern(s) are
asked to complete an exit questionnaire. The results revealed 1) there is a
great deal to learn and 2) the wish that the lead wildlife caregiver was more
available. As you are aware, the lead caregiver is also the founder, but has to
supplement her income with several part time paying jobs. The quick solution
would be to provide a cell phone with frontier phone service (they seem to be
the most reliable of all the carriers for the Clark Fork region) with the hope
her employers do not become upset by taking phone calls while at work. The long
term solution would be to raise sufficient funds and offer a seasonal part time
position to allow side by side training.
We were
involved in a total of fifteen local events. This allowed our community to
support us financially; we were able to support our community with information.
We have several online platforms, shopping bars, and other programs which also
provide a means to financially support our mission. The AHWF merchandise site on
Café Press is a means to provide revenue as well as expand our reach into
several different communities. Café Press offers items such as coffee mugs,
teddy bears, and a variety of tee shirt styles, tote bags, aprons and baby
clothes. We have locally printed tees, hats & sweatshirts. We also have the
series of books written and illustrated by AHWF founders. Professional wildlife
photographer Paul Felter has donated many of his own copyrighted prints and
images taken of our recuperating wildlife. These framed wildlife photographs
are available at Monarch Market and at any of our awareness booths. You can
also view some online on the AHWF facebook page during Silent Auction Saturdays
and wildlife photograph reference. The total was over $5,000 with a ripple
effect of awareness and future donations.
We
are so grateful to Jackie, Judy, Teresa, Sue, Ronda, Sharon, Monarch Market, Earthworks NW,
Kathleen, Susan, Tomas & Margaurite, Sandy, Shelly, Jennifer, Elaine, WW, Jeannie
& Alan, Shawn, Christine, Leina, Robert & Marilyn, Tim, Jessica,
Richard, Bob & Leslie, Kathe, Jerilyn & Derek, Nancy, Kelly, Donna
& Neil, Mya, Elliot, Jack & Diane, Jenny, Desiree, Walt & Nicki, Cheyenna,
Clark & Debra, Jutta, Judy, Bob & Joan, Cindy, Mary, Diane &
George, Tim & Jackie, Lakota
Northwest Flutes, Mike & Bev, Randi, Judi, Jenna, Vicki, Roz, Sharon,
Lia, Tina, Cheryl, Teri, Sherry & Chris, Amanda & Josh, Cindi, Mr. B, Sheri,
Evans Brothers, Leslie, Jeannine, Anna, Linda, Tika, James &
Heidi, Betsy, George & Tami, Ana, Lindsey & John, Heather, Gayle,
Thymon, Aaron, Kes, Deanna, Dovalee, Ed & Jane, Darcy & Randy, Co-Op, George, Fry Creek Vet Clinic, Laura, Sharon, Sally, Deirdre, Linda, Lois,
Shelly, Fiddlin’ Reds Music Store, Hailey,
BGH, Trish, Paul, Jim & Hickey Farms,
Sandpoint Chocolate Bear, NIAH, Sandpoint Academy of the Arts, Winterridge,
Clark Fork Wellness, Great Stuff, Flying
Fish, Noble Wines, Hurley Dean, Northwest
Handmade, Ponderay Garden Center, WCT, Schweitzer Mtn. Resort, Cabelas, & Blythe’s
Bully Buggy. These folks were willing to contribute funds or time or items.
Each one made the promise to present the present as a present for future
generations. They are responsible for keeping North Idaho WILD…will you?
We also wish
to thank those who gave necessary supplies or readily traveled long distances.
Thank you does not convey sufficient sentiment however it is our only way to
express the gratitude we wish express to all those involved with transporting wild
animals in need. Because of their contributions, we did not have to expend our limited
resources. We are grateful that the Yokes community card members is growing and
those that shop on Amazon and Ebay are making sure AHWF is their designated
charity. This year’s success could not have taken place without all of
you!
The total revenue received to date $25,400.00. Including in-kind contributions & labor the total
is over $58,000
We
applied for a grant in 2015 to assist in the creation of a meandering Nature
Walk through the diverse habitat on the leased AHWF property. We did pass the
first round of reviews but unfortunately did not make the final round and
receive the funding in 2016. This could be a wonderful community service
project for those able bodies willing to use rakes and shovels to level out the
land, carry buckets of bark and mulch, pack wood beams to line the trail, paint
signage, etc. Our hope for this trail is not only to offer hands on approach to
outdoor education; once completed, we would encourage school groups, seniors,
and all others to schedule appointments and meet with one of our trained
guides. We want everyone to get out and explore a sample of North Idaho wilderness
in a safe and informative setting. We anticipated this type of educational
opportunity could provide a stable means of revenue for AHWF. If you want to
help us make this happen give us a call.
American
Heritage Wildlife Foundation is continuing to expand our ability to care for
all North Idaho wildlife species. The state of Idaho granted permission in late
2015 for AHWF to construct and then receive a large game mammal rehabilitation
permit. This means that all the calls relating to orphaned bear cubs or other
charismatic megafauna can be immediately responded to. We have acquired a 32
foot by 24 foot mesh enclosure and $5,000 but more help is needed in order to
meet this goal.
Before
I move on to the upcoming events of 2017, I will take a moment to remember a
wonderful woman who passed away this year. Bev you were such a delight and your
positive spirit will be missed. Thank you for sharing in the joy of local
wildlife. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Mike.
What’s Next for 2017?
We
need you to sign up and help with the two highway clean up sessions – usually
around Earthday in April and again in the autumn (September/October). We would
like you to get involved with coordinating events. In February we will be
bringing acclaimed author, wildlife photographer and speaker Paul Bannick to
Sandpoint. We will also again have a professional comedian for the Comedy Night
fundraiser. The scarecrow contest will again take place at Hickey Farms in
October. Idaho Pour Authority and Pend Oreille Winery are such gems in our
beautiful North Idaho. These businesses have agreed to again host fundraisers
in the fall. We want your help with all the public booths like 7B Sunday at
Schweitzer, Independence Day celebrations, and the Christmas Craft Fair. We
will continue educational lectures but would gladly allow others to use our
equipment in order to teach our community. There are more than 20 entertaining
and educational powerpoint lectures to offer our community.
If
public speaking and crowds is not your thing, writing articles for the
newsletter and blogging and social media posting are all important ways to keep
everyone updated; volunteers that can take over this area would be such a
blessing. If you are interested in helping with website design we will welcome
you with open arms. We could not complete the valuable work with rehabilitation
without an army of volunteers.
As
much as we need to have volunteers that donate time or bring supplies such as
newspapers; funding is equally important. We need donations and financial
support. We are hoping to again sign up for both online events: Breadboost in
March & IdahoGives in May. We will
also launch a LoveAnimals campaign in February. We are looking to add
GivingTuesday in November. We will have tickets available for the Comedy Show
and seeking scarecrow contest entrants in the late summer. We are looking for
the ability to continue our mission of wildlife rehabilitation and to raise the
final funds needed for the large game mammal enclosures. We estimate we need
either another $5,000 to complete the necessary enclosures. AHWF would be one
facility of only a handful of facilities in the nation working to assist these
mega-charismatic mega fauna species in need.
Whether
you were able to contribute a large one time donations, or small monthly
donations, contributions of aluminum cans that we recycle for funds or belong to
the various shopping programs like yokes, ebay and amazon - all methods
contribute to the very survival of this local charity. Thank you and please
continue to remember us in 2017.
American
Heritage Wildlife Foundation is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization and all
donations may be tax deductible. We are also an Idaho Nonprofit Incorporation;
this does not however provide financial relief in any form. There are no
federal, state or county funds given to provide for wildlife rehabilitation. We
are members of the professional National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association
and the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council. AHWF holds permits from
the USFWS migratory bird department and Idaho State Fish and Game. The one acre
we lease is a certified wildlife habitat. We are 100 % volunteer.
*completed 18 December
2016 by K. St. Clair – McGee
