About Us

Mickaboo is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (FEIN 94-3286344) founded in 1996 in Northern California. Most of our volunteers and foster birds live in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento Valley. We are dedicated to rescuing companion birds (parrot-type and other commonly domesticated birds) who have been neglected, abused, injured or surrendered to us. Our goals are:

  • To ensure that birds in our care will have a safe, loving environment for life.
  • To educate bird owners on the most current standard of care, so that the medical, emotional, and dietary needs of their birds will be met.

At Mickaboo, our underlying principle is that Every Bird Gets An Equal Chance. Once a bird is in our care, we provide all the medical and supportive care that s/he requires.  We do not "triage" birds or spend more money on large species than small. We only euthanize a bird when s/he is suffering without the possibility of recovery. We provide hospice care for terminally ill birds who are not suffering.

Mickaboo Organizational Structure

To ensure that every donor dollar possible goes toward the care of needy birds, Mickaboo has no shelter facility or paid staff. This helps us keep overhead costs extremely low but requires us to structure ourselves much differently than a typical animal shelter. Below is an overview of the organization. All of our people, board members included, are unpaid volunteers.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors sets goals and policies for Mickaboo and oversees our direction. The board is also responsible for approving our budgetary program and protecting our status as a 501(c)3 organization. Current members of the board are listed here.

Chief Executive Officer and Leadership Committee

The Chief Executive Officer is a board member and is the person primarily responsible for managing the daily operations of Mickaboo. The CEO ensures that we are operating in line with the goals set out by the Board, consults with the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer on budget and financial matters, and coordinates the activities of the Leadership Committee and Administrative Volunteers. The Leadership Committee is a group of experienced and knowledgeable volunteers who help lead our day-to-day operations and provide management assistance and advice. The Leadership Committee is a core group of Administrative Volunteers, who manage all of our daily operations and train newer volunteers.

Volunteers

The heart and soul of Mickaboo are its volunteers. The volunteers have daunting responsibilities for bird intake, fostering, veterinary care, transport and logistics as well as our education efforts, home visits and other necessary tasks. A subgroup of the volunteers referred to as the "Administrative Volunteers" coordinate specific areas of responsibility, serve as points of contact for other volunteers and the public, and do other administrative work. For example, while many people are involved in the movement and care of conures, the "Conure Coordinator" is the Administrative Volunteer who is the point of contact for all conure-related activities. Because these positions are shared and turnover occurs as volunteer availability shifts, these positions are not listed here. For information on volunteering, see Volunteer.