Build a Wildlife Medical Clinic/ Education Center

Center for Wildlife continues to be the largest wildlife medical clinic and education Center in Northern New England. From April through September alone we admitted over 1,200 injured and orphaned native birds, small mammals, and reptiles, and presented tours, public, and on-site programs to over 2,000 participants.  Completing this work out of a 1,100 square foot building (including a 57 square foot examination room!) continues to prove to be a challenge.

We remain committed to expanding our capacity for medical treatment and environmental education through a much-needed capital campaign.  We are also committed to kicking off the capital campaign when the proper ground work has been laid; engaging our top donors and foundations, securing lead gifts, and having the staffing and strategic planning in place to ensure that the project is sustainable and doesn't compete with the ability to secure much needed operating support.    

Perhaps the greatest strengths that our current staff and board leadership team embody is the passion, drive, and ability on a daily basis to see that injured and orphaned wildlife receive the medical treatment they deserve; coupled with a commitment to ensure that their stories are told- preventing injuries to future wildlife.  Here's an update on our strategic planning and groundwork this season.  

This year our Executive Director, Director for Education & Outreach, and Board of Directors have been busy building several sub-committees to assist in evaluating our progress toward laying the groundwork for a successful capital campaign, along with achieving our mission and goals through the creation of critical evaluation questions and decision-making. (Medical Clinic & Research Committee, Development Committee, Facilities Committee, and Education Committee). While the methods used to collect information vary from project to project, the consistent collection of information allows us to clearly define the information that we need, as well as systems to collect and analyze this information. Examples include: 

• Patient medical treatment and rehabilitation success rates 
• Intern learning outcomes 
• Service procedures and policies 
• Better communication of program results 
• Training and technical needs 
• Determining medical clinic capacity 
• Staff and volunteer appreciation 
• Planning and budget management

We are pleased to report that the volunteers on these sub-committees have logged hundreds of hours on recruiting new board members, personally engaging donors, and speaking directly with foundations.  Through this engagement we have raised over $125,000 so far toward this project.  We look forward to continuing on this upward momentum, and look to break ground and launch the capital campaign in 2013.  

Links:

• Portsmouth Herald Article on our Need for Expansion
• Editorial from Community Member