Is Wild Birds Unlimited of Colorado Springs locally owned?

Yes! Wild Birds Unlimited of Colorado Springs is locally owned and operated. Our store has been part of the Colorado Springs community since 1991, and our current owners, Heather and Shelley, have operated the store since 2021.

We are also part of the Wild Birds Unlimited franchise, and we're proud to be both. Being part of Wild Birds Unlimited gives us access to outstanding bird-feeding products, research, resources, and expertise, while being locally owned means the decisions about how we participate in our community happen right here in Colorado Springs.

The people working in our store live here. We bird here. We support local organizations, work with local artists, participate in local conservation efforts, and care deeply about what happens in the Pikes Peak region!

At our heart, we are a local small business with the resources of a larger bird-feeding family behind us.

 

How does Wild Birds Unlimited of Colorado Springs give back to the community?

We're so glad you asked! Giving back isn't something we save for a special occasion. It's part of how we operate our business.

Throughout the year, we support local conservation organizations, wildlife rehabilitation, environmental education, community nonprofits, local events, and other causes that make a difference in our region.

That support can take many forms, including financial donations, product donations, sponsorships, fundraising, educational programs, event partnerships, food drives, and simply using our space and our voice to help local organizations reach more people.

We also look for ways to respond when our community has an immediate need. Sometimes that means collecting supplies. Sometimes it means helping raise money. Sometimes it means finding a way to connect our customers with an organization doing important work.

We can't support every cause, but we believe a local business should be an active part of the community that supports it.

 

What conservation organizations does Wild Birds Unlimited support?

We work with and support a variety of organizations involved in birds, wildlife, habitat, conservation, climate, accessibility, education, and land protection.

These relationships can change and grow over time, but organizations we have supported or partnered with include Aiken Audubon Society, Palmer Land Conservancy, Southern Plains Land Trust, Colorado Climate Advocates, and Restored Lands Nonprofit, along with wildlife rehabilitation organizations and other local and regional nonprofits.

Sometimes that support is financial. Other times it may involve sponsorships, events, education, fundraising, donated products, volunteer involvement, or helping introduce our customers to an organization's work.

We believe conservation works best when people and organizations work together.

 

Does shopping at Wild Birds Unlimited help support local causes?

Yes, in more ways than you might realize.

When you shop with us, you're supporting a locally owned Colorado Springs business that intentionally reinvests in its community.

Your purchases help make it possible for us to sponsor events, donate to local organizations, support conservation projects, provide educational programming, work with local artists and makers, donate products and supplies, and respond when organizations in our community need help.

And when you purchase something created by one of the local artists, authors, or makers we carry, your purchase supports another local business or individual too.

We know you have choices about where you spend your money, and we're incredibly grateful when you choose to spend it with us.

 

How does the Daily Savings Club help local organizations?

Our Daily Savings Club isn't only about saving money on bird food. It also gives us another opportunity to give back.

Throughout the year, we use our DSC program to support local conservation and community organizations. Joining or renewing can include the option of directing the value of a membership gift toward a local nonprofit, and our store uses the program as another way to connect bird feeding with conservation and community support.

It's a simple idea: saving money on the food you buy for your birds can also help something good happen in the community.

 

Do you support wildlife rehabilitation?

Yes. Wildlife rehabilitators do incredibly difficult and important work caring for injured, orphaned, and displaced wildlife, and we're proud to support that work when we can.

Our support has included donations, fundraising, supplies, partnerships, and opportunities for wildlife organizations to connect directly with our customers through educational events.

Live educational birds can also create a powerful connection. Seeing a hawk, owl, or other raptor up close and hearing its story can turn curiosity into understanding, and understanding into a desire to protect wildlife and habitat.

 

Do you support causes beyond birds?

Absolutely.

Birds may be what brought many of us together, but a healthy community and a healthy environment are much bigger than birds alone.

Over the years, our community involvement has included organizations and projects related to wildlife, habitat, conservation, climate, accessibility, education, food insecurity, and other local needs.

We believe being a responsible local business means paying attention to the community around us and helping where we reasonably can.

 

How does Wild Birds Unlimited support local artists and other small businesses?

One of our favorite ways to support local is simply to make room for other local people to succeed.

We carry work from Colorado Springs and Colorado artists, authors, makers, and small businesses throughout our store. That means when you choose a locally created gift, artwork, book, or other product, you're supporting more than our store. You're also supporting the person who made it.

We also collaborate with local organizations and businesses for events, programs, and community projects whenever opportunities make sense.

We don't believe small businesses have to exist in competition with one another. We strongly believe we can help build a better local community by supporting each other.

 

Do you donate to local organizations or community events?

Yes! We regularly receive requests for donations, sponsorships, and community partnerships.

While we aren't able to say yes to every request, we especially look for opportunities connected to birds, wildlife, conservation, education, accessibility, the environment, and our local community.

One of the most rewarding projects we do is donating a complete bird-feeding setup to local organizations where it can help people connect with birds and nature. We've donated feeding stations and supplies to places including the Ronald McDonald House, a local memory care community, our neighbors at GiGi's Playhouse, and local nature centers. We love knowing that these feeders can bring a little bit of nature closer to people who may not always have an easy opportunity to get outside and experience it.

And we're always looking for the next place where a feeder could make a difference! If you know of a local nonprofit, school, care facility, community organization, or other deserving location that could benefit from a bird-feeding setup, please encourage them to reach out to us.

For donation or sponsorship requests, or to suggest a location for a feeding station, contact us at [email protected] and tell us a little about your organization, project, or idea.

 

Why does a store care so much about conservation?

Because you can't care about birds without eventually caring about the places they live.

Putting out a feeder can seem like a small thing. But then you start learning the chickadees in your yard. You notice when the hummingbirds return. You watch a pair of birds build a nest. You learn where they migrate and what they need along the way.

Before long, those birds aren't just background scenery anymore.

That's one of the things we love most about backyard bird feeding. Connection can lead to curiosity, curiosity can lead to understanding, and understanding can lead to conservation.

We don't expect everyone who walks into our store to become a conservationist. We just hope that helping people experience birds a little more closely gives them another reason to care about the natural world around them.

 

Why should I support a locally owned small business like Wild Birds Unlimited of Colorado Springs?

Because where you shop can have an impact far beyond what you take home.

Shopping locally helps support local jobs, local artists, local organizations, community events, conservation projects, educational programs, and the people who live and work in your community.

At Wild Birds Unlimited of Colorado Springs, we want the money our community spends with us to do more than keep our doors open. We want some of it to find its way back out those doors and into the community through partnerships, donations, education, conservation, and support for other local people doing good work.

We're incredibly grateful to everyone who chooses to shop with us. Your support allows us to support others!