Membership & Donation FAQs

Membership is one powerful way you can signal that you value the role Birds Connect Seattle plays in our local community in protecting birds and connecting people to nature. All membership donations fuel our education, conservation, science, outreach, and advocacy programs.

With an annual gift of any level, our members can enjoy:

• Invitations to local birding activities and events, as well as exhibit openings and Member Appreciation Week activities
• Opportunities to use your voice to advocate for birds
• Special offers from our partners
• News, stories, and updates from our local birding community
• Access to our extensive on-site lending library

We ask our members to give as generously as they are able, knowing that their annual gift is critical to our ability to protect birds and habitat locally.

Any annual gift qualifies for membership. Most of our members choose to give between $50 and $100 annually to support our work. Some members are able to give much more than that.

On June 1, 2026, Birds Connect Seattle will be updating our member benefits structure to make our membership program and corresponding benefits more accessible to more bird advocates. Depending on your membership level, you may be eligible for all or some of the following benefits.

All Members: Any annual one-time or recurring gift

• Invitations to local birding activities and events, as well as exhibit openings and Member Appreciation Week activities
• Opportunities to use your voice to advocate for birds
• Special offers from our partners
• News, stories, and updates from our local birding community
• Access to our extensive on-site lending library

Advocate Members: $20+ one-time or annual recurring gift

• Receive our quarterly member newsletter, EarthCare Northwest, mailed to their home
• Priority registration for Field Trips led by knowledgeable bird enthusiasts

Sustaining Members: $49+ one-time or annual recurring gift, or $5+ monthly recurring gift

• Special 20% discount on adult classes, summer Nature Camp, lectures and speaker events, Birding Vacations, and Bird University
• Special 10% discount on all regularly priced retail items, including optics 

Member benefits apply to everyone residing in the household. If you have additional people you would like added to your membership to receive benefits and gratitude for your annual gift, contact our Development and Operations Associate. 

Membership in Birds Connect Seattle is for one year. We rely on this annual support from our members to sustain our programs that protect birds and habitat all year long.

If your membership is up for renewal, we will let you know. We provide our members with email notifications as well as mailed letters when their membership is up for renewal or has recently expired. Responding to either of these with a membership gift will renew your membership.

If you are a monthly sustaining donor, you will not receive renewal notifications, as your membership is always current thanks to your monthly gift.

If you receive a membership renewal notice you believe is in error, please let us know. Oftentimes, if a new email address or a variation of your name is used, your membership renewal may not have been matched to you correctly. Please get in touch with Ella Denman at ellad@birdsconnectsea.org for any corrections.

If you choose to make more than one gift to Birds Connect Seattle during a year, thank you! Your second gift may renew your membership if it was made no more than six months before your membership expiration date, or no more than three months after your membership expiration. 

Yes. Birds Connect Seattle is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization, and your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law (Tax ID: 91-6009716). To claim a donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please keep your donation receipt as your official record. You will receive this receipt via email or by mail upon successful completion of your donation.

Absolutely. The security and confidentiality of your information is our highest priority. We use industry-standard SSL (secure socket layer) technology to protect your information and provide a safe, secure environment for online donations. We will not sell, trade, or share your personal information with anyone else, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations, and we will only share personal information if you have given us specific permission to do so.

If you prefer to make your gift with a check, rather than online, you can do so by mailing it to:
Birds Connect Seattle
Attn: Development
616 Olive Way
Seattle, WA 98101

When you make your donation online, you will receive a receipt by email to the email address you provided on the form. Please be sure to keep a copy of your receipt for tax purposes. If you select a recurring donation, you will be sent an individual receipt each month when your donation is processed. For gifts by mail, you will receive a printed paper receipt in the mail following receipt and processing of your gift. 

If you need a replacement receipt, please contact our Development and Operations Associate. 

When talking about membership, we get questions about the relationship between Birds Connect Seattle, National Audubon Society, Audubon Washington, the Seward Park Audubon Center, and other local chapters. We’d like to take this opportunity to shed some light on those relationships:

Does the National Audubon Society provide financial support to Birds Connect Seattle?
Yes, but not on a per-member basis. In 2001, National Audubon eliminated the “dues share” system of support for chapters, where a percentage of National Audubon dues were given to chapters based on the number of National members living in our service area. Since that time, National Audubon has moved to a “baseline funding” system. This system uses a set formula (50% of the dues share received by each chapter in 2001), not tied to the current number of members or dues collected. For Birds Connect Seattle, this support amounts to about $11,000 a year, or approximately 1% of our annual budget.

I’m a member of the National Audubon Society. Does that make me a member of Birds Connect Seattle?
No. Birds Connect Seattle is an independent 501(c)(3) organization, with entirely separate finances and governance from National Audubon Society, its state arm, Audubon Washington, and the local center at Seward Park. Due in large part to the changes in the dues share system outlined above, Birds Connect Seattle has been unable to offer complete reciprocity to National members for many years. However, discounts on classes and Nature Camp, priority registration for field trips, and subscriptions to Earthcare Northwest are privileges reserved exclusively for Birds Connect Seattle members.

Does Birds Connect Seattle share my information with National Audubon and other chapters?
No. Birds Connect Seattle values the privacy of our members and does not share our mailing lists or member contact information with National Audubon—or anyone else, for that matter.

I’m interested in becoming a member of National Audubon in addition to Birds Connect Seattle.
Great! Both organizations play important roles in protecting birds locally (Birds Connect Seattle) and nationally (National Audubon). You can become a member of National using this link, which lets them know they heard about it through Birds Connect Seattle.

Bottom line: Birds Connect Seattle, National Audubon, and other local chapters all have important, valuable roles to play in creating a healthy environment in balance with nature, where birds can flourish. Membership in each organization serves a unique purpose in fulfilling that vision, but your local dues stay here in Seattle to ensure local action for local species.

There are many ways to support local birds. Find the way that works best for you. Visit our Giving Page to learn about additional ways to make your gift.