Specific Funding Opportunities

You like to know where your money goes! Here are some specific funding opportunities that are critical to CWC’s ability to respond to wildlife care needs; as an important contributor, you can point to these with pride.

Baby Care Unit (BCU) Operating Costs

The BCU will be in operation from February through late September, as waves of orphaned baby birds, squirrels and opossums are brought to the Center for care.  Costs accrue for food, formula, medications, medical, cleaning and general supplies, as well as utilities and the costs for volunteer training and our workman's comp insurance. Estimated Monthly Cost: $1,400.

Hospital Operating Costs

The Center's Hospital and Surgical Suite are open 365 days a year. With our full-time wildlife veterinarian, Dr. Duane Tom, and our trained staff and volunteers, we are capable of taking care of all wildlife injuries which often include situations such as cat-caught birds, animals hit by cars, seabirds caught in fishing lines, head trauma from birds hitting windows, small critters stuck in glue traps or larger mammals with injuries of unknown origin. Included in our estimate of monthly costs are the following: staff salaries, workman's comp insurance, purchase of cleaning and medical supplies, repair or purchase of needed medical equipment, as well as utilities for the hospital. Estimated Monthly Cost: $13,100

Marine Mammal Response (MMR) Program

Our Marine Mammal Response (MMR) Program provides marine mammal response for over 27 miles of coastline including the City of Malibu and Southern Ventura County. Our response team is available 365 days a year, and responds to all calls about stranded and/or injured marine mammals. Appropriate assessments are done on each animal, and if necessary, animals are rescued and transferred to the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro. Included in our estimate of monthly costs are salaries for one full-time and one part-time responder, workman's comp insurance (for both staff and volunteers), the purchase and repair of rescue equipment (kennels, nets, herding boards, etc.), and the operation of our rescue vehicle. Estimated Monthly Cost: $6,660

Food for Injured and Orphaned Wildlife

While every effort is made to get food donated to the Center, we still need to purchase specialized formulas for fawns, orphaned opossums, hummingbirds, squirrels, birds, as well as species-specific food items including fish for, mash for baby ducklings, and meal worms (for protein), etc. While these costs are included in the monthly totals for both the Baby Care Unit, and the Hospital, when broken out separately, it is: Estimated Monthly Cost: $1,100

Wildlife Training Through Internships and Externships

CWC currently conducts Spring, Summer and Fall programs for students planning to become Registered Vet Technicians and Veterinarians. Each of these sessions includes one-on-one hands-on training with Dr. Duane Tom. Students have an opportunity to work directly with our native wildlife — experience that is not available anywhere else in Southern California. The hope is that many of these students will go on to specialize in wildlife rehabilitation — an area that is woefully under served. The program currently covers 15-20 students per year (up to 6 of the students are also provided housing on site during their tenure). The costs for this program include a portion of our veterinarian’s salary, workman's compensation and a small portion of household utilities. Estimated Yearly Cost: $17,850