Annual membership renewal

Dear PVBC members,

As you may recall, our fiscal year starts each summer. Your PVBC board has met and has a lot planned for you including the upcoming ever popular Nighthawk event, bird walks, a field trip on trails designed with accessibility in mind, and exciting programs with a mix of virtual and in-person at Ivy Creek Natural Area. (See the website or facebook for posted events).

With the start of the new fiscal year, it is time to ask for your renewal. For those of you who already have renewed, thank you! For those who have not, you may notice a modest price increase. It was a hard decision to increase the price. However, the price has only increased modestly and is in line with changes in real dollar value since the last time anyone can recall a price increase, roughly 15 years ago!  We kept prices tiered so that we hope no one will be “priced out” from joining and membership benefits are the same at all price levels. The new price schedule is as follows:

All of you should be aware that the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources has asked that people stop feeding birds right now because of a fatal disease which has been observed in Virginia and nearby states. We, PVBC board members, have decided that we will follow the guidance of the DWR and will not plan a sale in those circumstances. Unless the recommendation changes before August 15, when we need to make plans, we will not be able to have a seed sale. We are very sorry because we know this is a popular way for people to support the club.We did have a real reason for the price increase beyond just keeping up with inflation and that is that with COVID we have had both increased costs (we have to pay for cleaning at our in person events, for example) and decreased revenue because we were not able to have the bird seed sale last year. 

Supporting the club remains important. Even with COVID and decreased revenue, we were able to continue to provide a positive impact in the community with virtual presentations for the club as well as for youth. We were also able to provide scholarship funding for college students and support birding, bird conservation, and bird science across our region. We even managed to have safely conducted (if limited in attendance) field trips.

I and the other board members are looking forward to seeing you in person either after a long time or for the first time. I will be at the August first Saturday walk, the Tuesday Nighthawk event, and the first ”birdability” event at a minimum! Look for your other board members as well.

Please continue to support your club and renew at the level you are able. We are hoping that at a minimum, you can pay at the same level – if you paid at the Bluebird  level before, please consider Bluebird or higher again. That will allow us to recover, at least partially from the revenue shortfall due to the birdseed sale. Use this link: https://www.piedmontvirginiabirdclub.org/membership/

We strongly encourage online payment. For those who are unable to pay online, the link also has a paper membership form which may be mailed with your check. 

Sincerely,

Guy Babineau, PVBC Club President – for the board

PS. For those of you who renewed before we had a chance to update the price, either breathe a sigh of relief or feel free to add an extra donation to cover the difference! Use the donations section on the same page.

PPS. We aren’t checking student IDs. You decide whether you need to use the student membership. It’s intended for anyone of any age who needs it. But if you are able, even students can opt to choose a higher membership level.