I've contacted 2 rescues before I picked up Winston on Craigslist. Both encounters were somewhat negative. I wanted a rescue that is more willing to educate, more willing to listen, and more willing to not be critical right away.
The first rescue shot down pet owning parrots right away (granted it was operating more like a sanctuary than rescue even though they have adoption). When I ask the rescue what would they suggest to future bird owners, she said "GET MORE THAN 1 BIRD! They are flock animals!" Honestly, she didn't educate me on what to expect in parronting. She just showed me how depressed her birds are before being surrendered. This rescue assumed pet owning parrots is bad, very bad.
The second rescue was a little better. They were willing to work with me to a certain extent, but the vetting process did not make me feel comfortable at all. They want to know if I have vet reference, and I informed them no because I moved across states and have not had a pet in the area. They first said ok then they came back after a few days assuming "cuz you don't have a vet reference, I don't know if you can afford a bird. You know, I spend thousands on my rescues." Hello, couldn't you just simply ask if I understand and can afford the expense of owning a parrot?
I completely understand that rescue operation is not easy, and you must vet each applicants. But I feel the parrot community is overly critical. Not every good owner would fit into a box. Not being in the box does not mean you would be a horrible owner. If you do open a bird rescue in the future, I wish you can be happy doing what you will be doing, but still be curious in your applicants. When you are curious, you ask questions. When you don't enjoy working with your applicants, you demand and hold back all the birds.
Just my 2 cents. I recognize my rescue encounters are very limited, and there must be great rescues out there.