Larry Dominguez, Eric Knudsen, and Cleve Steward

Gene Ahn, Genevieve Cohen, Katie Collier, Justin Holzworth, and Jessica Ma BA501 - Applied Strategy

Section A

March 7, 2012

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Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...........................................................................................................3

FUNDRAISING PLAN: ..............................................................................................................6 Mission Statement ................................................................................................................. 6 Front-end web tools ............................................................................................................... 7 Back-end infrastructure ......................................................................................................... 7 Staffing and volunteers .......................................................................................................... 8 IRS 501(c)(3) designation ....................................................................................................... 9 Building local awareness and credibility .............................................................................. 10 Academic partnering ............................................................................................................ 11 Foundational/governmental support ................................................................................... 12 Expanding corporate giving ................................................................................................. 13 Individual giving program .................................................................................................... 14 Membership program .......................................................................................................... 15 Long-term sustainability ...................................................................................................... 16

APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................ 18 Appendix A: Market & 3C Analysis ....................................................................................... 18 Appendix B: Comparable Organization Surveys ................................................................... 26 Appendix C: Cost Effective Ways of Building Visibility .......................................................... 33 Appendix D: Target Donor List ............................................................................................. 36

EXHIBITS ..................................................................................................................................... 39 Exhibit A: SWOT Analysis ..................................................................................................... 39

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Executive Summary Introduction Ecologists Without Borders (EcoWB) is a federally registered 501(c)3 (pending) corporation based in Olympia, Washington, that was formed in 2011 to promote environmental sustainability and improve societal welfare in at-risk areas of the world through the transfer and application of ecological knowledge and technology, and to financially support projects and activities that further these goals. The primary goal of this project is to help EcoWB establish and achieve its annual fundraising targets for 2012-2014. Scope The Foster School of Business conducted an 8-week applied strategy project to assist EcoWB in establishing achievable fundraising milestones and strategies for 2012 - 2014. The foundation of our work started with a comprehensive market analysis of the current non-profit environment to include the current economic landscape and giving trends, consumer analysis of potential target donors, and competitor and partnership analysis (including in-person interviews with similar non-profit fundraising staff). We developed a fundraising strategy that identifies specific actions and resources including the three most cost effective ways to build visibility (Appendix C), a list of target donor organizations including corporations, foundations, and government organizations (Appendix D), and a short and long-term fundraising/marketing plan. Research Our recommendations were based on research derived from a variety of sources. The diversity of our research included overall market and industry trends, potential donor analysis, and a study of nonprofit organizations that were comparable to EcoWB in scope and mission. The focus of the research was on the donation process of the potential funding organizations and the revenue structure and the marketing strategies of the comparable/competitor/partner organizations (Appendix A). Furthermore, we conducted in-depth interviews and standardized surveys with three environmentally focused organizations within the EcoWB partner/competitor database to gain insight on the industry’s challenges and best practices and to seek advice on devising a funding strategy from the organizations’ development professionals (Appendix B).

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Findings In the current market landscape, there is a sea of comparable nonprofit organizations that specialize in conservation, sustainability, and/or social welfare. However, this is a highly competitive market, and funding sources are relatively scarce. For example, most corporate and foundational organizations in the U.S. donate to causes that benefit the local community. Grant making foundations are tightening their belts (Appendix A) , and a critical message that we have heard time and again in our interviews, industry research, meetings with mentors, and classroom lectures is that the mission statement must be clear, concise, and relevant to the target donors. Recommendations Consider partnering with locally-based projects and leverage existing networks to build organizational momentum: EcoWB’s organizational goals of environmental sustainability and global social welfare resonate with a large and diverse segment of the population as evidenced by the explosive growth of similar organizations over the past decade. However, nearly all market and donor research conducted pointed to a recommended organizational model of differentiation and grassroots growth. As the majority of local corporate and foundational donors contribute to nonprofit organizations that focus on local impact, dedicating a portion of EcoWB’s project portfolio to local partnerships in the greater Puget Sound Area will not only help drive initial local funding, but it will also drive exposure and help build explicit connections with the local community. In addition, conducting a solid local project early on will provide credibility and tangible evidence of success, which will improve fundraising efforts for global initiatives down the road. This will ultimately create a virtuous cycle model of growth where exposure drives funding which is in turn reinvested into targeted projects and partnerships to drive even greater exposure. Focus on differentiating EcoWB from competitors and target/position for growth: The mission of EcoWB must be clear and accessible to its potential donors. To do this, EcoWB needs to think critically about its current positioning. EcoWB has several rare and valuable resources, including technical/academic expertise and a large network of ecologists. These can be leveraged to generate donor engagement through volunteerism, membership, education, and transparent communication, which should be top priorities early in the organization’s growth cycle. Ultimately, this type of individual engagement will ideally result in predictable revenue streams in perpetuity and more importantly, a wide base of individual awareness and support. Diversify Revenue Streams Early: Funding diversification is crucial to the long-term sustainability of EcoWB. Targeted fundraising campaigns should be separated into the following categories: individual giving, foundational and governmental grants, corporate donations, events, and

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memberships. In the long run, EcoWB’s financial sustainability will depend on garnering the support of individuals. Corporate and foundational giving is generally much less predictable than individual donations. Although EcoWB’s donors may not be the direct beneficiaries of the organization, the nature of EcoWB’s mission has the potential to be compelling to a large cross section of the population. Individuals have a greater agency to follow their passions for conservation and societal welfare than corporations. Although EcoWB’s donors may not be the direct beneficiaries of the organization, the nature of EcoWB’s mission has the potential to be compelling to a large cross section of the population.

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Ecologists Without Borders

Fundraising Plan 2012-2014 As a start-up nonprofit organization, EcoWB should evaluate its organizational readiness to receive funding and establish administrative capabilities to support rapid growth. This includes the brand-building, development of media outreach and online infrastructure, and sufficient staffing required to support and drive organizational growth. This fundraising strategy will map out a specific plan of action to prepare for rapid growth and sustainability in fundraising revenue. Mission statement: EcoWB should clarify its organizational scope to its potential donors and supporters to reflect its strong differentiating factors. EcoWB brings a wealth of academic knowledge and consulting experience in both the public and private sector from just its founding members alone. Segmentation and targeting, product differentiation, and showcasing the core competencies of EcoWB will build a foundation of strong brand equity and create value for its donors/supporters. Ecology and conservation nonprofits are practically commodity industries in the fact that there are many organizations with very similar and minimally differentiated mission statements. The key for EcoWB to create awareness is to differentiate its value offering and segment the market based on its strengths and valuable resources. EcoWB’s strengths (Exhibit A) lie within its explicit knowledge of fisheries sciences and aquaculture and its global network of ecologists. Among a sea of comparable organizations, EcoWB must think critically about its positioning and mission statement. According to the online periodical, Guerilla Marketing for Nonprofits, the key is to distinguish the organization “from (the) competition... by doing less and doing it better anyone else. (EcoWB) can make a bigger impact by taking the leading role in (their) niche, by “owning” (their) category.”1 According to a study conducted by the Stanford Social Innovation Review, “all nonprofits (are) two “‘businesses’ - one related to their program activities and the other relating to charitable ‘subsidies.’”2 So in a sense, EcoWB is serving two groups of customers: the beneficiaries (the local communities and ecosystems that benefit from EcoWB’s projects) and the donors (corporate, foundational, governmental, and individual donors). The recommendations within this document will be addressing issues regarding the latter. The following material will outline recommended steps in chronological order to maximize and optimize EcoWB’s fundraising efforts:

1 Forbes, Chris. “Niche-slap the Competition.” Guerilla Marketing for Nonprofits. 2012

2 Foster, William L., Peter Kim, and Barbara Christiansen. “Ten Nonprofit Funding Models .”

Stanford Social Innovation Review. Spring 2009

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1. Improve and reinforce front-end donor/consumer-facing communication for engagement:

a. Website: These days, most nonprofits’ need to maintain a strong web

presence. As an online hub, nonprofit websites have become the center of interaction between the nonprofit and its members. EcoWB must ensure that the site is branded with organization’s activities, cause and mission, and leads visitors to the proper “call to action”. EcoWB should develop “calls to action” that include donating and engaging w/ EcoWB through social networking tools and reading the EcoWB blog. Having a website that is up to date with event information, blogs, tweets, and photography will give visitors an immediate positive first impression.

b. Social Media: Remember that the key to social networking is not to post

blurbs about just your nonprofit’s events and news, but to post and share other nonprofit’s noteworthy news as well. This will help EcoWB build relationships with other organizations, so they will be more willing to spread your non-profit’s news in turn and possibly consider partnering with EcoWB. This is a crucial strategy for all nonprofits to follow.

c. Twitter (embrace now!)/Facebook: Twitter is a great tool for constant

updating and engaging in the ecology communty. EcoWB can setup its Facebook page to receive its Twitter updates to fill the Facebook page with content. The ecology community may get the most value from Twitter while a volunteer base may find more value in a Facebook page that is richer in media. The organization should always cross-promote content utilized in website and blogs.

d. Linkedin: Linkedin and other professional networking resources can be

utilized to target and reach out to potential partners and donors.

e. Blog/Podcast: A blog will be a vital communications vehicle to provide regularly updated information on projects, sector news, and organizational events. This will further engage donors and potential donors through linking and commentary feeds.

2. Establish back-end infrastructure to support online and physical operations:

a. Database: Acquire, setup, and develop standard procedure: a fully

functioning donor system to record all giving, track and assess campaign effectiveness, and all member/donor information. We would encourage

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EcoWB to focus on adopting an affordable database (i.e. CRM – “Customer Relationship Management” database) to save money and consider having a personalized database developed if an affordable database doesn’t meet the organization’s needs which is probably unlikely during the first few years

i. We recommend either 37signals or Salesforce. 37signals has an outstanding reputation and offers a database product called Highrise which offers the following suite of features for only $99/month.

1. Save and organize notes and email conversations for up to 30,000 customers and contacts.

2. Keep track of proposals and deals. Share status with your company, department, or team.

3. Never forget to follow-up. Get a text message or email so you never forget to make the call.

4. Over 60 feature add-ons

b. Donation Experience: EcoWB is doing a good job of keeping the donation process simple and executable in less than 3 steps. EcoWB should consider allowing the user the opportunity to access Facebook to talk about the donation or link to Twitter to tweet about how s/he supports EcoWB. Similar to an endorsement, this will encourage others to donate online knowing that the recommendation to do so came from a familiar and trusted source. Also, EcoWB should change the Paypal account name from LD50_@msn.com to a EcoWB branded email which can be setup through Google.

c. Google Analytics: Once EcoWB has built a strategy with all the options

detailed above, and has started implementing it, the organization should ensure to put methods in place to track and analyze traffic. Google Analytics is a great tool to help measure advertising ROI as well as to track video, social networking sites’ reach and usage of particular applications. Use this free service to build goals in EcoWB’s GA dashboard and receive weekly comparison reports of the traffic on the website. By tracking the organization’s and visitors’ activity, the staff will be able to make better decisions as to where to best spend the organization’s time and direct online efforts.

3. Recruit volunteers and permanent staff for a fundraising committee:

a. Marketing/Social Media/Customer Relationship Management: Many

students are looking for practical, hands-on experience where they can

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apply the knowledge they have learned in their classes. Departments at the University of Washington are looking to partner with organizations like EcoWB in order to provide meaningful internships for their students. Many students will be happy to do something like this as an independent study for no pay during the school year. We suggest posting an ad on several career services websites for a part-time position, perhaps around ten hours per week. As the spring quarter begins on March 26th, we recommend posting these positions by March 17th. Target departments include:

i. Foster School of Business (contact Foster’s career services at bcc@u.washington.edu)

ii. Evans School of Public Affairs (evansjob@u.washington.edu) iii. School of Aquatic & Fisheries Sciences

(safsdesk@u.washington.edu) iv. School of Marine and Environmental Affairs (uwsmea@uw.edu)

b. Fundraising board of directors

i. Hire one individual with strong fundraising experience to serve on the board. You can post on the University of Washington’s career services website. Nonprofits receive a discounted rate of $10 per ad. This website recruits not only students but the alumni network as well. http://careers.uw.edu/HuskyJobs/Employers

ii. Develop a network of volunteers to solicit funding on behalf of the organization. This network can be built through a variety of channels:

1. Personal networks 2. Fisheries and other professional networks of the founders 3. Local chapters of organizations such as NetImpact 4. Volunteer recruitment sites. The Carlson Leadership and

Public Service Center at the University of Washington provides an extensive list of sites on which to post your volunteer opportunities http://depts.washington.edu/leader/getinvolved/volunteeropps.html

4. Establishing the Internal Revenue Service designation of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit will be crucial to gaining legal recognition and credibility when soliciting funds:

a. The tax-exempt status provided by a 501(c)(3) classified will allow EcoWB

to focus its funding efforts on projects that directly impact its beneficiaries. Furthermore, 501(c)(3) status will provide a significant level

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of legitimacy when soliciting funds from corporate donors and other large charitable organizations. Eligibility for many major grants offered by charitable foundations are often only offered to accredited 501(c)(3) organizations. Also, the ability for EcoWB to provide tax deductions to individuals would be another key incentive for prospective donors.

5. Raise local awareness and build organizational credibility. “Critical to the momentum of EcoWB during start-up is securing long-term financial support”... but what is more critical is securing long-term credibility:

a. Deliver first biannual individual appeal campaigns (Dec/June)

i. These appeal letters and campaigns should take place during historically peak giving and volunteer periods of the Christmas/holiday season and the beginning of summer break.

ii. These appeal documents should be submitted through all accessible channels to include postal mail, email, website presence, blog/social media postings, and through physical events.

iii. If financially feasible, EcoWB should host biannual events (i.e. breakfast or seminar to complement these appeal campaigns). Although these events typically involve high overhead, they have been a proven model for generating funds and awareness.

iv. Whether it is through restricted donations for specific projects or through a general awareness building, there must be a “call-to-action” and a stated level of urgency associated with these appeal campaigns.

b. Build credibility through contracted work and partnered local ecological

projects: i. EcoWB must strategically select partnered local projects with

organizations whose missions align with EcoWB (i.e. Puget Sound Marine Conservation Network, Seattle Aquarium Marine Conservation Network) and continue to build a differentiated service and create value for the supported organization. This creates valuable local connections that generate legitimacy to the eyes of local corporate and foundational donors and can also potentially generate additional funding sources in the form of contract payments. (See Appendices A & D of this document and Consumer Analysis spreadsheet in dropbox for more information.)

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ii. As a new nonprofit startup, EcoWB must establish a physical presence among other organizations of similar scope. To build momentum and to foster potential partnerships, EcoWB should consider attending and participating in various environmental and social welfare events.

1. On May 17, 2012, local conservation organization, Forterra, will be hosting its 17th Annual Conservation Breakfast. This breakfast is one of the largest annual networking events within the Pacific Northwest’s environmental/conservation community. http://www.forterra.org/events/forterras_17th_annual_conservation_award_breakfast_a_fresh_approach

2. Green Festival is a project of Green America and Global Exchange and is the nation’s largest environmental sustainability event. If possible, EcoWB should register as an exhibitor to generate broader national-level support and awareness for its cause. Events take place across many U.S. metropolitan areas http://www.greenfestivals.org

iii. Local impact projects should heavily involve local media. Engage local media and heavily push content through front-end web tools.

c. Continue to maintain transparency of progress for global projects.

i. Blog posts ii. Updates on website

iii. Local publications

6. Broaden exposure through academic partnering:

a. EcoWB should strategically partner with academic institutions within the greater northwest area (i.e. UW Dept. of Fishery Sciences, Forestry, Eco Biology, etc.) and provide expertise through guest speaker series and seminars. These partnerships will not only raise awareness for EcoWB but will provide a critical network for recruiting volunteers and members. Additionally, EcoWB may begin a local project with student volunteers in order to gain credibility in the community. The University of Washington’s Career Center lists multiple opportunities and options for increasing visibility on campus: http://careers.washington.edu/Employers/Increase-Your-Visibility Through this channel EcoWB may:

1. Host an information session about your organization 2. Participate in Career Fairs and other events

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3. Post a job or internship opportunity (see part d above) 4. Contact and build relationships with student organizations

b. Global Environmental Brigades is one of nine programs offered by Global

Brigades: a large student-led organization that empowers volunteers to facilitate sustainable solutions in under-resourced communities. We focus on reversing environmental degradation in these communities by encouraging reforestation and sustainable agriculture, implementing waste management, and offering educational programs.http://depts.washington.edu/sao/rso-directory/?club=3168

c. Green Evans’ purpose is to connect graduate students interested in

environmental issues within the Evans School and across campus and to provide an arena for students to create lasting networks, which will help further students’ future professional goals. http://depts.washington.edu/sao/rso-directory/?club=3252

d. Earth Club UW Chapter: The purpose of this organization is to plan and

execute projects that encourage environmental stewardship and education on campus and in the UW community. http://students.washington.edu/uwearth/

e. Partner with K-12 schools to generate awareness and additional revenue sources.

i. Field trips to local watersheds, etc. ii. School fundraising initiatives (example: students can “adopt a

fish” by raising dollars to go to the Tilapia project, or “Save a mangrove forest”). EcoWB can do on-site visits to the classrooms to show pictures and tell stories of how their efforts are going to a good cause.

iii. Educational on-site visits: Some schools are willing to pay professionals to come in and present their expertise to classrooms or school assemblies. Topics will vary according to school’s need. EcoWB may consider approaching high schools that offer courses in environmental studies, global geography, etc.

7. Increase foundational/government support (Secure funding from at

least 2 of the target grant foundations and establish strong relationships and project transparency to secure repeat funding by December 2013. (See Appendices A & D of this document and Consumer Analysis spreadsheet in dropbox for more information)

a. RSF Social Finance

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i. Up to $5,000 seed money for projects in Environmental Stewardship

ii. Due MARCH 15 iii. Apply online at

http://rsfsocialfinance.org/services/giving/seedfund/apply-for-a-seed-fund-grant/

iv. 501c3 status or 501c3 sponsorship required

b. GEF Small Grants Program i. Supports projects in Biodiversity, Climate Change, International

Waters, and Land Managment ii. Includes grants for Planning, Pilot Demonstration Activities,

Monitoring and Analysis, and Dissemination, Networking, and Policy Dialogue

iii. Contact sgp.info@undp.org for more information iv. Application procedures outlined at

http://sgp.undp.org/index.cfm?module=ActiveWeb&page=WebPage&s=ApplyforanSGPGrant

c. Cornell Douglass Foundation

i. Provides small grants to organizations that promote advocating for environmental health and justice, encouraging stewardship of the environment, and furthering respect for sustainability of resources.

ii. Application and procedures found at http://www.cornelldouglas.org/apply/

iii. 501c3 status or 501c3 sponsorship required

8. Expand corporate giving (See Appendices A & D of this document and

Consumer Analysis spreadsheet in dropbox for more information)

a. Establish relationships with target corporate donors for grants, matching gifts, and in-kind donations

i. Boeing offers Corporate Grants (US and international), in-kind/surplus donations, Humanitarian delivery flights, cash grants, volunteerism, employee drives, contributions of intellectual capital, business donations/sponsorships. http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/aboutus/community/nw_region/wa_env.html

ii. Alaska Airlines offers Grants, Dollars for Doers, Matching Gifts, in-kind air travel. https://donationsalaskaair.com/index.lasso?page=start

iii. REI http://www.rei.com/stewardship/rei_grants_partnerships

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1. REI is best approached through networking and local projects. Once a staff member nominates EcoWB for sponsorship, you may apply for a grant.

9. Develop a targeted individual giving program

a. Global environmental sustainability and its associated impact on social welfare is a subject that relates to the existing concerns of many individuals across various demographics. Although there may not be a direct and tangible benefit of EcoWB’s projects to the individual donor, the organization’s mission still resonates with a potentially vast collective. However, in order for EcoWB to establish individual donations and membership revenue as a foundation for its funding model, the organization must fit the following prerequisites3:

i. There must be a sufficient population of individuals who share these concerns. As evidenced by the widespread support of other organizations of a similar scope (i.e. Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund) a large cross section of the population have already shown strong funding potential.

ii. EcoWB must be able to communicate its value proposition to its beneficiaries in a very clear and concise way.

iii. There must be programs to drive strong engagement and volunteerism.

b. The strategy is to develop a wide base of support through individual

donations and subsequently generate predictable, unrestricted, and collectively significant funding streams.

c. Create appeal letter, donor literature, and materials

i. These materials should provide background on EcoWB, list of projects and their associated impact, list of volunteer opportunities, and list of prominent corporate and individual donors.

d. Create opportunities to capture names of potential donors

i. There should be various opportunities where potential donors can sign-up for events on the EcoWB website. These opportunities can include speaker series, seminars, or even simple information

3 Foster, William L., Peter Kim, and Barbara Christiansen. “Ten Nonprofit Funding Models .”

Stanford Social Innovation Review. Spring 2009

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requests through the website. Building the database of potential donors is the foundation of any individual giving program.

ii. Web analytics through products such as Google Analytics also provides valuable data that can be utilized to segment and target potential donors. This function can fall under the responsibilities of the fundraising committee.

e. Capitalize on corporate matching fund or matching donation programs

i. Many employers take part in a donation-matching program where the company will match the employees’ original contribution. This increases the payoff of specifically targeting individual donors who fall under such organizations. In the greater Seattle area alone, the following companies have generous employee donation and volunteer matching programs: Boeing, Microsoft, Expedia, Weyerhaeuser, Alaska Airlines, and Starbucks.

10. Create membership program (Q1 2013):

a. Membership status provides a donor with a sense of ownership or responsibility that a non-committal individual donation wouldn’t necessarily confer. Not only does this increase the likelihood of recurring donations, it builds a community that can easily increase the success of future fundraising campaigns.

b. Create hierarchy of benefits between “donor” and “member”

i. Members should be provided with something tangible in return for their membership loyalty. This can generally be in the form of a t-shirt or another branded piece of memorabilia and additional forms of literature.

ii. Membership creates an additional resource base of potential volunteers. It will be crucial to maintain member engagement through regular communications, project status updates, and multiple avenues of membership engagement.

iii. Communicate membership benefits through membership appeals at academic and environmental events as well as through existing social media and web channels.

iv. Establish internal fulfillment mechanism to provide member benefits and recurring material delivery.

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11. Long-term sustainability:

a. As EcoWB’s operations and project workflow become more routinized, there will be a greater necessity for predictable revenue streams over the long run. This further emphasizes the importance of generating perpetuity through membership programs and annual giving campaigns.

i. Track lifetime giving of individual donors and recognize individuals who reach certain donation levels.

ii. Generate predictable revenue stream in perpetuity through membership programs and annual individual giving campaigns.

iii. Corporate giving and foundational grants are less predictable than individual donations and membership revenue. Individuals have greater agency to follow passions for conservation and sustainability than large corporations.

iv. The following diagram illustrates the optimal distribution of funding sources (Appendix B):

b. Extending geographic boundaries though partnerships with worldwide organizations:

i. Once credibility is established through local partnerships and local corporate funding, EcoWB should expand the scope of its operations and funding sources. A diverse project portfolio of local and international projects can springboard EcoWB into partnerships with prestigious worldwide organizations such as Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund, and various international social relief funds. This would increase exposure of

One-Time Corporate

Gifts

Foundational Grants and Contracts

Individual Donations and Membership

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EcoWB, which would in turn increase funding, and this would continue in a virtuous cycle model.

ii. The following diagram illustrates the virtuous long-term growth cycle. The cycle begins with partnership and collaboration with like-minded organizations in need of EcoWB’s differentiated value proposition. This would generate a strong portfolio of diverse projects that would in turn generate exposure through press releases, social media, and industry networking. This would generate the basis for financial support and drive broader partnerships for more ambitious and diverse projects.

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Appendix A: Market & 3C Research

MEMORANDUM

DATE: February 1, 2012

RE: Market and 3C Analysis for Fundraising

___________________________________________________________________

Market Analysis

The Market Analysis provides a brief overview of current market conditions that will affect immediate nonprofit growth.

Current trends in charitable donations:

In 1999, there were a total of 1.20 million nonprofit organizations. By 2009, there were a total of 1.43 million organizations. During the same decade, the total number of “reporting” nonprofits (organizations that filed IRS forms 990) increased from 425,503 to 628,700 organizations (Table 1). This marked a staggering 48 percent increase in reporting nonprofits. However, this growth was not consistent to the growth rate of private charitable contributions. In 2000, these contributions totaled $290.76 billion (adjusted for inflation) and peaked in 2007 where contributions totaled $326.57 billion. But, Post-2008 recessionary factors drove down annual charitable giving to $284.85 billion and these figures have been very slow to rebound to pre-recession levels.4

4 Roeger, Katie L., Blackwood, Amy, and Sarah L. Pettijohn. “The Nonprofit Sector in Brief: Public Charities, Giving, and Volunteering.” Urban Institute, 2011

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So, with this large pool of nonprofit organizations and the limited sources of funding, smaller organizations have been subjected to significant fiscal stress. A recent study conducted by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative concluded that at least 65% of nonprofit organizations across all subsectors will increase funding demands and 40% will plan to increase operating budgets in 2012.5 However the majority of grant-makers surveyed in this study were planning to either hold grant levels constant or cut grant budgets. The same study also indicated that any small improvements seen in charitable giving have been swept up by the larger and more established nonprofit organizations.

Strategic Implications to Economists Without Borders (EcoWB):

With suboptimal macroeconomic conditions and the slow recovery of charitable giving to pre-recession levels, a start-up nonprofit organization will likely have difficulty in securing funds to sustain rapid operational growth. There is a significant glut of reporting non-profit organizations that are all vying the same limited available resources (Table 2). Therefore, product/mission differentiation from competing organizations and segmented targeting of funding sources will be crucial to a start-up nonprofit like EcoWB. Furthermore, partnerships and collaboration with larger organizations with compatible missions will also be critical in not only alleviating funding issues, but also in building brand equity among a sea of comparable organizations.

5 “Late 2011 Nonprofit Fundraising Study.” Nonprofit Research Collaborative, Dec. 2011

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Company Analysis

The following SWOT analysis focuses on EcoWB’s fundraising and marketing capabilities. The analysis expands upon some of the key strengths (internal), weaknesses (internal), opportunities (external) and threats (external) mentioned on the company analysis excel document.

Strength (internal):

EcoWB has already started engaging in projects which signals legitimacy to donors and volunteers. However, from a marketing standpoint there is room for improvement. The current iteration of the website doesn’t showcase much visual imagery of the current projects underway in Cambodia and Mexico. More visual imagery would likely resonate with donors/volunteers and should be added before any major fundraising/marketing efforts kick-off. The current iteration of the website is very professional. However, the website is very text heavy and could benefit from more media options to engage viewers. Additionally, the site’s overall architecture should be audited to ensure that all links work properly (i.e. pictures on the main page don’t link). EcoWB has a very professional leadership team with a wealth of collective knowledge and experience. The leadership team’s expertise should be viewed as a competitive advantage and leveraged to attract funding. The leadership team should consider adding pictures or videos and graphics that depict the team’s collective work experience and deep domain in the field of ecology. At the very least the names of the leadership team should link through to a biography. Weakness (internal):

EcoWB currently has no database to manage donors and ecological volunteers. A stable online and easy to use database is critical to EcoWB’s success. EcoWB should consider using a database from a reputable technology company that would consider donating their database service as an in-kind donation (e.g. Google, Microsoft, 37signals). EcoWB currently has no communication processes in place. If EcoWB is going to rely on a global team of volunteers and interns, it is imperative that EcoWB develop a brand standards guide and communications process that ensures the EcoWB’s brand equity will stay intact. Opportunity (external):

The blogosphere is a free and rich source of genuine brand building. EcoWB should target a short-list of relevant blogs (20-30) in the ecology space and reach out to those bloggers in a way that is genuine. A quick and easy way is to start engaging in other bloggers’ content by posting comments and posting links on EcoWB’s twitter stream. Ecotourism is a growing trend and there may be an opportunity for EcoWB to leverage this trend through partnerships. Threat (external):

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There are a growing number of nonprofits (48% increase) competing for a shrinking pool of available funds (see market analysis). EcoWB should consider exhausting available partnership opportunities in to ensure the organization’s success.

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Consumer Analysis

The Consumer Analysis provides an at-a-glance overview of the current potential customers in various target segments, along with implications for EcoWB’s fundraising strategy.

About the Spreadsheet:

The Consumer Analysis spreadsheet lists potential donors of various segments, including Corporate Sponsors, Government Grants and Organizations, Nonprofit Organizations/Partners, Foundations/Trusts, and Individual Donors. The spreadsheet includes the type of donations offered by each organization, links to relevant websites and grant applications, and contact information. It also includes specific pros and cons to targeting each potential customer, as well as relevant implications for EcoWB’s fundraising strategy.

The Consumer Analysis spreadsheet allows the EcoWB team to:

Look for current trends in the charitable donations of various segments

Plan next steps in fundraising strategy

Current trends in charitable donations:

Corporations: In today’s market, many companies focus their grant-making efforts on projects that benefit the local community. When beneficiaries are local, employees can volunteer their time and see the fruits of their labor in a tangible way. Additionally, local projects allow more visibility and positive PR for the grant-making company or organization. Popular target areas for grant-makers include the education sector and health and human services. However, corporations are increasingly focused on becoming more environmentally-conscious both in their company practices and in their charitable efforts. Many companies have online grant applications and encourage nonprofit organizations of various types to apply for funding.

Government Grants: Government grant opportunities are well-aligned with the environmental mission of EcoWB. Grants.gov is a searchable database that compiles grant opportunities from multiple government-based organizations including the EPA and the State Department. Grants can be project-based or research-based. Some of these grants are specifically designated for local or state initiatives. With the international nature of EcoWB in mind, future fundraising efforts should also target grant-making organizations native to the specific countries where projects are being conducted.

Non-Profit Organizations: Nonprofits can be seen as potential customers, but also as partners or competitors. There are many opportunities to work under the umbrella of larger organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund, which would help EcoWB build its brand awareness and fundraising potential.

Foundations: Due to current economic conditions, many foundations are tightening up their requirements for grants. Many are focused on project-based applications and educational initiatives. These foundations go through rounds of applications as part of the decision-making process. With these competitive parameters in mind, EcoWB may consider pitching specific current projects and/or proposed educational initiatives to these selective foundations.

Individual Donors: Another important target segment is middle- to upper-class individuals who are passionate about cross-cultural and environmental causes. Individuals may not only

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influence decision-makers on the corporate level and help EcoWB secure a grant (consider REI), but they can also provide personal donations which may be matched by their employers (Russell Investments).

Next Steps:

Consider starting a locally-based project: Based on current trends in gift-giving requirements across multiple segments, EcoWB may want to consider starting out with a few local projects. Beginning in the Puget Sound region will allow EcoWB to offer tangible projects to volunteers and donors, and will help it align with the parameters of local companies and nonprofits. Once EcoWB has raised awareness and established a steady cash flow, movement into the global community will be more attainable.

Leverage Research and Project-Based initiatives: Since many grants are designed specifically to fund research, EcoWB may consider partnering with educational institutions or other umbrella organizations that are conducting ecological research. In addition, EcoWB should consider leveraging its current work in Cambodia and Mexico to gain attention from organizations that aim to fund project-based initiatives.

Think critically about positioning: As many grant-making organizations are focused on education, health, and human services, EcoWB will need to carefully consider its positioning in order to maximize its fundraising potential. For example, EcoWB may want to produce marketing materials that emphasize the impact its current projects have on the health and well-being of the local people.

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Competitor Analysis

The purpose of the competitor analysis is to assist EcoWB by examining the revenue structure,

fundraising/marketing strategy, and differentiating elements of similar organizations. EcoWB

has limited time and resources to spend on fundraising efforts. With this analysis, EcoWB can

better target high-potential donors and revenue sources.

Methodology: The Competitor Analysis spreadsheet provides summaries of each organization’s

Mission, Revenue Structure, Differentiating Characteristics, Location, Additional Information

about Fundraising and Marketing Strategy. The objectives are to:

Identify relationships between certain donor segments and certain types of

environmental nonprofit organizations.

Observe similar organizations’ strategies for raising revenues.

Note differentiating characteristics and marketing/positioning that may attract donor

support.

Major Findings:

Revenue Composition by Organization Size: As Exhibit 1 demonstrates, large organizations

leverage more contributions and membership fees, and less government support. Large and

small organizations are difficult to compare because small organizations tend to group

Foundation Support and Corporate Giving under Contributions. However, based on details in

annual reports the small organizations in this analysis seem to rely heavily on small foundations

and local businesses. Government grants and contracts provide the majority of small

organization revenue.

Implications: EcoWB should prioritize exploring potential government grants and local

foundational support, as these segments are the most substantial contributors to small

environmental organizations.

[Exhibit 1] Average Revenue Composition for Environmental Nonprofit Organizations

All Large International Organizations

Small, Local Organizations*

In-Kind 21 25 20

Contributions & Memberships

37 45 31

Government/NGO Grants & Contracts

34 19 41

Foundation Support 19 19 N/A**

Corporate Giving 13 13 N/A**

Investing/Operations 8 5 10

*Small organizations defined as less organizations operating on less than $10 million in annual

revenue.

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**Small organizations grouped Foundation Support and Corporate Giving with Contributions

Business Partnerships: Small Seattle-based organizations comparable to EcoWB rely heavily on local business donations rather than large international corporations. According to company literature and chosen giving, corporate partners tend to give to local, physically-observable projects that their customers care about.

Implications: To gain corporate sponsorship, EcoWB should consider supporting local projects that align with target company values (and values of customers).

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Appendix B: Comparable Organization Surveys

Partner Survey Questions

PURPOSE:

EcoWB seeks to create revenue streams and a funding strategy at a time when donor purse

strings are tight and competition is high. Many nonprofits meander their way to stable funding

in the first several years, learning hard lessons along the way. Given the tough economic

climate, EcoWB should circumvent trial and error strategy by learning from other nonprofit

successes and failures. In the Partner Organization Survey we sought advice on devising a

funding strategy from development professionals at comparable nonprofits.

METHOD:

We identified five small to medium environmentally-focused organizations in the EcoWB

partner/competitor database, in which we had personal contacts. Three organizations agreed to

connect us with a core Development/Finance staff member. We composed a standardized list of

questions covering the topics of fundraising, marketing and databases, which we used to survey

the professionals in person or by phone. The results are compiled below. Some responses are in

the interviewee’s own words and others are paraphrased for the sake of brevity. Duplication in

ideas presented represents the fact that multiple interviewees emphasized similar concepts.

INTERVIEWEES:

We interviewed the following development professionals:

Emiko Blalock, Development Manager at ForTerra (Formerly Cascade Land

Conservancy). Previously worked in development for the Seattle Autobahn Society.

Sonja Hanson, Accounting Manager at Mountains to Sound Greenway.

Liz Heinz, previously worked in development at The Mountaineers and The Kirkland Arts

Project.

RESULTS:

Fundraising 1. WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT COMPONENTS OF A NONPROFIT REVENUE STRATEGY (IE.

DEVELOPMENT TEAM, DATABASE, GRANT WRITING TEAM, COMPETITIVE CONTRACT PURSUITS)? IN

YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHAT HAS WORKED WELL/NOT WORKED WELL ABOUT YOUR ORGANIZATION’S

REVENUE STRUCTURE?

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Diversify early; Focus on individual donors if possible.

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Individual gifts are an important component of the revenue mix because if you can form a

lasting relationship with an individual, that is more malleable funding; a more sustainable

source of funding. EcoWB can begin by engaging volunteers who are passionate about

ecology. Think about planned giving and major gifts early, and begin cultivating relationships

with those who engage with your mission. Grants are often project-specific, whereas

individuals may be more willing to see the connection between this project and the next.

For our organization, corporate giving has declined severely during the recession because

companies cannot follow passion, they have to focus on the bottom line. Individuals have

more agency to follow passion.

Our organization has been successful because we have diversified our sources of funding.

Fifty percent of our revenue comes from government contracts, and fifty percent comes

from contributions (corporate, individuals, income, interest, endowment). We are

constantly reassessing all of these avenues. It’s a lot of work!

We separate our revenue streams into the following categories: Individuals, Corporate

Giving (usually sponsorship for an event or a project), Foundations (grants), Government

(grants), Membership (separate from Individuals), Events (hosting and charging a fee –

not a big money maker). You would like most of your money to come from major

individual givers. This doesn’t happen for many organizations because they lack an

aggressive development group.

Some of the ways my organization has been successful in leveraging revenue include:

Annual appeal letters (once or twice per year).

Sending a board member to “ask” for a specific amount (careful research and

timing).

Host an annual event, like a breakfast that includes a major ask (high overhead,

but commonly successful model).

Startups need to get their names out there. Small scale events like relevant speakers can

help cultivate relationships and giving down the line.

2. SOME NONPROFITS PURSUE ALTERNATIVE REVENUE SOURCES (FOR EXAMPLE INTERNAL FOR-PROFIT

VENTURES). HAVE YOU OBSERVED THIS AND WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES?

KEY TAKEAWAYS: CONTRACT WORK AND PAY-FOR-SERVICE OFFER FUNDING DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY

CONNECTION.

Our organization has several such revenue sources including property/transaction

consulting and contract work. In my former job, at Autobahn, we hosted fee-for-service

summer camps, and managed a small retail line (relevant products). These diverse funding

sources helped us tremendously and not just financially; we build strong community

partnerships and got our name out there.

A lot of our work is contracted work for restoration projects. We also get paid for an

educational program. Originally we started the educational program for free but now we

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charge for the service. Organizations expect you to be less expensive as a nonprofit, but

generally they don’t mind paying. It lends credence to your service in a way. One thing to be

aware of is the tax implications of this kind of revenue stream, especially if you are

international.

3. WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU OFFER A STARTUP NONPROFIT REGARDING THE CREATION OF A REVENUE

STRUCTURE STRATEGY?

KEY TAKEAWAYS: USE TOOLS LIKE THE FOUNDATION CENTER TO GENERATE A LARGE LIST OF GRANTS TO

PURSUE IN THE FIRST YEAR; CRAFT A CLEAR STORY.

I wish I had known about certain tools. The Foundation Center is great and you can probably

access if for free through the public library. Spend time looking at who is giving to whom.

And Focus your energy on just a couple revenue streams initially, rather than spreading

yourself too thin. I would say it is typical to focus on grants in the beginning. There is

research now that describes how some of the largest nonprofits started with grant funding

early on. But remember to find a partner and diversify as soon as possible. Find a partner

who can help you build out from grants.

Early on, EcoWB will need to get its name out there. One strategy is to host gatherings or

lectures and invite people to come, slowly widening the circle from people you know and

who are excited about what you’re doing. You should also develop a high-quality annual

appeal. The Downtown Seattle Library has a Foundation Center – computers specifically for

grant research. I would start there and pinpoint some foundational and government grants

to go after. You could also reach out to Philanthropy Northwest, which keeps a list of

corporations that are interested in giving. They have a way to search the 990s using

keywords for the types of projects funded.

In approaching the revenue structure, here are some things to think about:

Breakdown all income sources and create a strategy for each. Then tie it all

together.

Create a good work plan and story; be able to articulate a strong jumping off

point for asking for funding.

Start by having a donate page on your webs, a Facebook page, think about

existing contacts and who you can ask for an initial gift.

Start with 20-30 grant opportunities.

A couple things to keep in mind when asking for money: First, you have to ask for general

operating money in addition to “restricted” donations for specific projects. Second, people

like new things, so there’s an advantage there for EcoWB.

4. HOW CAN NONPROFITS GAIN MOMENTUM AND RECEIVE GRANTS WHEN THEY HAVE NOT YET PROVEN

THEMSELVES IN THE MARKET?

KEY TAKEAWAYS: FIND WAYS TO GROW YOUR NETWORK; WORK WITHIN YOUR EXISTING CONTACTS AND

THOSE MOST INTIMATELY CONNECTED TO YOUR MISSION.

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It’s true that it is tough in first year! I’d say find a private Foundation or an individual that’s

really into your mission, so they can be your advocate. Grant givers are going to ask – who

else is funding you and how much are they giving you?

A lot of development is about knowing people. Your contacts will help – find out who they

know in giving positions. One grant from a big organization will help your credibility.

Corporations in particular are more likely to give if they see another corporate name listed.

People tend to want to give locally, yes, but people are interested in funding all sorts of

niches. You just have to find the right group of people. For EcoWB that may start with the

network of ecologists.

Partnerships generally take the form of sharing resources and working alongside another

nonprofit or government agency. For example, in a trailbuilding effort, one entity might

apply for the funding, another might actually do the work of building the trail. Partnerships

could potentially help give you credibility. The invitation usually comes at an intimate level –

people who know each other from being around.

To build momentum you might consider attending big environmental events. ForTerra’s

Annual Conservation Breakfast or Conservation Northwest, those are big networking events

for the environmental community.

Develop a sad story or something tangible – one project – that you can speak to. It’s an

uphill battle getting your name out there. Expect about a year and a half before funding

really takes off. The first year you might write a lot of proposals and fail to get grants, but by

the second year the funders will know your name, ask for a tour of your project, and

hopefully if you’ve written a good story, they will give you a shot.

Marketing 1. FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS AND COSTS OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA?

KEY TAKEAWAYS: MIXED RESPONSES; THIS IS HOW PEOPLE SEARCH FOR AND ENGAGE WITH YOU; BE

CONSISTENT AND STRATEGIC IN HOW YOU USE SOCIAL MEDIA.

Social media takes a lot of time but it is an essential piece today. This is how people will look

for you: your website and Facebook. Fundraising isn’t just asking for money once. You have

to have a plan for keeping in touch with your donors and soliciting future donations. A lot of

engagement these days happens online.

Social media is good if you can focus on who you are targeting, be consistent with how you

use it, and try to be clear about what you are trying to achieve. Don’t get Facebook just

because people say you should be there. In our organization we have not been consistent

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with the way we have used social media and I think it is more of a resource drain than an

effective tool.

I don’t have as much direct experience with social media, but I think when the organization

is young exposure is everything. Bus ads, press releases, articles in the Seattle Times or an

ecology-related journal, attending association meetings; I think all of this is necessary. The

article might reach the most people. Or be creative. Send students and professors on a class

trip related to your mission. Many grants care about tying work with children and education.

2. HOW CAN AN ORGANIZATION GAIN VISIBILITY EARLY ON? WHAT METHODS HELPED YOUR

ORGANIZATION GAIN RECOGNITION IN THE COMMUNITY?

KEY TAKEAWAYS: It’s all about who you know; Engage people in tangible ways (this is why

membership models are useful).

Communicate in a consistent way. And find partners. In our early days we partnered with

Conservation magazine. We used their name in our publications and they wrote about our

work in their articles. Getting your name out there is grassroots organizing! Just get a vision

and stay focused on it.

Membership is one model for growing engagement and building a brand. With membership

you want them to be involved in a sustaining way, not because they make a transaction

without a lot of meaning. Give them multiple ways to be involved with the work you do.

I have only been with this organization a couple years, but I asked a coworker who has been

here 17 years and she told me how we got our name out there: it was all about who we

knew. The founding President was a prominent lawyer who knew lots of people. Those

people helped us get the word out by talking to the people they knew. We also hosted a

legendary kick-off hike from the Cascades to the Sound – quite literally walking along the

Greenway we wanted people to be thinking about. This helped us raise awareness (through

press coverage of the five day walk) and engaged people immediately.

Washington Trails has a great membership model. Their whole thing is getting a broad base

of support. They do a lot of group membership activities like hikes to keep people

interested.

Database 1. WHAT DATABASE DO YOU CURRENTLY USE? TELL ME ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THIS DATABASE?

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Start with something free and seek free IT help (Microsoft Access);

Raiser’s Edge and Salesforce are powerful but costly and complicated to use.

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We use Raiser’s Edge. It took me a while to get used to it, but once I learned it and

understood how it stored information, it is a really robust system. You have to know where

you’re putting information and why and how to get it back out! It’s really probably too fancy

and expensive for a startup.

Some databases are free and you can/should get started with one of those. Raiser’s Edge,

Salesforce and eTapestry are notable options, but they take more training. Access is another

popular option. It can be very simple and you can get it designed to fit the needs of your

organization. Yes, I think Access is a good, cheap option.

Up until last year we actually used Access. It was awful toward the end, but it worked for 19

years. We just grew to a point where it wasn’t working. So we went through a research

process, and recently implemented Salesforce. Let me tell you we spent about $60,000 to

implement Salesforce, even though we had a grant to cover a lot of it. Salesforce is powerful

but you have to maintain it and the consulting time is what’s costly. Groundwire works

specifically with nonprofits and they provided us with a grant to cover most of the services

to customize our database. Check them out. They are local. NPower is another good

resource that provides free technical support to nonprofits. For a startup, I think it’s wise to

leverage free options and service. Databases are extremely expensive to build out and

maintain.

2. WHAT OTHER DATABASES DID YOU CONSIDER?

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Do your research; Do not go after big complicated databases as a startup.

We are currently looking at other databases. We also just signed up for Spark (getting rid of

What Counts) to sync with Raiser’s Edge better. I recommend checking out Tech Soup for

more database research.

We considered Raiser’s Edge, but it was complicated and ultimately we felt that Salesforce

was newer and more agile. But these are both to complex for EcoWB’s needs and would

suck time and money.

3. IF YOU WERE STARTING FRESH, WHICH DATABASE WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?

KEY TAKEAWAYS: START FREE!

Raiser’s Edge is great but if you are small it might cause more pain than gain.

I would start simple. Before you spend an entire year’s budget, see if you can make the free

version work.

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The free option. Unless you have a high-power board member who wants to donate – start

free! You can start in Access if you need to. We tracked grants in Excel for years. It’s going to

cost $30,000 for a good database.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: The website looks cool!

In forming your plan, focus first on developing your network and then a plan for cultivating

and engaging your network (9 months to a year). This includes letters, updates, events. Then

get them involved in a project or in donating. You need to build your stories.

Call organizations who have gotten money and ask people what kind of advice they can

offer in going after a certain grant. But be careful not to step on toes.

Call up microfinance units and ask about their process. Some grant organizations give seed

money, too.

Outline for a strategy:

Program highlights, fundraising goals

Appeal Plan

Fundraising Strategy

Timeline

Programs and how many per year

Staffing

You’ll need to decide how many staff to run the operation. You might need a bookkeeper

eventually, and someone to answer phones. Maybe start with an administrative assistant.

Eventually you’ll want a program director, development staff, marketing/sponsorship staff,

a membership person, and maybe an events person. In the short term your development

work should be done by a professional person, but maybe someone who can work half time.

On timing: Annual Appeal should be at the end of the year before Thanksgiving or before

Christmas (or before summer vacation). Corporations do sponsorship proposals before May.

Grants have deadlines in all four quarters.

You should use both a push and pull approach. Start out by getting a donate page, getting a

list of donors who give to other groups, asking around to people you know, send appeal

letter, send out an e-newsletter for various things (weekly basis) and attach a simple “ask.”

We don’t have a lot of success with cold calling. It’s mostly about building a relationship.

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Appendix C: Cost Effective Ways to Generate Awareness Local Press Coverage (general) Connect with local media organizations such as the Seattle Times or the Puget Sound Business Journal to plant the seeds of awareness. Seattle Times has a readership of 1.2 million in the greater Seattle area. Puget Sound Business Journal has a print readership of 138,000 and digital readership of 325,000. Press releases should not be pursued until the back-end social media and online donation infrastructure is in place to engage the audience, promote brand awareness, and generate revenue Local Press Coverage Through Strategic Alliance w/ University Generate local/national press by creating a partnership with the University of Washington similar to how the Nature Conservancy is aligned with Stanford University through the Nature Capital Project.

The Nature Capital Project is a a new 10-year partnership among The Nature Conservancy, WWF, and Stanford University — helps key decision-makers such as government and industry incorporate the value of benefits (also known as ecosystem services) into their conservation and development decisions. Launched in October 2006, the project is developing finance and policy mechanisms as well as mapping and other decision-support tools that together can help the world secure its natural assets both for people and for nature. The vision of the Project is a future in which conservation is mainstream — that is, economically attractive and commonplace throughout the world.

Global Press Coverage Through Strategic Alliances Partnering with a leading conservation organization like Conversation International could help bring EcoWB credibility and possibly global press coverage. Since 2001, Conversation International (CI) has provided $90 million to 1,200 nongovernmental groups uniquely and strategically positioned to get conservation done. According to CI, “Those numbers will keep going up”. The benefit to EcoWB is CI’s press power. CI is very focused on driving volume and partnership by using the press to publicize CI’s brand to reach target audiences in the U.S. and drive traffic to CI’s website. CI’s strategy is working. In the summer of 2011, CI generated 6,000 media hits in over 20+ countries. One of their biggest stories was helping spearhead the opening of Cambodia’s Mekong Turtle Conservation Center through a partnership with Cambodia’s Fishery Administration and local monks. The global press release covering the story generated 360 articles reaching up to 320 million people in 13 countries.

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Blogging: Contributing to the greater conservation and ecology network’s bloggosphere is a powerful and cost effective way to build visibility among not only potential donors, but also potential partners and allies as well. Blogging can showcase EcoWB’s technical expertise as well its significant contributions and progress being made in the field. Create Membership Program: Membership Perks: - Adopt-a-project: Members can choose which projects the funds contribute towards (i.e. Cambodia Aquaculture). - Members have awareness of where their money is going. - Deliver electronic newsletters to inform members on the progress of specific projects. Speaker Series: Develop a speaker series and seminars focused on local institutions of higher learning. For example, EcoWB can partner with various functional departments within the University of Washington to include the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, and the Conservation Biology Department to generate awareness for imminent ecological issues, garner support through volunteerism and academic collaboration, and develop overall brand awareness. Furthermore, this would provide the opportunity to engage the academic audience through their student-run organizations and their respective social media channels. There are approximately 50,000 K-12 students in the Seattle School District. Search Engine Optimization: There are approximately 625 million searches conducted online every single day. SEO is a systematic process in which an organization can generate higher search engine visibility over time. Natural SEO is free and the most cost effective way of driving traffic to the organization’s website. Podcasts: Podcasts are a great way to engage in conversations with ecologist and bring awareness to EcoWB. There are a number of podcast strategies. One strategy is to start your own podcast and interview guests ecologists. The EcoWB podcast could be published on the EcoWB site and iTunes for free. Another approach is to reach out to other podcasts and ask if you can be interviewed about your current projects in Mexico and Cambodia.

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Guerrilla Marketing: Print stickers with shocking statistics about ecological issues and paste them in high-trafficked areas in Seattle like Capital Hill and Downtown. Include a QR Code (QR codes are used to take a piece of information from a transitory media and put it in to your cell phone) on the sticker that leads people to EcoWB’s website, facebook page, or Twitter stream. Generate Content for larger organizations: EcoWB could generate content (i.e. academic articles, media articles, and videos) for larger organizations that already have high volume and traffic to build initial awareness.

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Appendix D: Target Donor List Top Three Corporate Targets

Expedia has a more global view than many companies in its gift-giving: “Together, we can help

make our local and global communities great places for generations to come.” Expedia’s focus is

also in-line with the EcoWB mission, by supporting “the social, environmental and economic

conditions of the communities where [they] do business.” Notably, Doctors Without Borders is

listed on the Corporate Citizenship webpage as an example of the type of organization that

Expedia supports. Considering their push to become more environmentally-sound through their

“Sustainable Travel and Tourism” program and “Green Travel Options,” Expedia would likely be

attracted to the positive public relations that they would achieve through a partnership with

Ecologists Without Borders. EcoWB is advised to emphasize the combined benefits of reaching

the globally-conscious tourist market while also helping the environment.

http://www.expediainc.com/corporateCitizenship.cfm

Like Expedia, Boeing is also focused on reducing its carbon footprint and in tackling “climate

change” and “pollution” through grant-making. In-line with EcoWB’s goals, Boeing lists three

“Global Objectives” on its Corporate Citizenship webpage: “inspire environmental citizenship

and educate citizens to minimize their impact on the environment; reduce greenhouse-gas

emissions and increase recycling and energy efficiency; and protect and restore critical natural

assets and habitat. Boeing provides grants and in-kind air travel.” When applying, EcoWB

should highlight its mission to support sustainable projects in developing countries, keeping in

mind the following quote from the Eligibility and Exclusion Guidelines: “Emphasis is on

sustainable, scalable and replicable programs beyond the period of investment. We emphasize

programs that are catalyst for positive and systemic change and have a broad base of

community support.”

http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/aboutus/community/nw_region/wa_env.html

REI supports many potential partners of EcoWB, including People for Puget Sound, Washington

Water Trails Association, the National Wildlife Federation, and the National Audubon Society.

Although they require an employee nomination in order to receive funding, their mission and

culture is well-aligned with that of EcoWB. REI supports “nonprofit partners that focus on both

environmental conservation and promoting active volunteerism through grant funding” and aim

to “help inspire the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts and environmental stewards.”

EcoWB is encouraged to build personal connections by attending volunteer events or

workshops/classes run by REI, and should utilize its extensive network to connect through online

means such as blogs and LinkedIn. Finally, EcoWB is encouraged to initiate some local projects

of its own to build awareness and local connections with companies such as REI.

http://www.rei.com/stewardship/rei_grants_partnerships

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Top Three Foundation Targets

RSF Social Finance is primarily focused on lending to “social enterprises,” meaning organizations

that can turn a profit and pay back the loan. However, RSF has a Seed Fund program that

provides small gifts ($500-5,000) to organizations that are within their first two years of

operations. The organizational mission fits well with EcoWB’s international environmental focus.

One of the three areas of giving is Ecology and the description specifically mentions “saving the

world’s rivers.” Developing a good relationship with RSF could also open the door for future

loans if EcoWB wanted to incorporate a revenue-generating mechanism into its financial model

(for example, bidding on competitive ecological contracts for specific projects).

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Program offers money for projects in specific

countries in need. The gifts are made to projects that fit within the scope of the mission,

including biodiversity¸ climate change, international waters, sustainable agriculture, and

persistent organic pollutants. Grants are available for community-based “assessment and

planning” for pre-project analysis of impact. These “planning grants” might work well with

EcoWB’s expertise in ecological advisory for developmental projects. Other grants are available

for activities like “monitoring and analysis” or “Dissemination, networking, and policy dialogue.”

GEF likes to work with communities directly, so this grant needs to be written with an in-country

partner in mind.

The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation provides funding to projects that “sustain, restore, and

enhance our Nation’s fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats.” This grant would be most

appropriate for EcoWB projects located within the United States. EcoWB has an excellent base

of ecologists specializing in the fisheries, which aligns it well with the mission of National Fish &

Wildlife Foundation.

Top Three Government Grant Targets

The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency that provides grants for

organizations in a variety of fields including environmental and educational. Their mission is

similar to that of EcoWB which is “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national

health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense.” They do have the potential to

grant funding for certain international projects. Their focus is more on education and research

and has a large variety of opportunities spread out throughout the year so as EcoWB becomes in

more projects, they can continuously apply for grants that fit their particular need.

http://www.nsf.gov/index.jsp

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a large variety of grants that are

environmentally based, from education to pollution. Along the same lines, their mission is to

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protect human health and the environment. Not only do they have grants, but they also work

with organizations through partnerships to assist in a variety of fields such as agriculture and

water systems. This is a great opportunity for EcoWB to participate in more locally (USA) funded

projects and fulfill their mission statement of providing that scientific expertise.

http://www.epa.gov/

Finally, for more specific international grants, Grants.gov will be a great place to look for more

internationally focused grants and partnership. Because EcoWB currently has international

projects, we suggest using this site to find grants that will directly apply to these projects. One

for example is the project in Mexico. There are quite a few potential government partnership

grants that could apply to EcoWB’s project in Mexico.

http://www.grants.gov/

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Exhibit A: Company SWOT Analysis