Case Study: Washington Conservation Voters

WCV logo.

Washington Conservation Voters (WCV) is the Washington Chapter of the League of Conservation Voters, a 501(c) 4 (political organization) whose mission is to financially support environmentally friendly candidates and incumbents for political office. In 2006, WCV retained FPN to meet a fundraising goal of $116,000 for their annual Wake Up! For Your Environment breakfast in Seattle. They wanted to make the event stand out from previous breakfasts and raise significantly more money than had previously been raised at this event.

The event took place on October 19, 2006, at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle. Approximately 900 guests enjoyed breakfast and were introduced to the new Wake Up! For Your Environment breakfast theme: “generation e everybody.”

generation e everybody.


Developed by FPN, the theme grew from the notion that everyone who cares about the future of our environment is part of generation e. The brand was included in save the date cards, invitations, centerpieces, give away stickers for each guest and event t-shirts. Kids of all ages and from various environmental advocacy organizations were in attendance and included in the program as well. U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and young environmental activism coordinator Billy Parish were present. Each spoke about the importance of getting involved and protecting the environment.

FPN took a strategic approach to helping WCV meet their fundraising goal. New sponsors were acquired, and table captains were introduced to effective tactics to use when inviting their contacts to attend. Each table captain was also challenged to match a $1,000 pledge, whether through a personal contribution on top of table sponsorship or with the help of table attendees. In addition to fundraising and creating the powerful “generation e everybody” theme, FPN developed and implemented a marketing approach for the breakfast and outlined practical, cost effective ways for WCV to leverage the theme going forward. The collaboration between WCV and FPN led to the resounding success of this annual fundraising event.