What is the purpose of the Our State, Our Future capacity campaign? 

Between 2024 and 2027, every city and county in Washington will be updating their comprehensive plans. These new plans will need to comply with transformational new updates to the Growth Management Act (GMA), making these updates the most consequential since the first comprehensive plans passed under the GMA in the 1990s.

Futurewise has always operated efficiently, earning a reputation for achieving more with less. However, the volume of work required to ensure that comprehensive plans throughout Washington align with our needs and values exceeds our current capacity.

The Our State, Our Future campaign will raise $1.5 million in one-time funding for three new FTE roles for three years, providing Futurewise with the capacity we need to ensure that these comprehensive plan updates protect our climate, preserve farms and forests, and promote affordable, connected and prosperous communities.

How will the Our State, Our Future campaign benefit the organization’s mission/impact? 

The upcoming comprehensive plan updates are a once-in-a-decade opportunity to reinforce Washington’s role as a national climate leader, create greater opportunity for working people, and promote racial justice.

Futurewise is the only statewide organization in Washington that specializes in land use policy and growth management specifically. Futurewise boasts a three-decade track record of success in fighting for visionary land use policy at the city, county, and state level, protecting millions of acres of farmland, wildlife habitat and open space from sprawl.

We are uniquely positioned to ensure these comprehensive plan updates reflect our values and vision for Washington’s future. An investment in Futurewise as part of the Our State, Our Future campaign is an investment in improved comprehensive plan updates that prioritize the well-being of our communities, our climate, and our future. 

How does the Our State, Our Future campaign build more capacity for the organization? 

Futurewise has built a remarkable reputation across Washington state on the land use issues we lead on due to the talent of our small but mighty team. However, current program staff capacity is stretched thin as staffers take on many additional responsibilities beyond their job titles. With our workload estimated to increase three-fold during the comprehensive plan update process, Futurewise is at a crucial juncture to invest in the “back of office” roles that make our program staff successful and free up their time to focus on what they do best: advocating with you. 

How much will be raised?

$1.5 million to cover the costs of three new FTE for three years

What are the specific capacity investments will the Our State, Our Future  campaign support? 

Futurewise will invest in three mission-critical staff roles. Increased communications capacity will improve community engagement and advocacy efforts on plans, improved operational capacity will free up program staff time to focus on comprehensive plan updates, and improved fundraising capacity will support new revenue to continue to invest in our program team. 

Operations Manager: 1 FTE
Hired Spring 2025

This new staff position will support our program staff, Executive Director, and Director of External Affairs in organizational operations. This role will free up existing staff capacity by overseeing hiring and on-boarding, work planning, HR, program operations, and support financial reporting, budgeting, IT, and board management.

Communications Manager: 1 FTE
Hired Summer 2025

This position will support all our programs in engaging local communities and decision-makers on local comprehensive plan updates. This role will help elevate Futurewise’s profile and brand across various platforms while collaborating with our fundraising team to create materials aimed at securing new funding.

Development & Events Manager: 1 FTE
Hired Fall 2025/Winter 2026

This new staff position will add a second fundraising position at Futurewise to ensure that we can scale our annual operating budget to match our on-going staffing needs after the conclusion of the Our State, Our Future campaign. This role will work with our Director of External Affairs to manage our annual spring fundraiser, plan additional cultivation events year-round, and manage two yearly giving campaigns.

How is this capacity fund different from the annual operating needs? 

Funds raised for the Our State, Our Future campaign are one-time gifts to boost Futurewise’s organizational capacity during the comprehensive plan periodic update cycle. The $1.5 million funding goal for the Our State, Our Future campaign reflects funding three new positions for three years, with the intention that these roles will become self-sustaining in the years following. 

Since 2018, Futurewise’s current Executive Director and Director of External Affairs have successfully increased individual giving by 3X and major giving by 5X. We are confident that with additional staff support, we can build on this success and identify new funding opportunities to maintain our increased budget. 

Dedicated communications support will not only make us more successful in achieving our mission, but also in supporting our fundraising efforts by allowing us to connect with a wider range of donors and supporters. A second fundraising role will support additional donor cultivation and events while the operations role will reduce administrative responsibilities for the Executive Director, freeing up his time to do more direct fundraising. 

How does more funding assist with the programming work? 

Futurewise’s current organizational chart consists of 8 FTE staff, 6 of which are dedicated program staff. Currently all fundraising, communications, and operations work is shared by all staff, with the Executive Director and Director of External Affairs holding most of the workload. This means that our talented program staff are not able to fully focus on their core responsibilities, as they are also covering capacity gaps. 

Additionally, our fundraising efforts are primarily focused on maintaining existing funding, rather than pursuing new opportunities. To effectively expand our programs, we first need to invest in the back-office roles that ensure our programs are both successful and sustainable. This will also help support our fundraising team in targeting long-term funding prospects to drive future program growth.

What are the risks if Futurewise doesn’t meet the campaign goal?

Without ambitious action now, we risk locking in land development patterns that perpetuate historic injustices, put our communities at risk of wildfires and floods, threaten our local food supply, endanger local wildlife, and price more and more people out of their homes.

The urgent scope and scale of work to ensure that comprehensive plans all across Washington reflect our values and vision is FAR beyond Futurewise’s current capacity. Futurewise is at a crucial juncture to invest in the backbone staffing (communications, operations and fundraising) that makes our program staff successful, and frees up their time to focus on what they do best: advocating with you.

Without additional support at this time, we risk:

• Failure to intervene with decision makers on time-sensitive issues
• Missed deadlines to comment on and appeal updates
• Lack of community engagement that can make the difference in a tight vote
• Shortchanging support of our local partners who are critical to success
• Losing talented staff to burnout at the time when we need them most

What is the timeline for the capacity campaign? 

Futursewise needs to raise $1.5 million with the majority of the donations and pledges occurring in 2025. Pledges may be paid in 2025, 2026 and 2027. 

September 2024 – August 2025: Initial gifts secured
September 2025: Public campaign launch
October 2025 – December 2025: Final gifts secured

Where can I learn more about the progress of the capacity campaign? 

You can stay up to date with the Our State, Our Future campaign through our website: https://futurewise.org/our-state-our-future/. 

How can I contribute to the capacity campaign?

There are multiple ways to make your gift to the Our State, Our Future campaign:

Donor Advised Funds: Make a contribution to this campaign through your DAF.

Stock Gifts: Futurewise can accept stock gifts via donatestock.com.

Give Online: Make your gift online at https://futurewise.salsalabs.org/donate/index.html

Mail a Check:

Futurewise

1201 3rd Ave Ste 2200

Seattle, WA 98101

Is my donation tax-deductible?   

Yes, donations to this campaign are tax deductible. 

Who should I contact if I have more questions or want to get more involved?

Please contact Futurewise Director of External Affairs, Kate Brunette Kreuzer, for more information. You may reach her at kateb[at]futurewise.org.