Case Statement for Zero Waste Washingtons Capital Campaign to Buy an Office Space

Cole Reese 22 May 2013

Our Mission and Values Zero Waste Washington protects people and our natural world by advocating for products designed and produced to be healthy, safe, and continually recycled and reused. We are the publics voice for zero waste. We envision a just and sustainable world where society responsibly produces, consumes and recycles. The Goal of Our Campaign Our goal is to raise $500,000 to purchase a house in the Wallingford or Fremont neighborhood. This house will be used As the head offices of Zero Waste Washington o The office space that Zero Waste Washington currently occupies is very small which is inhibiting the organizations ability to add more staff and increase our organizational capacity. Additionally, the building in which the office is located is in limbo, and might or might not have to be torn down due to the construction of the new SR-99 Tunnel. By purchasing a house for the organization, Zero Waste Washington would be assured a place to grow and mature. Furthermore, the property would be a great investment for the organization. Both of the selected neighborhoods have seen increased property values over the last decade; even during the housing crisis, home values in Fremont and Wallingford neighborhoods did not decrease by more than a nominal amount. A drop off point for difficult to recycle items like batteries and polystyrene foam

o Throughout its 30 year history, Zero Waste Washington has advocated for the recycling for any and all products. Within our mission and values statement, we discuss a world where people recycle responsibly. However, for some items, ones desire to recycle is hindered by personal mobility or transportations issues. Currently, the closest facility to recycle polystyrene foam in Seattle is located at the Ikea in Tukwila. This facility is almost an hour from downtown Seattle by car, and more than two hours by bus. By providing a convenient recycling drop off center centrally located in Seattle that is easily accessible by car and by public transit, we will be incentivizing the citizens of Washingtons most populated city achieve the goal of being zero waste by removing personal inconvenience from the equation. A community center to educate people on zero waste and producer responsibility o Zero waste and producer responsibility are terms that we love to use, but what do they really mean? And how do they affect our everyday lives? By opening the Zero Waste Washington office to the public, we will be helping to educate people on what zero waste can look like for them. Additionally, we will be providing a place where people can take action, sit down and write a letter to their elected officials, or contact their school board about making their community zero waste. A store front for upcycled and repurposed items produced by local designers and artists o The recent DIY movement has been a great friend of the zero waste movement. It seems like every day on Pintrest or Etsy, we can discover a new way to reuse an old item. Cloth napkins from old bed sheets, body scrub from used coffee grounds, jewelry from used wine corks and discarded paint the creativity and

upcycling possibilities are endless! With so many earth-conscious and crafty people in Seattle, there are a number of great products from local craftspeople and artisans that are turning yesterdays trash into tomorrows treasure. By providing a consignment space for these local folks to showcase and sell their products, Zero Waste Washington will be promoting the local economy, illustrating creative ways to reduce waste, and generating enough income to cover the property tax, and sustainable landscaping maintenance of the house. Why $500,000? Our mission in this campaign is to raise enough money to purchase a house for the organization outright. By purchasing the property, we would be making an investment for Zero Waste Washington, and we would be unburdening the organization from the monthly fees of rent or mortgage. Once the organization owns the property, they will only be responsible for property tax, which would be covered by the consignment fees collected by local craftspeople in the upcycle shop. By reducing the monthly bills of the organization, we would increasing the amount the organization could place in its endowment, helping to insure the sustainability of the organization. How would the community benefit from the Zero Waste Washington house? By having a dedicated space to educate about and promote the mission of zero waste, we will be increasing the sustainability of our state, and reducing our impact on the environment. Community members could come to the Zero Waste Washington house to learn about How to reduce waste in their lives How to take action to promote producer responsibility

Upcycling, repurposing, and/or recycling used items

Having the additional space will also the organization to continue to expand, taking on more project work so we can have a large impact on producer responsibility in our state. Why should I support Zero Waste Washington? What do climate change, deforestation, fracking, mountain top removal and mining all have in common? They are all externalities of resource consumption on overdrive. The throwaway culture that we have developed in the United States is having serious impacts on our environment. As resources become scarcer, the mining and extraction techniques become more and more destructive. Unlike a used pair of shoes, we cannot simply throw our planet away and buy a new one when we have exhausted it. As a society, we need to start consuming less, reusing more, and repurposing/recycling what is left over. There is no question that this a complex problem, but Zero Waste Washington has commonsense solutions: Make recycling intuitive, user-friendly and convenient for people Educate the population on ways to reduce their own personal waste Work with producers and manufacturers to take back products and develop goods using fewer virgin resources and more repurposed or upcycled resources By working on legislation that implements many of these programs at the state level, we help to insure that a Washingtonians ability to be zero waste is not dependent upon what part of the state they live in. Why should I support this campaign?

Zero Waste Washington has great solutions for these complex problems, but we need the resources to continue our mission. Currently, our ability to be a change agent is being detrimentally impaired by our limited office space and organizational capacity. By investing in the Zero Waste Washington house, you will be investing in the organizations ability to expand our work and increase the impact of our mission throughout the region. A history of success For 30 years, Zero Waste Washington has been demonstrating success down in Olympia, and all across the state. We were instrumental in establishing Seattles first city-wide curb side recycling program. More recently, we played a major role in working with local electronics retailers to establish a system for e-cycling. We have shown strength in all levels of government and citizen organizing. By investing in the Zero Waste Washington house today, you will be helping us build the foundation for the next 30 years of zero waste and beyond.

Gift Table As an organization with a limited but wealthy donor base, I have constructed the gift charts with the intent that our lead gift will be covering 25% of Zero Waste Washingtons campaign goal (Kihlstedt, 2010). Gifts Needed to Raise $500,000 Number $ Amount 1 $125,000 1 $75,000 2 $50,000 4 $25,000 5 $10,000 7 $5,000 15 $1,000 Total number of gifts: 35

$ in Range $125,000 $75,000 $100,000 $100,000 $50,000 $35,000 $15,000

Cumulative $ $125,000 $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $450,000 $485,000 $500,000

% of Goal 25% 40% 60% 80% 90% 97% 100%

Lead Gifts (2-3 Prospects) Prospects Gifts needed Amount of gifts needed 1 $125,000 11 1 $75,000 2 2 $50,000 4 4 $25,000 8 Lead gifts totals: 6 gifts, 15 prospects needed Major Gifts (3-4 Prospects) 5 $10,000 15 7 $5,000 21 Major gifts totals: 12 gifts, 36 prospects needed General Gifts (5-6 Prospects) 15 $1,000 75 General gifts totals: 15 gifts, 75 prospects needed Campaign total: 35 gifts, 126 prospects needed
1

Total $125,000 $75,000 $100,000 $100,000

$50,000 $35,000

$15,000

This was listed as one prospect because the donor listed at this amount has already agreed to make this donation once the organization is ready to launch its capital campaign.

Works Cited
Kihlstedt, A. (2010). Capital Campaigns Strategies That Work. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett.