The Challenge

2005 was a year of girding for battle at Futurewise, which works to build Washington's communities and protect the land. Seeking to strengthen their visibility and image to reflect the importance of their work, they launched a new name, and a new look. Meanwhile, down in Oregon, developers had just won a major victory with the so-called ‘takings’ legislation that ran roughshod over the state's community land use protections, and they had Washington State in their sights for 2006.

As part of its rebranding process, Futurewise needed a website and online activism tools that incorporated their new identity, looked great, were easy to update, and positioned them to be ready to respond to renewed attacks on Washington's communities, land and quality of life.

The Solution

By mining the talents of their supporters and their own staff, Futurewise was able to bring a great new brand identity and graphic design to the table.  ONE/Northwest brought the power of Plone, our preferred open source content management tool, and ActionStudio, a powerful, affordable online advocacy service. 

We translated Futurewise's new visual design into Plone, developed the website, and taught their staff how to use Plone's visual editing tools to start adapting their old content and publishing new content. We also brought their finished design template into ActionStudio, and taught them how to use it to help their members connect with state legislators and other decision-makers who determine the future of Washington's communities. The staff also used the template to generate formatted email updates.

The Results

Futurewise had a very successful relaunch of their new website and their new identity. Futurewise staff are now regularly creating and editing content for their site, and the site automatically exposes new content on the homepage and via RSS feeds.  Futurewise members have used ActionStudio to generate thousands of letters to decision-makers in support of Washington's community land use protections. By the end of 2005, Futurewise had already won several major victories throughout the state, and their membership has never been stronger.

In early 2006, the Farm Bureau, as expected, filed their own "Developers Initiative," launching their campaign to gut Washington's critical land use protections. But with their upgraded modern, road-tested, online organizing and communications tools, Futurewise is ready to dive in and join the put up one heck of a fight.

Scott Kennedy, Futurewise's Office Manager, said, “As a non-profit, we’re expected to squeeze maximum results from our member donations. But when your organization is constantly putting out fires, it becomes difficult to allocate valuable resources to communications infrastructure. Technologies such as Plone and ActionStudio are a perfect example of how small investments today can translate into big gains in productivity and impact down the road."

"Now that everyone on our staff can update the website when they need to, our members get critical information faster, and can respond to key decision makers more quickly. They also have more opportunities to see our events, to volunteer, and to donate through our integrated online giving program. With communication bottlenecks reduced, our workflow has become easier to manage, and even more of each dollar we raise now gets directed to fighting for the health of our farmlands, shorelines, and communities,” said Kennedy.

More Information

Check out the new Futurewise website -- and subscribe to their email newsletter at:
http://www.futurewise.org

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ONE/Northwest website services