Campaign funds to help conserve great lands and create great communities

Seattle, May 6, 2010 - The Cascade Land Conservancy announced that the Cascade Agenda Campaign concluded at today’s 15^th Annual Conservation Awards Breakfast, having reached its goal to raise $20 million in support of The Cascade Agenda.

This campaign was an opportunity to pioneer an innovative new approach to conservation.  With these funds, Cascade Land Conservancy is advancing a set of policies and programs that will conserve more than a million acres of farms, forests, parks, shorelines and natural areas while working to make communities complete, compact and connected.

“This is a real triumph for the region,” said Gene Duvernoy, President of the Cascade Land Conservancy.  “The Cascade Agenda’s promise of changing the way the region grows now is a reality and we have the resources to continue to move forward with this great effort.”

“This Campaign is once in a lifetime opportunity to change conservation as we know it,” Nick Hanauer of Second Avenue Ventures and one of the co-chairs of the campaign, said at the Awards Breakfast. “This is an opportunity to bring to the marketplace new approaches that link business interests with conservation efforts, an intersection of the public and private sector and an opportunity to not only conserve a great deal of critical land but also create a civically engaged region.

“The Cascade Agenda gives us two things of immeasurable importance - an ambitious and far reaching approach to conservation, economic vitality and civic sustainability and a new approach to organizing civic society.  The first we are here to celebrate today.  The second may prove to be of far greater historical importance.”

Campaign achievements include:

·         Fulfillment of a promise to the people of Seattle to raise $3 million for the Green Seattle Partnership. The partnership works year-round to restore 2,500 acres of forested parklands in Seattle.

·         Formation of the Green City Partnerships, which built on the success of the Green Seattle Partnership.  Kirkland, Tacoma, Redmond and Kent now have similar urban forest restoration projects in their communities.

·         Establishment of state laws that create the first regional Transfer of Development Rights marketplace in the nation.

·         Establishment of a Cascade Agenda Cities Program that now encompasses 18 cities and represents nearly 1.5 million people throughout the region.  These cities are taking action to improve the livability of our neighborhoods.

·         Creation of a multi-million dollar revolving fund for the continued conservation of important lands throughout the region.

·         Conservation of nearly 35,000 acres of working forests, farmlands and natural areas in King, Kittitas, Mason, Pierce and Snohomish Counties.

The Campaign’s largest gifts included a $1 million launching gift from the Bullitt Foundation, plus gifts of more than $1 million from Nick and Leslie Hanauer and the Tagney Jones Family Fund at The Seattle Foundation.

In addition, the Wildlife Forever Fund created the Coastal Legacy Challenge, a $1 million matching grant to assure the ecological stewardship of more than 6,000 acres conserved over the years through a unique partnership with the Fund. 

The Boeing Company made a leadership gift of $750,000.  Gifts of $500,000 came the Norcliffe Foundation, the Russell Family Foundation and two anonymous donors. Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation and the Safeco Insurance Foundation each invested $250,000.

In total, there were more than 300 gifts from individuals, families, companies, foundations and community supporters. Organizers of the drive say many of the contributions represented donors’ capstone or largest-ever gifts to charity.

 “The community response was remarkable,” Duvernoy added. “Significant support from all sectors - foundations, individuals, business and government - shows that the Cascade Agenda has broad support across our region.  These investments show that the Cascade Agenda is a vision from our region, not a vision for our region.”

Campaign leaders also gave special thanks to the Washington State Legislature and to Gov. Chris Gregoire. Both were instrumental in the enactment of significant legislation to advance the use of Transfer of Development Rights programs in counties, cities and towns and to appropriate funds for pilot projects that demonstrated the feasibility of linking TDR with livable communities and significant conservation.

“We owe so much to our co-chairs and our volunteer team,” Duvernoy said. “The Campaign was successful because these people gave generously of themselves. Highly respected in the community, they were able to inspire others to go above and beyond in supporting The Cascade Agenda.”

Honorary Chairs of the Campaign were Mimi Gates, former Director of the Seattle Art Museum, and Alan Black of Pioneer Square Properties.  Co-chairs of the campaign were Nick Hanauer, Second Avenue Ventures; Gerry Johnson, K&L Gates, and Martha Kongsgaard, President of the Kongsgaard-Goldman Foundation.

“Given the uncertain economy during much of this time,” Duvernoy said, “this was a notably impressive group effort by all working together.”

Campaign leadership also praised the work of the Cascade Land Conservancy’s Development Office, in particular the work of Shamra Clark, Vice President of Development for the Conservancy, Paula Little, Donor Relations Director and Natalie Cheel, now Marketing Director.

“Shamra was the organizational force behind the Campaign,” said Martha Kongsgaard. “The Campaign would not have been successful without the day in and day out work of the development staff.”

The Cascade Agenda Campaign was launched three years ago as an investment in the region’s future.  The Campaign was seen as the best way to implement the broad-based goals of The Cascade Agenda, a 100-year vision and immediate action plan to conserve 1.3 million acres of working forests, farmland and natural areas while making the region’s communities more vital, attractive and livable.

Cascade Land Conservancy representatives say that, while the Cascade Agenda Campaign officially concluded at the 15^th Annual Conservation Awards Breakfast today, the work of rallying private and public support for The Cascade Agenda will continue through the Conservancy’s annual-fund campaigns and fundraising for selected initiatives.

Just recently the Environmental Protection Agency awarded grants totaling more than $2 million to further the work of implementing regional Transfer of Development Right programs in the cities and towns of the region.

About the Cascade Land Conservancy: The Cascade Land Conservancy is the largest land conservation, stewardship and community building organization operating in Washington State with headquarters in Seattle and principal offices in King, Kittitas, Mason, Pierce and Snohomish Counties.  Founded in 1989, the Conservancy has protected 158,000 acres of working forests, farmlands and natural areas as well as estuary lands on the Olympic Peninsula and along the Washington Coast.  It provides stewardship services, caring for more than 12,000 acres of land.  Since 2005 it has been the host organization of The Cascade Agenda, which links conserving great lands with creating great communities. For more information, please visit www.cascadeland.org