Project STAR Competitors

Mission Statement: Futurewise works throughout Washington state to encourage healthy, equitable and opportunity-rich communities, and to protect our most valuable farmlands, forests and water resources through wise land use policies and practices. Who We Are: At Futurewise, we believe that every Washingtonian deserves to live in a thriving urban or rural community, with a healthy environment and access to open space. We do this by designing innovative land use policies to address the interconnected challenges facing our communities today—from sprawl and other pressures on farmland to climate justice and more. Whether you live in Asotin or Anacortes, Futurewise believes you and your neighbors should have a home you can afford and access to healthy food. You should have a say in your local planning process and to be protected from pollution. And you have a right to safe, reliable transportation options for getting where you need to go. 6 current organizational goals: 1. Focus growth in existing cities 2. Create great cities with access to housing, transit, jobs and services 3. Make it easier for people to get to where they need to go 4. Ensure clean healthy water and protect critical fish and wildlife habitat 5. Protect working farms and forests 6. Encourage economic development

Creative Learning (CL), a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, has managed complex government grants and public-private partnerships, domestically and internationally, for 43 years. CL provides children and families, especially in areas of conflict, with an array of innovative learning tools and activities that present them with new opportunities. We work with non-governmental organizations, including private companies and schools; governments; and community leaders to empower children and citizens around the world.

Empowered.org provides low cost online group fundraising and supporter management software for global socially-minded organizations looking to scale. Mission-based organizations that depend on commitments from decentralized groups of supporters (volunteers and donors) to further their impact, struggle with maintaining these relationships at a low cost when trying to scale their operations. Global Brigades, or GB, the worlds largest student-led health and sustainable development movement, ran into this problem back in 2010. They created Empowered.org as the online platform to help them easily fundraise and track large amounts of money for projects and airfare by their groups of supporters without spending thousands of dollars in administrative overhead. For the past 4 years, Empowered.org has been the driving technology behind doubling its volunteer and donation base, saving 150,000 in processing fees, and over $800,000 in administrative costs. Not to mention, has allowed them to bring its 10 skill-based community programs to 2 new project countries, and 3 new participating countries, and as of 2014 has allowed GB to sustainably exit 4 communities. Empowered.org provides a low-cost suite of online tools for group-based organizations to easily mobilize their supporters so they can focus on what matters most - furthering their mission and scaling their impact. Empowered allows organizations to empower small groups of passionate supporters to take ownership of their impact, by reaching out to their own personal networks, and activating greater networks to grow the organizations. Decentralizing the ask, but centralizing the funds raised, and making individuals accountable for their impact.