World Resources Institute

Challenge

The World Resources Institute (WRI), an environmental think-tank established in 1982, faced a major funding challenge. With only 10% of its $165M operating budget in FY21 categorized as institutionally flexible revenue, WRI recognized the need to pivot to a more flexible funding model that would allow the organization to invest in urgent innovation and infrastructure efforts. Additionally, WRI sought to explore the potential of a comprehensive, $1B campaign to meet both its short and long-term fundraising goals and amplify its impact.

Solution

In response, WRI partnered with Orr Group to assess the feasibility of these ambitious goals. As part of this work, our team undertook a comprehensive analysis of WRI’s current state, infrastructure, and case for support. This included an evaluation of the global sustainability fundraising landscape, an assessment of WRI’s donor database, and interviews with key stakeholders. Based on this, we provided a detailed roadmap with two campaign recommendations, including a $100M+ 3-year campaign targeting Board members and current individual donors, with a focus on engaging co-chairs for a potential challenge match and a naming opportunity for the lead donor, and $1B+ 5-year campaign, aimed at securing larger lead gifts, blended giving opportunities and greater institutional interest to support the organization’s strategic plan. Moreover, Orr Group suggested investments in three areas to enhance major gift fundraising capabilities including building a team dedicated to principal gifts ($500K+), implementing high-touch donor cultivation and stewardship efforts, and focusing on individual donor audiences.

Following the feasibility phase, our partnership evolved to focus on campaign readiness and management support, involving finalizing campaign messaging, underscoring the programmatic and philanthropic needs of key organizational priorities, recruiting campaign volunteer leaders, developing the campaign prospect pipeline, and enhancing WRI’s fundraising capacity.

Impact

These strategic initiatives were designed to significantly increase WRI’s funding flexibility and capacity. The proposed campaigns aimed to enable WRI to address urgent environmental challenges and advance its mission of promoting sustainable development more effectively. By enhancing fundraising strategies and building a robust campaign infrastructure, WRI is positioned to potentially transform its capacity for global environmental impact. The collaborative approach in fundraising is also expected to streamline donor experiences and increase revenue, ensuring a more consistent and effective engagement with stakeholders.