SWOT Analysis – Campaign for Water, Parks, and Wildlife - What Does CWPW

Mean For TRWC?

Strengths:
 Provide Funds for watershed councils
 Diverse stakeholders of TRWC resonate well with CWPW purposes
 Provides opportunity for TRWC to build partnerships with other
organizations, interests outside the Council
 Opens up channels of communication/participation with other
interests, organizations
 Funds would come from voluntary source, i.e. gambling
 Provides for a constitutional amendment, i.e. permanent funding

Weaknesses:
 Bad time to be seeking funds (economy)
 Funds come from lottery – i.e. “sin tax”, poor image for funding
 Provides for a constitutional amendment – locks in funding features
which may be long-term liability
 Builds an unfavorable connection between lottery and resources
 Initiative-based rather than building on solid legislative base
 Funding and resource allocations in the initiative may cause
problems as they are merged with traditional funding procedures,

Opportunities:
 The campaign will offer opportunity to educate the public about
watershed and Councils
 Funding for resources – hedge against future loss of funds – to
provide benefits to resources
 Generate jobs, both in the resource program staffing and in the
projects on the ground
 Develop more influence and “clout” for Council in dealings with
other organizations and interests
 Adds in additional resource programs for wildlife, rounding out a
“whole watershed” concept
 Timing: by going for initiative in 2010, will leave an opportunity to try
again before 2014 if this one fails
Threats:
 Failure to win at the ballot box will put a stigma on future efforts,
and on the standing with the public and voters
 Subject to potential future changes in the lottery itself – going up or
down – which could destabilize funding
 TRWC as a 501(c)3 organization could be criticized or threatened
by being seen as a “lobbyist”
 Could subject watershed council funding at the state level to
“gamesmanship”, with fund swapping, backfilling, and other
legislative and agency tactics to protect other programs