To: Ginette Hemley (Senior Vice President of Wildlife Conservation)

From: Lauren Rabb (Director of Conservation Projects)

Subject: New Plan to Fundraise for Flamingo Conservation

Dear Ms. Hemley,

I enjoyed working with you on the project to prevent rhino poaching last year. Your execution of
the solutions for protections on rhino habitats was impressive.

I have been informed that the overall lack of funding in our organization will require cuts to
funding for species of little concern to conservation efforts. These funding cuts will affect our
conservation efforts for flamingos; research and habitat conservation efforts will need to be
halted. The impacts of the lack of funding make sense considering there are many species that
are endangered, and their conservation is much more urgent. However, this does not mean that it
is impossible to raise funds for the research and conservation of flamingos and other species.

To raise funds outside of the allotted budget for this period and in the future, we can use
unconventional methods:
• Sponsorships from brands
• Create labels for products from brands that sponsor conservation efforts in practice and
through funding
• Labels can educate consumers about species, conservation, and habitat destruction
These strategies will utilize consumers’ knowledge of climate-conscious brands, as well as their
inclinations to help conserve wildlife.

It might be easy to focus all of our attention on species of most concern to our conservation
efforts, but our efforts to research and conserve habitats now will pay off in the future by
preserving wildlife. This will also ensure that there will be fewer species of great concern in the
future.
This solution benefits from consumers' existing habits without asking for direct donations or
increasing the cost of products while also raising money for the research and habitat conservation
of flamingos and other species.

Thank you for working with me on this issue for the greater good of wildlife,
Lauren Rabb
Date: 6/20/2023
To: Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications
From: Lauren Rabb (Director of Conservation Projects)
Subject: New Plan to Fundraise for Flamingo Conservation
Reference: Approval for Funding from Companies
Action Required: Project Leader Meeting
Distribution List: Marketing Leaders
As many of you have heard, the World Wildlife Fund has experienced a lack of funding. This is
an ongoing trend and is expected to continue for at least another year. Because our organization
currently depends on volunteers to fundraise and donate, there are limited resources, and
leadership has prioritized conservation funding for the species of most concern regarding
conservation status. Research and habitat conservation efforts will need to be halted due to a lack
of adequate funding for species of less concern on the conservation status list. To continue these
efforts, we must raise additional funds. Due to the trend of decreasing funds, we have turned to
unconventional methods to raise additional funds.

Summary
Funding decreases have resulted in the concentration of current funds to only species that
severely need conservation. Species in less critical conservation status have been put on the back
burner because of this, although ideally, the World Wildlife Fund would have enough funding to
research and help to conserve every species that needs our efforts. Flamingos are one of these
species that will not be researched and protected because of a lack of funding. However, these
pink birds are threatened by human activity and climate change. To raise more funds for research
and habitat conservation, this organization will implement new funding strategies like getting
funds from companies rather than from individuals.

Funding from Companies

Funding cuts will affect our conservation efforts for flamingos; research and habitat conservation
efforts will need to be halted. The impacts of the lack of funding make sense considering there
are many species that are endangered, and their conservation is much more urgent. However, this
does not mean that it is impossible to raise funds for the research and conservation of flamingos
and other species.
Many brands use the cruelty free label with an image of a bunny to indicate that their products
are not tested on animals. Products with these labels draw the attention of conscious consumers
who want to contribute to the cruelty free movement. The World Wildlife Fund can use this
technique to raise both funds and awareness for conservation and research.

Prototypes of a habitat conservation symbol and a flamingo research symbol

Our organization can create a symbol that represents products from brands that help to fund our
missions. For example, a company can donate a portion of their profits to the World Wildlife
Fund for research on a certain species. Then the World Wildlife Fund logo or a label specific to
that species can be printed on product packaging so that consumers know that product
contributes to our organization and the conservation of that species. Contributions from
companies can be for general habitat conservation or specific to research on species as well.

Funding from companies and conservation labels can help to raise additional funds so that
species like flamingos with less concerning conservation status can still have protected habitats.
This solution will not raise the cost of products or ask for direct donations from consumers, and
conservation labels can help to increase the value and demand of brands that choose to
participate.
Conclusion
New problems require adaptation with new solutions. For the problem of insufficient funding,
the World Wildlife Fund can implement new funding methods, beginning with funding from
companies to supplement funding from individuals. Funding from companies will help to
proactively research and conserve habitats so that future conservation is not as critical for so
many species. This new fundraising strategy will be difficult to put in place because it is both
unfamiliar and unprecedented, but the hard work will be worth it when wildlife is still around in
the future.

Recommendations
This funding strategy is new to the World Wildlife Fund, so the next steps may work out like a
project. I would recommend a meeting with the participating leadership, mainly marketing and
relations leaders. Representatives from our organization will likely need to contact relations
representatives from companies for partnerships in the form of agreements, sponsorships, or
contracts. World Wildlife Fund personnel may need to create a system to track partnerships and
donations. We will also need to form a list of criteria for which companies can use conservation
labels on their products.

References
Nutrition, C. for F. S. and A. (2022). “Cruelty free”/"not tested on animals". FDA.
https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-labeling-claims/cruelty-freenot-tested-animals
Pngtree | 504. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2023, from https://pngtree.com/so/flamingo

Lauren Rabb
Director of Conservation Projects
World Wildlife Fund
Washington, DC