Conservation Northwest

15 years of Northwest Ecosystem Alliance things like, "Thank you for your wonderful work," "Keep up the good work," and, "You folks are great—real movers and shakers." I already knew that I was working for an organization that gets the job done—and after seeing responses like these I knew that our membership knew it too. Over the past few years I have seen this organization change and grow. My job changed from part-time data entry to a full-time position as membership associate, in charge of the NWEA database. I've seen us move from a place where five people shared a single office to a space that fits our needs and makes us feel more like a connected family. And I've seen the generosity of our members grow, not just in dollar amount but in creativity. People are now giving to us in lieu of giving a gift to someone during the holidays. Couples ask friends and family to send us donations rather than buy them wedding presents. And we still get wonderful notes filled with words of encouragement. Having the support of our members isn't just about money. It's about giving us the voice we need to make a difference. It is knowing that we have allies to bolster us when times are hard, and friends with whom we can celebrate success. How the Lynx Changed My Life Paul Balle, NWEA's corporate gifts director, left the corporate software world in August 1999 to throw himself into conservation issues. He lives with his wife, Donna, in Carnation. After ten rewarding (and sometimes chaotic) years at Microsoft, I was looking for a major change, when one day in 1999 I saw a poster advertising an oncampus lunch featuring the effort to protect the Loomis State Forest. The presentation, hosted by Jeff Stewart, opened my eyes to many things, including the plight of the threatened Canada lynx in their Washington habitat, and the fact that I could have a significant impact on the future of our forests and wildlife; exciting for someone who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, where mountains are non-existent and wildlife is hard to find. Donna and I decided to make the largest donation of our lives to protect several acres of the Loomis. And that's where I started thinking that I had perhaps found a new career direction. I had begun volunteering with Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, when one summer day in 2000—while a group of us were canoeing Lake Ozette—Heidi Eisenhour, The Cascades Conservation Partnership outreach director, casually asked what I wanted to do with my life, suggesting there were fundraising positions available at The Partnership. The rest, as they say, is history. In the end, I spent over three years working with donors at Microsoft, Starbucks, Adobe, and Expedia, helping raise $1.7 million for The Partnership— and I couldn't have done it without the help of fellow donor and star volunteer, Jeff Stewart (my conservation mentor!), as well as Mary Humphries, then development director, and many others at Northwest Ecosystem Alliance. As gifts director, this is the first job I've ever had where people have actually thanked me for doing what I do. I have met caring, committed people who could only give a modest donation—but they decided to do that for two years on their credit card in order to have a greater impact and protect more Cascades lands. And I've also met folks who have given incredible lump-sum donations that I could never dream of giving, who later increased their gifts in $10,000 increments to help us protect more land threatened by logging and development. It feels great knowing that I've been able to help protect beautiful forest lands and the critters that live there, in a job I never dreamed I would have. Keeping the Northwest wild Canada lynx. Friends of Loomis Forest Summer 2004 19

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