Family Farm Alliance Annual Report 2021 Activities and Accomplishments

2021 IN REVIEW
ACTIONS DRIVING ALLIANCE INITIATIVES
Fundraising
Jane Townsend was hired in 2020 as the new fundraising coordinator. Ms.
Townsend, who has long served as the Alliance’s conference coordinator,
focused her initial efforts on updating the member database, and working
with members, employing a more streamlined invoicing process. She also
played an important role in securing sponsorships for last year’s annual
conference. 2021 was a great year for the Family Farm Alliance, in no small
part due to Ms. Townsend’s efforts. Dues revenue was the highest it has ever
been, and the Alliance welcomed several new members. Sponsorships of
the 2021 virtual Annual Conference and 2020 Annual Report also surpassed
previous years.
Continuing and strengthening public outreach is an important part of the
Alliance’s strategy to educate its current members, potential members and
other partners on the organization’s advocacy on their behalf. Ms. Townsend
works closely with Josh Rolph, the Alliance’s website, social media and communications consultant,
to ensure that the Alliance’s fundraising work is intertwined with the new Alliance website and social
media outreach. This work has led to very exciting results and gives the Alliance invaluable tools to
encourage member and public participation and contributions. Ms. Townsend and Executive Director
Dan Keppen attended the December 2021 Washington State Water Resources Association Annual
Meeting in Spokane, where Alliance directors Mark Hansen and Charles Lyall organized a reception that
provided conference attendees an opportunity to learn firsthand what the Alliance activities entail and
how the results of those activities benefit water users from Washington and other Western states. The
lessons learned from that positive experience will be applied at similar events in other states in the
future.
“It has been an honor and pleasure to work with you all in my new role as Fundraising Coordinator,”
said Jane Townsend. “Your generous support is vital to continue to advance our vision for sound
Western water policy, and we thank you for the trust you place in the Alliance through your
contributions.”
Social Media
In December 2020, the Alliance board of directors hired contractor
Josh Rolph with YEAH YEAH Agency, who had previously worked
with the California Farm Bureau and others. Mr. Rolph is now
working under contract, and actively engaging on Facebook,
Instagram and other social media. He works to build on that
and is improving the number of visitors. The new website is very
informative and features blogs and the Alliance’s Monthly Briefing.
It is now further augmented by social media.
Josh’s agency also made improvements to
the Alliance monthly newsletter to give
it a more professional look and began
experimenting with different lengths,
subject lines, sending at optimal times, and
using more visual elements. The Alliance
has expanded its list of subscribers and
now have an above-average open rate.
The social posts receiving the most
interaction in 2021 were those
highlighting members, providing
information about the annual conference,
and sharing thoughtful commentary on
local issues. The post with the highest
traction came in June when Dan Keppen
shared an update on the developing crisis
situation in the Klamath River Basin. It
had a personal and honest message and
the results were significant. The post
reached nearly 20,000 people who don’t
follow Family Farm Alliance and received
hundreds of likes, comments, and shares.
The newly launched website in January
2021 set the Alliance on the right foot
and within a short time was drawing more
traffic from curious Google searchers
than the previous website. The Alliance
also began receiving donations and
memberships on the site, while ending the
previous, separate conference registration
site and merging it with the Alliance’s
home website for this year’s conference.
Looking forward to 2022, the
communications team will continue
disseminating information, events, issues
and updates on the issues impacting irrigated agriculture. More stories of members will be highlighted, and
efforts will be made to run more video,, especially on Instagram. These days on social media, video performs
much better than most other content. The Alliance intends to take full advantage of this opportunity to get
the organization’s message before more eyes.
2021 Activities and Accomplishments 49