Spaceship Earth Campus — Fort Worden as a living laboratory for planetary repair
United Earth Networks and its partners propose a 10-year programmatic partnership that turns Fort Worden Historical State Park into a year-round campus for planetary repair, bioregional governance, and civil-society innovation. Year 1 is a $180,000 scoping and roadmap phase that produces the governance model, capital plan, and project pipeline for the decade that follows.
Project snapshot
At-a-glance facts for funder calls. Items marked TBD have a named owner and a due date.
- Project lead
- Marc Katsky, Strategic Director, UEN
- UEN program
- Spaceship Earth Campus (Fort Worden 10-Year Partnership Initiative)
- Location
- Fort Worden Historical State Park, Port Townsend, WA — 434 acres, 100+ historic structures
- Status
- Proposal with WA State Parks; Year 1 scoping not yet funded
- Year 1 budget
- $180,000 (12 months)
- Years 2–3 operating
- ~$500,000 / year program production
- Committed to date
- In-kind only — UEN staff time, on-site meeting space, partner volunteer support
- Current gap
- $180,000 for the scoping year
- Timeline
- Scoping Jan–Dec 2027 · first program cycle May 2027 · Summit 2028
- Fiscal sponsor / EIN
- TBD — confirm 501(c)(3) pass-through (BFI fiscal sponsorship or local partner). Owner: Marc Katsky, by Oct 31, 2026
- Key partners
- Buckminster Fuller Institute · HubCast Media · PEAC Institute · Co-NGO Institute · WA State Parks · Friends of Fort Worden
- Restrictions
- No master lease or hospitality operations sought; programmatic partner only. State Parks MOU required before Year 1 launch
The opportunity
Language ready to lift into a letter of inquiry or proposal narrative.
Need
Funding and stewardship for restoration and climate resilience in the Salish Sea is fragmented, short-term, and rarely governed by the communities it serves. At Fort Worden itself, the collapse of the hospitality PDA left 434 acres, 100+ historic structures, and 20+ resident organizations under-coordinated, with State Parks now directly managing the upper campus and seeking a stable long-term vision.
Our approach
UEN convenes an in-house partner initiative with BFI, HubCast, PEAC, and the Co-NGO Institute to co-produce an annual cycle of 5–6 flagship convenings and 20+ supporting programs across three pillars: planetary repair and regeneration; bioregional governance and finance; and civil-society and multilateral innovation. HubCast turns every convening into distributable media. Year 1 delivers stakeholder engagement, an economic and environmental baseline, scenario co-design, and a prioritized 10-year roadmap with governance, phasing, and capital plan.
Who it serves
Jefferson County residents and the Port Townsend community; Indigenous nations and tribal partners in the Salish Sea; watershed and landscape groups in the Elwha, Dungeness, Hood Canal, and Strait; youth leaders trained in diplomacy and climate action; 20+ resident Fort Worden organizations; and Washington State Parks as landowner and partner.
Why now
State Parks is actively rebuilding Fort Worden's operating model and its 2021–31 strategic plan names partnerships, climate resilience, community benefit, and volunteer engagement as explicit goals — this initiative delivers all of them through one integrated partnership. UEN has operated at Fort Worden for 40+ years and is a recognized Campus Partner. A funded scoping year in 2027 is what converts that window into a signed 10-year framework.
Funding opportunities
Every revenue path for this project, with amount, funder benefit, and the owner of the next step. Target revenue mix at steady state: 40% earned, 35% grants, 15% donations, 10% in-kind.
Sponsorship tiers
| Tier | Amount | Recognition & benefits | Slots | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founding campus partner | $100,000+ | Named recognition on the Spaceship Earth Campus initiative, on-air credit across HubCast channels, seat at the Fort Worden Partners Council convening, private site event for leadership and guests | 1 | Open |
| Presenting sponsor — flagship convening | $50,000 | Presenting credit on one anchor event (Global Earth Repair Convergence, Cascadia BioFi Co-Design Lab, or Co-NGO Innovation Summit), logo lockup, HubCast episode sponsorship, 10 delegate seats | 3 | Open |
| Program sponsor | $25,000 | Credit on a program series (Youth Diplomat Institute, Trimtab/Spaceship Earth Labs, Earth Repair Film Series), on-site signage, annual impact report, 4 seats | 6 | Open |
| Media & channel sponsor | $15,000 | Named support of one HubCast themed channel (Earth Repair, Bioregional Finance, Civil Society) for a full release season | 3 | In conversation |
| Community partner | $5,000 | Website listing, newsletter recognition, invitation to the annual partner retreat — designed for local businesses and small foundations | Unlimited | Open |
| In-kind | Valued at $20,000–$60,000/yr | Lodging and meeting space at Fort Worden, production and A/V equipment, design and legal services, volunteer coordination via Friends of Fort Worden | — | Ongoing |
Grant targets & pipeline
| Funder type / target | Program fit | Request | Deadline | Stage | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional family foundations (Puget Sound / Jefferson County) | Community-driven planning, historic preservation, cultural vitality — funds the stakeholder engagement and facilitation line | $50,000 | Rolling | Prospect research | GMA |
| Washington state climate & community resilience funds | Climate adaptation and resilience planning on state-owned land; energy, water, and habitat baseline studies | $60,000 | TBD — confirm cycle | Eligibility check | GMA |
| National environmental funders (bioregional / regenerative finance) | Salish Sea mini-BFF co-design, participatory governance and capital-stack prototyping with BioFi Project alignment | $45,000 | LOI-based | Concept note drafting | GMA + UEN |
| Corporate giving — media, outdoor, and tech employers | Youth training, employee engagement, and global media visibility through HubCast | $25,000 | Q2 2027 | Intro requested | UEN |
| Community foundation DAFs & local credit unions | Local economic development and community benefit; supports quick-win actions in the roadmap | $10,000–$20,000 | Anytime | Cultivation | UEN |
Crowdfunding
Goal: $25,000 · Window: Earth Day season, April–May 2027
"Fund the Roadmap" community campaign covering the engagement and accessibility line items. Tiers at $25 (digital roadmap + film series access), $100 (name on the campus donor wall), $500 (delegate seat at a flagship convening). Matching challenge sought from a local funder up to $10,000.
Major & recurring gifts
Named funds for youth training and Indigenous co-governance participation; multi-year pledges spanning the scoping year into Years 2–3; monthly sustainers at $25/mo. Stewardship: quarterly dashboard plus an annual on-site visit at Fort Worden.
Earned revenue
Convening registrations and delegate fees, conference-center and studio rental, workshop and residency tuition, and media licensing through HubCast — targeted at roughly 40% of the ~$500,000 annual program budget by Year 3, which steadily lowers the philanthropic ask.
Budget & use of funds
Year 1 scoping and roadmap phase — $180,000 over 12 months.
Staff time covers a project director, coordinator, facilitator, and researcher. Engagement covers workshops, meetings, materials, accessibility, and translation. Technical studies cover energy, water, habitat, and economic analysis. In-kind contributions — UEN staff time and facilities, meeting space at Fort Worden, and volunteer support from Friends of Fort Worden and local partners — are additional to the $180,000.
Committed
$0 cash. In-kind commitments in place from UEN and Fort Worden partners; letters of support to be collected in the document library.
Pending
No decisions outstanding yet — the pipeline above is in research, eligibility, and cultivation stages, with first submissions targeted for Q4 2026.
Gap to close
$180,000. Priority line items if funded partially: staff time and stakeholder engagement ($140,000) deliver the roadmap; technical studies can be phased or sought in-kind.
Impact metrics
Year 1 outputs plus the trajectory funders are buying into by 2028.
Year 1 success measures
Breadth and diversity of stakeholder participation (including Indigenous and tribal partners); a 10-year roadmap adopted by key partners as a reference document; a prioritized project pipeline ready for grant applications and capital campaigns; 2–3 quick-win actions implemented; documented integration of Indigenous perspectives and community-benefit principles; and a signed Year 1 MOU with Washington State Parks.
Measurement & reporting
Attendance and participation logs, pre/post participant surveys, HubCast analytics for media reach, economic-impact estimates with local partners, and ecological baselines from the Year 1 technical studies. Reporting: quarterly dashboard to partners and sponsors, an annual impact report, and funder-specific narrative and financial reports on each funder's schedule. Data owner: UEN project director.
Document library
Link each item to the live file in the UEN shared drive so GMA always sends the current version. Items marked "to assemble" are the immediate gap before external submissions.
Fundraising package
Due diligence & evidence
- 501(c)(3) / fiscal sponsorship letter
- Financial statements / Form 990
- Partner MOUs & letters of support (BFI, HubCast, PEAC, Co-NGO)
- Program architecture & 3-year pilot schedule (2026–2028)
- State Parks 2021–31 plan alignment analysis
- HubCast media kit, photos & video
- Campus Partner agreement & site use terms
Contacts & next steps
Named owners for every ask, plus the 90-day path to a signed Year 1 partnership.
Project lead
Marc Katsky · Strategic Director, United Earth Networks
Fort Worden, Port Townsend, WA
[email] · [phone]
UEN development contact
[Name] · [Title]
[email] · [phone]
Grant Management Associates
[Consultant name]
[email] · [phone]
Scope: prospect research, LOIs, proposal writing, reporting calendar
- Executive briefing with the State Parks director and commission (30 days).
- Site visit with resident partners at Fort Worden (60 days).
- Draft MOU for the Year 1 scoping partnership (90 days).
- Stakeholder preview with the City of Port Townsend, Centrum, Creative Alliance, and Friends of Fort Worden.
- Fundraising prerequisites: confirm the fiscal sponsor and EIN, assemble the line-item budget and sponsorship one-sheet, then open first grant submissions in Q4 2026. Target launch: January 2027 scoping, first program cycle May 2027.