The Fund worked with Fenton to conceive and help execute the contest. Our idea: Hold a "Peace Primary" to capitalize on the 2008 election just one year away.

The Campaign
Here's how the contest worked: Ploughshares asked its grantees to develop "peace platforms" for the election season. A special panel chaired by actor Martin Sheen selected 12 finalists, who put forward agendas on everything from the Iraq War to the genocide in Darfur. The public was then invited to vote on the 12 planks online, donating dollars with their vote. The organization with the most votes stood to take home a $100,000 prize.

Fenton developed the strategy for the campaign, which included producing a micro-site for the contest. We drove traffic to the site with a Flash animation promotional spot and emails signed by Sheen, leveraging the donor and member list of the Fund and of the participating finalists, which included Refugees International and the Genocide Intervention Network. We also created buttons and banners for voters to promote their favorite groups with their own social media networks.

Results
The Peace Primary raised more than $327,000, with the Vermont-based TrueMajority taking home the grand prize. Ploughshares Fund and the contest finalists gained a new prospect list to tap for future fundraising and advocacy drives. In 2008 Convio, a software and service provider for non-profits, honored the Ploughshares Fund with its annual Innovator Award for Online Fundraising.