Washington Lighthouses
Special License Plate

Washington Lighthouses raises funds to support education and restoration projects at 13 lighthouses kept open to the public by non-profit groups, as well as WSU environmental programs headquartered at Admiralty Head Lighthouse on Whidbey Island. It is based on a watercolor by Coupeville artist Janet Orso. High quality image click here.

Dollars starting to flow our way from Lighthouse License plates.

It's a winner.

The Washington Lighthouses special license plate is generating about $7,000 a month for Coupeville-based Lighthouse Environmental Programs (LEP). Since the distinctive plate went on sale Jan. 1, 2006 , more than 3,500 Washington drivers have purchased it for their cars, trucks, motorcycles and recreational vehicles.

At year-end 2007, LEP's proceeds from the first two years of license plate sales stood at $112,000 and climbing -- slowly. The Department of Licensing (DOL) collects additional fees for each special license plate it sells or renews, allocating $28 to the sponsoring organization as a charitable contribution.

“The license plate is a lifeline for us,” said Don Meehan , director of Washington State University (WSU) Extension for Island County . His office operates three nonprofit programs housed at Admiralty Head Lighthouse, at Fort Casey -- WSU Lighthouse Docents, WSU Beach Watchers and WSU Waste Wise Volunteers.

“Every year we scramble frantically to piece together the funding to keep these programs going. I don't know what we'd do without the license plate, as well as the many friends who support our programs with their charitable gifts.”

Gloria Wahlin of Clinton , who first suggested the license plate in 2005 as an out-of-the-box fundraising idea, is program coordinator for the lighthouse. “Our volunteers love lighthouses, love history and are passionate about this place where we live,” she said. “The license plate's success is a sweet victory for them.”

Wahlin said the license plate idea was a gamble that, thankfully, turned out well.

“We knew we wouldn't see a penny until the DOL had recouped $32,000 in administrative start-up costs. We figured we could sell enough to do that, which is over 1,100 plates. But beyond that we just didn't know.”

The wild card was that the new plate would have to compete against dozens of other distinctive designs motorists could choose by paying an extra fee to the DOL. The three nonprofit LEP groups housed at Admiralty Head Lighthouse were running on a shoestring. They needed reliable income, not more expenses.

But Wahlin knew that Coupeville artist Janet Orso 's design for the plate was a cut above many other license plates. “We kept hearing comments like, ‘Wow, this is cool.' I had a good feeling.”

With strong backing from State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen of Camano Island , LEP in 2005 sold the legislature and DOL on a proposal to allocate 75 percent of the license plate's income to Island County programs and set aside 25 percent in a grant fund for other lighthouses in Washington kept open to the public by nonprofit groups.

Since its rollout, Washington Lighthouses has consistently been one of the top-selling designs in the state. “We've had some terrific support from hundreds of proud Island County residents who think of it fondly as the hometown plate,” Wahlin said.

Money raised this year is helping fund the salaries of the Lighthouse and Beach Watchers coordinators, along with several special projects. These include new lighthouse brochures and interpretive displays.

It will also help fund restoration of the lighthouse's fourth order Fresnel lens, as a community partnership with Washington State Parks and Keepers of Admiralty Head Lighthouse, the membership group that raises money for lighthouse restoration projects. The $23,000 project will receive $2,000 of license plate funds. Community funding partners include Coupeville Lions Club and Island Thrift as well as community members.

In addition, the board of LEP awarded $22,000 to four lighthouse nonprofit groups outside Island County that keep other Washington lighthouses open to the public:

$6,980 to Westport Lighthouse in Grays Harbor County to help fund a historical structural report.

• $7,020 to Swiftsure Lightship on Seattle's Lake Union as a matching grant to help support a $45,000 project to restore the mast and rigging, electrical system, navigation beacon and smokestack.
• $5,000 to Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island in the San Juans to help establish a museum in the mule barn and create a portable exhibit for use at schools and public forums.
• $3,000 to Browns Point Lighthouse near Tacoma to help match a $4,000 investment by local contributors to purchase tooling and baseboard lumber to duplicate the original fir baseboard and trim.

Admiralty Head Lighthouse is open to the public through a cooperative agreement between Fort Casey State Park and the WSU/Island County Beach Watchers, Waste Wise Volunteers and WSU/Lighthouse Docents program.

For more information:

Department of Licensing (includes printable order form):
http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistration/splighthouse.html

Vehicle registration offices: https://fortress.wa.gov/dol/dolprod/vehoffices/

HOW TO GET THE PLATE

Washington Lighthouses License Plate Facts