Tips for 2016
I’ve heard questions from some of you about ways to best invest funds to engage the New American Majority in the 2016 election. I’ve shared answers informally, and I thought some of these ideas and strategies could be useful to others in this group. Here are a few tips for getting your dollars to the right place.
Be ready
Campaigns will likely contact you asking for donations. Here are a few questions to help you determine if your giving-dollar would be used in ways we care about.
Which demographic groups are you targeting? How many voters from each group will you need to win?
What’s your total budget? How much are you allocating to persuading undecided voters? How much are you allocating to mobilization?
What’s your community engagement strategy? How will you work on the ground? Are you working with community organizations to register voters?
Have you hired culturally competent staff? Any bilingual staff?
Are you polling for understanding of voter views/concerns within different racial demographic groups?
Be savvy
Reach out to groups on the ground to find out where there’s need and who’s out there meeting it. Because organizations doing critical work are often smaller community-based organizations, it can be tricky to ferret out each group’s effectiveness. A savvy approach for us has been to work with “intermediary organizations” who vet groups on the ground and provide them with technical assistance. Below are intermediary organizations who fundraise, provide technical assistance, vet and coordinate smaller organizations to make sure donor dollars are well spent.
Works to expand Black voter registration, turnout, and candidates.
Contact: Marvin Randolph, President
Contact information: marvin@southernelections.org
Develops and coordinates resources for investment in national and local organizations focused on engaging Black communities for greater voter participation.
Contact: Cietta Kiandoli, Director
Contact information: cietta.kiandoli@gmail.com
Center for Community Change Action
Carrying out a large-scale voter engagement effort in three states (CO, NV, and FL) where Latino and Asian American/Pacific Islander immigrants can make the difference in election outcomes.
Contact: Deepak Pateriya, Chief of Staff
Contact Information: DPateriya@cccaction.org
Provides technical assistance to community organizations doing voter work and provides strategic advice and coordination to coalitions of groups conducting large-scale electoral activities.
Contact: Andy Wong, President
Contact Information: awong@powerpac.org
Maintains a website with information on the best local progressive grassroots voter organizations in most states - mainly in communities of color.
Contact: Billy Wimsatt, Founder & Executive Director
Contact Information: billywimsatt@gmail.com
Provides incentives, collaboration and coordination for organizations serving the Latino community, and provides donors with the tools and services to create impact.
Contact: Dave Montez
Contact Information: davidjmontez@hotmail.com