(Want to watch my 45-minute “Strategic Giving” webinar? There’s a recording here.)
The short link for this page is https://tinyurl.com/givesmart24
Here are the TOP TEN places I recommend donating to over all others, and why:
1) Run For Something –specifically PAC money for them— RFS recruits young progressives to run for office across the country for municipal, school board, election administrator, county supervisor, and statehouse seats. Read their 2024 strategic goals here. They offer candidates support, help with volunteer recruitment, and fund their races. Their candidates have a high win rate and their school board candidates absolutely destroyed Moms for Liberty everywhere in the recent FL elections. When I say that this organization is saving the country I am not exaggerating. GIVE HERE PLEASE!
2) Movement Voter Project —MVP vets and then funds the most effective grassroots organizing groups working on the ground in swing (and other) states. In short, they are funding today’s Stacey Abrams, everywhere. If we want youth turnout, BIPOC turnout, and a growing progressive electorate then funding MVP is how we best get it. They’re absolutely amazing. Read this to see their current take on the race. VERY EXCITING! Then donate here.
3) The States Project — donate to the general fund here or to my PA and AZ Giving Circle here (please!). An absolutely vital group focussed exclusively on winning state-level elections and flipping state legislatures. They also help candidates and elected reps write good progressive policy. They are so, so good at what they do—they are the reason we won in VA, and also the reason we had the brilliant election in 2022 that we did. Read the Times article about them here. See their 2024 target states here. They have tons of other good press on their website.
4) Mecklenburg County, NC has more Democrats than anywhere else in North Carolina, but voter turnout there has lagged behind the state average and similarly sized counties, leaving tens of thousands of Democratic votes on the table. In 2022, about 185,000 Democrats in Mecklenburg didn’t vote — 150% of the margin between Cheri Beasley and Ted Budd in the US Senate election that year! A Democratic majority in North Carolina runs through Mecklenburg County, and MeckDems have an ambitious plan to knock on hundreds of thousands of doors of voters! Please make a donation to help hire professional organizers so they can make a difference in the most important county for Democrats in North Carolina! This state is in play! This is a STRATEGIC GIVE INDEED! OR give to Center for Common Ground’s Team Unity North Carolina A powerhouse coalition of faith groups, sororities and fraternities, and other local nonprofits are on the ground with a historic turnout track record and a laser focus on Mecklenburg County. This is a great investment in North Carolina!
5) 🚨NEWLY ADDED! 🚨 We need help in Montana!! If Jon Tester loses we lose the Senate! Force Multiplier has identified four grassroots groups in Montana who are mobilizing infrequent youth, Indigenous + rural voters in partnership with America Votes. GIVE TO THEM HERE. (Highly recommend this fund).
6) Sister District — another vital group focused solely on state legislatures, complementing The States Project by providing grassroots dials, postcards, $$, and data-driven advice — all going directly to the most strategic campaigns in battleground states that will also boost Biden’s numbers. Check out their endorsed candidates of 2024 here and support them through this fundraising link here.
7) For voter registration in all swing states support Field Team Six. They have data to back up their success and it only costs them $.93 for every new blue or purple voter, and $2.24 for every new blue or purple vote. That’s value on the dollar!
8) The Rural Democracy Initiative is driving a growing array of organizing efforts in states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Montana, and Arizona, where new work is underway to engage rural voters, speak to their concerns, and otherwise show up in places that many Democrats have written off. RDI is an all-important hub of these exciting efforts. This year, its 501(c)(4) arm—the Rural Victory Fund—is going all out to woo rural voters in key battleground states. These efforts could help decide the election, which is why RDI is one of Blue Tent’s top 2o24 recommendations to donors. Give here.
9) Oath empowers donors to give more strategically by making data-driven recommendations about where your dollars have maximum impact. THIS IS AN AMAZING SITE! We’ve needed something like this for a long time. HIGHLY recommend it. Your money will be spent as strategically as possible. We’ve actually collaborated to create a high-impact fund that will split your money between the Harris-Walz campaign and 6 really critical, high-impact downballot races in swing states! Woot! Great place to give!
10) American Independent Radio (AIR) will be running one of the most cost-effective voter mobilization programs of 2024, targeting specific audiences in the presidential battleground states. The radio ads – which use culturally relevant messaging designed to appeal to voters in their local communities – have been shown to be enormously effective in turning out targeted voters in critical races. The ads will air on both AM/FM and streaming radio, encouraging people to vote and providing information about when and how to do it. Funding now allows the program to lock in lower ad rates, better time slots, and other cost advantages that translate directly into more votes per dollar invested. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation of any amount.
11) Project 218 takes a highly data-driven approach to winning back the House in 2024. The independent expenditure PAC (527) complements the work of candidate campaigns and other PACs by amplifying efforts at the margins, strategically providing resources where they are most likely to secure a critical House seat. Project 218 utilizes quantitative models to deploy best-in-class tactics where they are most likely to generate the votes needed to win in the most competitive House races. Tactics include highly targeted voter registration, rigorously tested TV persuasion, and mail campaigns. The program is designed to increase the number of Democratic votes in target races while simultaneously ensuring that the overall investment maximizes the probability of winning control of the House. Click here to make a non-tax-deductible contribution of any amount.
ORGS and GRASSROOTS GROUPS THAT WILL HELP YOU DECIDE WHERE TO GIVE STRATEGICALLY
1) Sign up for updates with Focus For Democracy–they do deep, deep research dives on which orgs are most effective at turning out voters and then raise money for them.
2) Subscribe to Blue Tent. Blue Tent helps donors at all levels give effectively to elect Democrats and enact policies for a fairer America.
3) Join a group doing the vetting for you. These are EXCELLENT groups, most of them run by dedicated volunteers. Walk the Walk, Airlift, Flip the Vote, 31st Street Swing Left, and