I wanted to step in and really drive home why Joe’s message matters. You have heard us say it before: Groundwork partners and grantees are in the real battleground states. The ones leading the charge in the fight against the most extremist conservative legislation in the country— from restrictions on abortion access to rolling back LGBTQIA+ rights to voter suppression, and so, so much more.

Groundwork grantees are on the front lines of this generation’s biggest battles. That’s why we have to make sure they get ALL the support they need to organize their hearts out for the decade to come. And hopefully the decade after that.

That means more than financial resources; it means access to training, mentorship, and support systems as they build their organizations, grow and take care of their teams, and constantly innovate in the face of increasingly ugly opposition. As Joe stated below, we're hoping to continue growing this part of our work – what we call “wrap-around support” – BUT we can only do this with your help. We have a budget gap of $50,000 that we need to fill before the end of the quarter on Friday.

I made you a personalized link to give right now: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/gwp_527_eoq#0093429

Joe, myself, and the rest of the team hope to see your name on the donor list tonight!

Thank you for your continued support,

Emily

–
Emily Kaufman (she/her)
Executive Director
Groundwork Project

Begin forwarded message:

Want to know one major thing that Groundwork does that most other funders do not? We provide wrap-around support to every single one of our grantees.

What the heck does “wrap-around support” mean? Good question. It means that when you become a Groundwork Grantee, we do more than just write a check – we work overtime to help you access the trainings, mentorship, digital assets and other key resources that building a sustainable organization requires.

We do this because we’ve heard directly from our partners since day one: it’s not just money that is scarce for organizers in our states. It’s access to a lot of the progressive “capacity building” opportunities that those of us in bluer states take for granted. We’ll dig into that more below...

But first, I’m reaching out to you to help us expand these efforts — this Friday is our FIRST quarterly deadline of 2023 and the resources in the door will be put toward wrap-around support for our grantees. Your help makes this work possible, will you join us and donate now?

Now, let’s dive in… here are the elements that make up our wrap-around support:

➡️	Capital: Multi-year, unrestricted operating grants for organizers and mini-grants for short-term, project based work.
➡️	Community: Access to like-minded progressive organizers from across the country who understand the unique challenges – and opportunities – of working in “red” states.
➡️	Capacity: Training, mentoring, and 1:1 support on things like fundraising and budget management, volunteer recruitment and retention, communications strategy, data management, social media and more.

I know “wrap-around support” can sound jargon-y, but think of it this way – if you were to start an organization tomorrow around something you’re really passionate about, what would you need? Money, yes. But you’d also need to know how to file the appropriate paperwork with the IRS, how to build a budget, how to onboard staff and think about things like health care and other benefits. You’d need to know how to set up a website, how to develop a logo, how to start communicating to people about your cause.

We want the organizers we support to have as much time as possible to do the real work, out in their community, so we do what we can to help them figure all this other stuff out.

As I hinted above, a key part of our 2023 strategic plans involves deepening this wrap-around support. Julia and I have crunched the numbers, and we have a budget gap of $50,000 to put our hopes and our partners’ feedback into operation.

That’s why I am personally reaching out to you. We know there is no time to waste, please donate now.

Thank you so much for sharing our vision,

Joe