Friends,

I hope you and your families are staying safe and are getting through this challenging time. I know it’s been a while since I’ve connected with many of you, but I wanted to follow up on my note from several months back and share some exciting news about where we’re headed as an organization.

As I’d shared, while 2019 was a great year for our work in many ways, it was not without challenges. We increased the total amount we invested in candidates, increased the percentage we invested in their races, and endorsed more candidates than ever -- 35 amazing, diverse leaders, nearly 3/4 of whom won their elections and are now serving their constituents. That said, we also saw our year-over-year growth in overall fundraising slow, and recognized that as a staffed organization, given how much we were able to raise in total, our model of significant candidate vetting and focus on down-ballot races created an overhead rate that was just too high. As a result, we have spent the last several months identifying the best path forward where we can continue the important work we’ve been doing, but in a way that puts more of our dollars to work for candidates.

Today, I’m excited to announce that path forward: we will be merging with Run for Something (RFS), creating a new program called RFS Ascend.  

As many of you know, since 2017, RFS has become the preeminent organization supporting young progressive candidates running for local and state legislative office. They’ve propelled hundreds of candidates to victory by providing 1:1 campaign support, elevating their profiles with the press, and connecting them to top-level resources provided by partner organizations. They’ve also been a great partner of ours, sharing candidate ideas and making introductions; indeed, many of our endorsees have been RFS endorsees and vice versa.

What they have largely not done, however, is donate directly to candidates. That’s where the new RFS Ascend program comes in. Leveraging the vetting that RFS already does, this new program will provide high-impact donations to their top endorsed candidates, starting in 2020 with Pennsylvania and Texas state legislative elections -- states and races we have already focused on as an organization.

In this new program, much of what Ascend is all about -- taking the long view, providing high-impact investments into local races, identifying top talent, and enabling investors to play a role in the selection process -- is very much maintained. But now, operating in the context of a larger organization, we’ll be able to do even more: we'll more closely work with our endorsed candidates and do a better job connecting them with other resources and supporting them once in office, while reducing costs by leveraging much of the vetting RFS already does to find emerging candidates. You can learn more about the program here.

How you can help! I’m asking for you all to remain involved moving forward; with COVID-19 and the Presidential race, the competition for scarce resources is intense, and there’s never been a more important time to support local candidates. Here’s how you can help:

• Get involved as an investor. Like in the past, our focus is on identifying individuals who can commit to raise or donate $2,500 or more per year. Individuals in this community receive regular email updates, are invited to Zoom calls where they can connect directly with our endorsed candidates, and have an opportunity to play a role in the endorsement and selection process. Please reply to this email if you’d like to learn more.  

• Donate! If you’re unable to get involved at the investor level but want to help, please consider making a donation today! Every dollar makes a difference. You can donate here.

• Stay connected to RFS. As part of the merger, effective later this week, you will begin receiving communications from RFS -- about RFS Ascend as well as other RFS activities. It’d be great if you could continue your support of our work through the variety of ways RFS helps emerging candidates. If you are not interested in receiving these communications, you can unsubscribe below.

Thanks again for all of your help and support over the past few years. Together, we’ve raised and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars, and had significant impact on dozens of races across the country. I hope you’ll join me as we enter this new chapter to continue doing this critical work.

Onward,

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