Friends,
Election Day just happened. Donald Trump was elected President. We don’t know exactly what the future holds. So you may be wondering… Why are people still asking me for money?!
Well, let’s start here: One incredible thing about recent election cycles is the immense – and continuously growing! – power of grassroots fundraising.
It used to be the case that political campaigns were largely funded by wealthy individuals, PACs, or corporations writing big checks. But over the past decade, millions of people around the country have donated more than a billion dollars to campaigns – in increments of $5 given here or there, clicking on an email or a text message.
The rise of grassroots fundraising has some pretty amazing impacts on our politics. Many campaigns are funded in a much more democratized fashion nowadays, and many individuals feel invested in their leaders in a new way.
But one perhaps unforeseen impact is that now, online grassroots fundraising isn’t just a cool, new opportunity – it’s a must. Campaigns heavily rely on fundraising emails as a meaningful source of revenue to run competitive races.
And that is as true a week after the election as it was a week before the election. Meaning: Your inbox may very well *still* be full of fundraising emails.
To be clear: This is not one of those emails. I’m deeply grateful that my campaign benefitted from having a strong grassroots team contributing to our work, and I know that in the next election cycle, I will certainly strive to earn that support again. But right now, that’s not my focus.
So why am I still emailing you, and why are other people still asking you for money?
Let’s start with me. I’m emailing you because I care about you! This avenue of information sharing is important to me because it allows us to stay in touch – for you to hear about what I’m up to, and for me to receive feedback from the folks who are invested in this work. As we look ahead to the 119th Congress and how we’ll govern amid a Republican trifecta in Washington, these emails will be an important part of keeping our community together.
As for the rest of your inbox – there are several things to consider:
Right now, a number of races around the country have yet to be called, and those campaigns are fighting to fund voter outreach and recount efforts that are still so important.
Plus, like I mentioned, many campaigns depend on email fundraising to fund basic needs, like paying staff salaries or keeping the lights on in the office – and those don’t disappear the day after Election Day.
For those of us in the House, running every two years can mean that we essentially have to operate permanent campaign infrastructure to keep on doing this work – and winding things down just to ramp them up again can prove even more expensive than keeping things running all along.
And of course, many campaigns and political organizations understand that to truly engage voters, get more folks involved in the political process, and work towards the results we want, being present and engaged every day, all year round, whether it’s an “on” year or “off” year, is critical.
Those are just a few of the reasons you may still find fundraising requests in your inboxes. As always, decisions about who to support, and when, are personal and meaningful. As we all begin to navigate the way forward, I hope this email had some helpful or interesting information for you.
From me, you can expect to see fewer asks for the time being – and of course, when I do ask for support, I will always be honest with you about why.
That’s all for now, but I look forward to continuing to connect with you soon.
All my best,
Sara
