Hey folks,

A little story.

We always planned to release a new Indivisible guide after the election -- whatever the result. But after Trump won, suddenly that plan took on huge new weight. At our best, Indivisible helps people find the path -- and in that moment, the path felt farther away than ever.

So, two days after the election was called, we left our kids with my mom, and Leah and I picked up a bunch of frozen meals and energy drinks and locked ourselves in a cabin in the woods for the long weekend. After three full days and long nights of nonstop writing, revising, getting feedback from across the movement, fighting over language, consuming copious caffeine, and partial reconciliation…we weren’t done yet. It wasn’t coming together. It didn’t flow.

That Monday I came back to DC to tell Rachel Maddow on live TV that we’d be releasing it Wednesday. Which meant, ready or not, it was coming out. We decided on a new structural rewrite that night at about 1am. We were coming down to the wire…but we made it: Wednesday morning I sent the final uncopyedited draft (typos are in our DNA) to our team: Indivisible: A Practical Guide to Democracy on the Brink. 

A few hours later, we held the launch call with about 40,000 of you and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Since then, about 10,000 people have told us they’re looking to either be connected to a local group or start a new one. We had about 1000 people come to a training on “How to Start Your Local Indivisible Group” this week, and we’re hosting another one tomorrow. We drove 20,000 calls to Congress to unify Dems against a terrible bill that would increase Trump’s power (H.R. 9495). Matt Gaetz has come and gone. And we’ve talked to more press about building defiance to Trump 2.0 more times than I can count -- this one that ran in USA Today is my favorite so far.

Some things have changed for the better. At this point in 2016, we didn’t have an Indivisible movement or organization. We didn’t have any real ties to the pro-democracy world of brilliant thinkers, researchers, and doers. We didn’t have a professionalized Indivisible national team of expert organizers, policy wonks, digital mavens, and technical wizards. Hell, we didn’t even have the original Indivisible guide -- we wouldn’t start writing that until the weekend after Thanksgiving that year, and I didn’t post it until mid-December.

Yes, some things have gotten worse. The other side is more unified, prepared, and determined. What they’re planning to do is even scarier than last time. But we’ve also grown. We’ve also become better prepared. We also are determined from the get-go to fight for every inch.

We need your help to do that. Indivisible has always been a “fundraising second” operation -- if you’re signed up on our list, you get far more messages from us about what you can do rather than what you can give. That’s important to us because first and foremost, we want you actually doing stuff. Too many political emails treat people like ATMs rather than real participants in the political process. 

We aim to fundraise with honesty and integrity so you can be proud to give and you can be proud to be part of Indivisible locally. With integrity in such short supply right now, that seems like a good thing to pump out into the world.

Here’s what I’d appreciate you considering: a monthly donation to Indivisible. If you don’t like what we’re doing, cancel it. But I want to defeat more MAGA legislation. I want to support and push our Democratic governors and mayors to fight back proactively. I want to protect our election infrastructure. I want Indivisible groups to show up in solidarity with all those who Trump 2.0 will target. And I want this work funded through grassroots dollars that make this movement accountable to the people and nobody else. 

A monthly donation will give us something Indivisible desperately needs as we head into the chaos to come: predictability. There are a lot of long weekends and late nights in coming months for Indivisible. I need to know we have the resources to support the team to get through it. Every dollar you are able to commit will go to reducing harm, building power, and defending our diminished democracy. 

Thank you for investing in this movement. We need you. 

In solidarity,
Ezra

Ezra Levin Co-Executive Director Pronouns: He/him