I'm going to ask if you can make your first donation to our campaign to help catch up to our $1 million fundraising goal, but first, I want to talk about why hitting this goal is powerfully important.

When I made the decision to run this campaign the right way — without sucking up to corporate executives on Wall Street and special interests in Washington — some cynics said that we would struggle to raise the money we need.

But I don't want their support, and we don't need it. I have something better — I have you by my side. And when this team chips in to hit each and every fundraising goal, we send a message that it is possible to run campaigns without catering to the wealthy and well-connected.

I'm fighting to put power into the hands of working people, but I can't do it alone — it's only possible with contributions from grassroots donors. Will you make your first donation right now to help make sure we hit this goal?

This campaign is based on the core principle that everyone gets equal access.

So during big fundraising pushes like this week, you won't see me hosting swanky fundraisers where you can only get in if you write a ginormous check. Instead, we send emails like this one to help hit our fundraising goals.

And your donation can help fight for our plans to level the playing field for working people and build a government that works for everyone.

If we want to make big, structural change, we need to grow our grassroots movement, and that means we need to hit our goal this week. If you can, please chip in $3 or whatever you can before the deadline.

Thanks for being a part of this,

Elizabeth