John,
Three years ago, at the beginning of my campaign for Congress, I was eagerly hoping for a big break—a break that would make fundraising, volunteer organizing, and voter outreach easier. People involved in politics would say “it's early,” then “it's summer,” and after that “it's the holidays.” With every endorsement announcement and every interview that went by, it became clearer that there's no such thing as a big break in grassroots campaigning. It's what you build—tediously, often quietly and without applause, and with your own labor and the labor of dedicated volunteers and paid staffers—that defines organizational success.
We are over a year into Catch Fire's public existence and, just like in a grassroots campaign, there's no magic bullet that can build an organization overnight. Will you join me in creating something much bigger than an individual campaign—a strategic, intentional pipeline of progressive leaders who will be prepared, motivated, well-connected, and supported—and because of that more likely to succeed in the progressive fights of our time?
Since our launch, we've:
- trained our first cohort of 15 leaders,
- endorsed 15 congressional candidates
- joined a coalition of progressive organizations pushing Arizona's Senators Kelly and Sinema to end the filibuster and forcing Emily's List to issue a statement about withholding support in Sinema's next election, and
- advocated for better labor standards, immigration reform, DC statehood, and a myriad of other issues.
Steven (Catch Fire Co-founder) and I are volunteering our time, but we know that we will need paid staff to make a real impact. We also know that there is a complete vacuum in intentional progressive leaders' recruitment and long-term development and support. We are ready to be the organization that prepares working progressives today to lead in 2022 but also 2024 and 2026. Can we count on your generosity to make this possible?
Eva Putzova
