Donor Spotlight: Jane Mansbridge – “This is the most important election in my lifetime, and I’m 84 years old”

MVP has been urging donors to give early so we can win in November, and donors have been stepping up — in many cases making their biggest investments ever.

Among them is Jane Mansbridge, Charles F. Adams Professor of Political Leadership and Democratic Values, Emerita at the Harvard Kennedy School.

To say Jane is an accomplished political scientist would be putting it lightly. She is the author of two award-winning books; she has served as President of the American Political Science Association (APSA); and she has three academic awards named after her. 

We asked Jane to share a few words about her choice to frontload her 2024 political giving to MVP. Here is what she said:

This is the most important election in my lifetime, and I’m 84 years old. 

The evidence from both social science and my own experience is pretty clear: much of what is spent on campaigns, particularly at the last moment, is a waste of money. 

Getting out the vote comes from pre-existing relationships. You have to start early to make those connections. And you need to give early, to start early.

So, I calculated the amount my husband and I gave to all the candidates in the last presidential election, then took 3/4 of that and gave it to MVP. 

I kept a quarter of it, because you don’t know what’s going to happen at the last moment in specific races that may make you want to give even more then. But I know that by giving to MVP early, I’m going to make a bigger difference in November 2024 than any other way.

We feel honored to count Jane among the tens of thousands of MVP donors who make this work possible. We hope you join her in giving early, when our local partners are building the critical capacity to get the job done in November.