MVP friends,

This morning, I noticed my best friend was asking on Facebook for recommendations for how to still make a difference this election. 

“Itching to keep doing more! The stakes are so high,” she wrote.

I felt the same way. 

It made me realize the single most important thing I could do is send you this email.

If you’re itching to do more too, here’s what you can do:

1. Donate all you can to swing-state organizers turning out every last vote.
2. Get out the vote (by text, phone, or in person).

Here’s why:

Credit: Power to the Polls in Wisconsin

Winning Wisconsin: The Power of Late Money

The Harris campaign has raised well over $1 billion, and billions more are going to TV ads — but local voter organizations turning out the hardest-to-reach voters still need funding to scale up their turnout operations in these final few days.

Any money you give now will get to our partners on the ground by Monday at the latest. (Our team is checking as we speak if we can move it even sooner.)

If you ever doubted whether late money makes a difference, read this update I got last night from Reema Ahmad, MVP’s State Advisor in the pivotal swing state of Wisconsin:

Yesterday we got several SOS text messages and calls from partners: While turnout across Wisconsin is up, turnout at one of Milwaukee’s largest early voting sites was down 40 percent.

This intel put 11th-hour planning and funding into motion with partners like Black Leaders Organizing Communities (BLOC), Power to the Polls, and many more.

I wasn’t sure we had the resources to still move any money to the field. But thanks to our last-minute fundraising and nimble grantmaking, we were able to get resources out the door!

This last-minute funding means:

• 100 more canvassers will be hired and deployed by Election Day.

• 125K more calls will be made to voters who haven’t cast their ballots yet.

• 3 days of “knock and drag” to the polls started yesterday, pushing through the last couple days of early voting in Milwaukee.

MVP Wisconsin Advisor, Reema Ahmad, canvassing with Black Leaders Organizing Communities (BLOC) ambassadors

In a state that Biden won in 2020 by less than 21,000 votes, this last-minute funding could make the difference between winning and losing.

I personally can’t believe what a privilege it is to know that we can still make a difference at this 11th hour. Let’s seize the opportunity while we still can.

Leaving It All On The Field

If you’ve contributed all you can: Thank you! 

But if you find yourself on this final weekend knowing deep down that you could give more, I strongly recommend giving all you can through MVP. 

Our team is on the ground in all the top battleground states and races, we know where last-minute money is needed most, and we’re frantically moving it to local organizations as it comes in.

Now is the time for each of us to ask: “Have I done all I could?” — not Wednesday. 

I personally learned this the hard way. I’d love to save you the regret of making the same mistake. Here’s my story…

The Power of “No Regrets”

I’ll never forget how I felt the morning after the 2016 elections. 

Election Night, my wife Kelly and I went to our friends’ house to watch the results and celebrate victory — or so we thought.

We fell asleep before the race was called, and woke up to learn Hillary Clinton had conceded the election to Donald Trump at 2:30am.

I remember the lump in my throat and the pit in my stomach. 

But most of all I remember the regret.

I knew there was so much more I could have done while I had the chance.

Fast forward to Fall 2020. Kelly and I now had a one-year old daughter, Ayla. I’d kiss her goodnight, look at her in her crib, and wonder: “Is she going to grow up on a livable planet? What am I doing to leave her a world that’s worthy of her?”

I remembered 2016. I asked myself a question that has stayed with me ever since: 

“What can I do now, so that I wake up the morning after the election with no regrets?”

I volunteered as much I could. Kelly and I donated as much as we could to MVP. 

We beat Trump and won a Democratic governing trifecta — it felt amazing. But equally importantly, I felt proud. I knew I’d done my part. I’d left it all on the field.

That’s what we have the chance to do now.

“What can I do now, so that I wake up the morning after the election with no regrets?”

Whatever happens this election, I urge you to find your “no-regret number”:

• Ask: “How much more could I donate to local swing-state turnout efforts, if I knew it would defeat Trump?” 
• Now, imagine waking up Wednesday, knowing we lost by 1,000 votes. 
• Would you regret not giving more? If “no,” give that amount. If “yes,” donate more now to get that money to the ground in time to make a difference.
• Repeat this to see how much time to volunteer these next few days.

We’ve come too far to lose it all by 1,000 votes because we were a day late and a dollar short.

Let’s leave it all on the field!

Zo Tobi, MVP Director of Communications
(On behalf of the MVP team)

p.s. – Find this helpful? Be a supportive friend or family member by sharing this, to give your loved ones a chance to join the ranks of those who did all they could.

p.p.s – Join our Wednesday briefing to discuss the results we know so far. Whatever the outcomes, this election is an inflection point, not the endpoint!