Why not just give to candidates?

Instead of gambling billions on candidates and ads every few years, we suggest investing in the conditions for real, long-term governing power.

Yes, candidates need money — but organizing and movement-building is how we shape the overall cultural and political environment, and this is what ultimately determines who gets elected and what policies get passed.

As David Brooks put it:

Cultural and intellectual change comes first—a new vision.
Social movements come second.
Political change comes last.

Problem: Most political spending is a wasteful, inefficient gamble.

• Candidate campaigns are like “sandcastles,” leaving nothing behind to build on. Staff and volunteers parachute in at the last minute. Consultants launch poll-tested ad blitzes. Once votes are cast, campaigns turn off the lights and sell off their email lists — rinse and repeat.
• Donors take their gamble and leave empty-handed. Glitzy candidates with slim chances and clever emails raise millions, lose by landslides, and end up with millions in unspent funds. 
• Quick-fix tactics turn off voters and erode trust. Many campaigns and PACs use spammy fundraising tactics that exploit donors. And billions of dollars go to ads with diminishing returns and no lasting impact, reinforcing a transactional and cynical view of politics.

Solution: Invest in year-round organizing to maximize impact.

• Community organizers are the best voter mobilizers. Research shows that “relational” outreach by trusted messengers moves voters to action more reliably than ads, cold calls, and mailings. Why? Because they have credibility and know what issues and messages resonate.
• Organizers build bottom-up power that can grow over time. They bring in volunteers, develop leadership, and engage their communities year-round, building political influence that lasts.
• Organizers fuel the fight for democracy and progress. Elections come and go, but organizers mobilize communities en masse to hold officials accountable and enact policy priorities.