More than $8 Million Moved So Far in 2022!
So far this year, WDN Action has granted more than $8 million in c4 funding, including our most recent grants to 9 organizations that will have a decisive electoral impact this fall in states like Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona, and Michigan. Reports that holding the House is not out of reach have provided some political encouragement over the past few weeks. But despite primary wins and shifts in polling, there’s still significant work to be done between now and November. Read on for more about our latest grants and join us in supporting our grantees before the midterms.
In Arizona, we’re funding Indigenous Baaja Ádaaní Ali Son (IBAA), a c4 partner of Arizona Wins focusing specifically on building political power for Indigenous Peoples in Arizona. Their plans for 2022 include running media, canvassing, and phone-banking programs in order to register more than 13,000 Native Americans state-wide. They also plan to produce policy materials on the climate crisis, housing disparity, and immigration, with a specific focus on how they impact Indigenous peoples.
Florida remains important for long-term power building in an effort to both defend against extreme attacks on reproductive justice, LGBTQIA rights, and voting rights and work to build progressive political power. We’re funding Dream Defenders, which aims to register and turn out 35,000 Black and Brown 18-35-year-old voters on college campuses across the state. They are running canvassing and Voting Rights programs with a focus on villainizing Ron DeSantis and energizing young Black and brown people to vote.
In Georgia, we recently funded We Vote We Win, the c4 arm of Georgia STAND UP. We Vote We Win is employing a 4-pronged approach to voter outreach that includes education, civic engagement, leadership development, and direct action. Between now and the election, they plan to focus on canvassing in the Metro Atlanta region and partner cities; expanding their field program to Columbus, Valdosta, and Savannah; launching a text and phone banking program; and geofencing ahead of November.
We continue to support our grantees in Michigan, especially new and growing organizations filling critical parts of the progressive ecosystem, such as Michigan Liberation. Michigan Liberation is focused on centering and elevating Black leadership and supporting people who are formerly incarcerated and directly impacted by the criminal justice system. These funds will help support their community engagement, base building, and canvassing programs for 2022 and beyond.
Somos Votantes Action engages Latino voters in critical battleground states to turn out voters in support of progressive candidates and causes. In Nevada, Somos is focused on reelecting Senator Cortez-Masto and Governor Steve Sisolak as well as electing Lieutenant Governor Lisa Cano Burkhead, Secretary of State candidate Cisco Aguilar, and supporting Democrats up and down the ballot. They will do this by building on their 2020 research and voter engagement plans to organize, canvas, and conduct advertising across the state.
North Carolina remains a critical state for continued investment, including the important work of Advance North Carolina. In addition to supporting local races, Advance North Carolina will help mobilize voters in support of Cheri Beasley for U.S. Senate and Valerie Foushee and Charles Evans for Congress. They are focusing on rural areas in the Northeastern and Southeastern regions of North Carolina, where many poor and working-class BIPOC voters are concentrated.
Given the high-profile battles in Texas, it is critical to ensure that organizations have the resources and capacity to not only engage in defensive advocacy but to also support the communities directly harmed by regressive policies. We’re funding Workers Defense Action Fund (WDAF), an organization fighting for the rights of low-wage workers and immigrants across Texas. In 2022, WDAF is focusing on key races in Harris, Travis, Dallas, and Tarrant counties, elevating the voices of immigrant workers through the endorsement process and their deep canvassing program.
Wisconsin is a key battleground state for the U.S Senate in 2022 and will likely play a major role in the presidential race in 2024. We’re supporting the Workers Center for Racial Justice (WCRJ), a grassroots organization that mobilizes Black voters to address the root causes of poverty and unemployment. In 2022, WCRJ is running an expansive Integrated Voter Engagement program in the state, focusing on mobilizing Black voters and conducting outreach to additional voters of color and white voters with low racial resentment scores to grow their target universe.
In 2022, the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) Action Fund is focused on engaging and educating women voters to fight for issues that deeply shape their lives and futures. They are producing in-depth issue and candidate guides on key gender justice issues, from the care economy to abortion access, as well as actively engaging their national partners to create broader campaigns to educate and engage women voters about these issues.
Even with these resources, we’ve heard from grantee partners across the country that they still face significant budget gaps. They need our support to get to the finish line and see their work—from robust canvassing of new voters to persuasion mail and layered digital programs in competitive districts and targeted turnout programs—come to fruition.
The window is quickly closing to move additional funding before the midterms. Please join us and make a contribution online today.