Frustrated by the recent headlines, but not sure how to level up your activism? Our Head of Giving Circles, Melissa Walker, sat down with the hosts of Forever35 (The States Project Giving Circle leaders!) to discuss how turning emotional giving into strategic giving can impact and improve lives.
Read a snippet of their conversation and listen to the full episode below!
Forever35: So let’s talk about Giving Circles. You are our fearless leader in this process. So I’d love to hear what Giving Circles are, what they do, and what the goal is.
Melissa Walker, The States Project: Our Giving Circles community comes together and raises the amounts we need to make sure that our partners in each state are ready with campaign managers, field directors, and the infrastructure we need so that these candidates have a shot to win their districts.
This means that Giving Circles are a critical engine for The States Project; they raise the electoral dollars that we need to target the races where we need to shift power in the states. Giving Circles start with a leader or a leadership team that come together and do the work of mapping their network and saying, “Who would like to join me in this project?” And then, it really becomes a math problem.
We’re about to launch a program to get 100 Giving Circles to raise $1,000 each. Raising $1,000 is asking twenty-five people for $40 each, or 100 people for $10 each. There’s an amazing thing that happens when you map your network and you make it a math problem, because suddenly, it feels possible: we can all get there. And together, if 100 Giving Circles raise $1,000 each – we can raise $100,000. And in these races, and in these states, $100,000 is hugely consequential.
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