The Question on Everyone’s Mind—And What to Do About It
It’s now July of a major election year, and everywhere we go we hear some variation of the question, “Do you think Trump’s going to win?” It’s on everybody’s mind, and it’s the worry keeping folks up at night — worries that have increased following the debate last week. Will he win, potentially ushering in an era of fascism in America? He’s vowed to exact revenge on his political opponents; appoint his cronies to the Justice Department and FBI; order deportation raids; and ban abortion nationwide — just to name a few of his menacing promises. And while President Biden captured immediate headlines following Thursday's debate, it was Trump's unhinged lies —and his vitriol in the days after — that have been the most chilling.
The truth is that he could win — he has before. But it's also true that he lost before, due to an unprecedented surge of voters that has been building since 2020 — and who resoundingly reject Trump-era policies. In 2024, we know that we need to renew and grow this surge of voters like never before. Reflecting on Trump's debate lies has cemented this charge. Our role to fully fund state-based voter engagement is essential and urgent. The presidential race will be won or lost on the margins, as will many other down-ballot races that are key to protecting our democracy.
That’s why our four donor networks — Committee on States, Democracy Alliance, Movement Voter Project, and Way to Win — have joined forces in an unprecedented way through Building for Democracy, or BFD. We believe in the power of voters to step up and protect our freedoms. It isn't one leader we should be looking to who can save the country at this moment. It's millions and millions of people who believe in our democracy. Everyday people will be the heroes in this story.
But in order to reach people and get them to the polls in massive numbers, we will need an unprecedented amount of resources for the key state-based organizations that drive voter engagement in their communities.
BFD is not another new organization, not a bright shiny object intended to distract or replace. Rather, it's a collaborative funding strategy that seeks to educate and support donors looking to make the biggest impact at the top of the ticket in this election. We’re connecting donors to the most urgent funding priorities of the moment. And we’re amplifying pro-democracy groups’ funding needs to a growing pool of donors who want to answer the Trump question with: “I’m doing whatever it takes to stop him.”
We aim to both safeguard and advance our democracy by winning the Presidency, Senate, and House — a trifecta — in November and passing legislation in 2025 to secure Democratic governing power for the long term. More donors, more money, more pro-democracy groups in action on the ground is what it’s going to take to get us there.
What’s Different About BFD?
Through BFD, we are doing philanthropy differently because our current crisis necessitates it. To streamline the often challenging process for donors interested in making an impact at the state level, our four donor networks have collectively agreed on our best strategies and highest funding needs. We're in constant touch with state experts who have a 360-degree view of the programs that must be funded to win, removing the guesswork and homework for donors.
BFD knows exactly where the money is most needed at any given time, and each month, we share the most strategic and most urgent funding priorities from the states with Democratic-leaning donors. Nowhere else can you find this information updated as regularly, all in one place. This huge, innovative, collaborative campaign is offered as a service to donors and donor advisors — because removing hurdles means more donors join our efforts, and making giving easy means more money flows to groups.
Since launching this spring, BFD donors have been closing urgent funding priorities for critical programs in multiple states. In Nevada, BFD ensured that a key partner running an identification and mobilization canvass for candidates in competitive and strategically nested districts was able to stay in the field. BFD also works to leverage these dollars, as we did in Montana. Our investment was matched for an accountability campaign to engage Montana’s senior population, which makes up half of Montana’s voters. And in Michigan, BFD donors have seeded funding and matched in-state funds for a constellation of organizations in the Flint and Saginaw area. Additionally, BFD has supported a cutting-edge African American voter statewide research program that will make all of our work up and down the ticket smarter and more strategic.
With our combined firepower, our brightest minds, and our on-the-ground organizers and operatives, BFD donors are given an unprecedented level of intelligence on who to fund, and why.
It’s straightforward, potent philanthropy, and it’s already having a considerable impact.
Calling All New Donors
Every news cycle gives us depressing headlines. That, and the magnitude of the Trump problem, can prompt us to stick our heads in the sand, hoping somebody, somewhere, is working on it. Surely, get-out-the-vote efforts are well underway, right? Door knocking and campus organizing and targeted messaging strategies?
But we don’t need apathy; we need action — now more than ever.
With just 126 days until the election, dozens of pro-democracy groups are still waiting for funding so they can hit the ground running. They’re pumped and primed, but they’re stalled until more donors step up. Beating back the march of authoritarianism is going to take a swell of new donors—folks who’ve never engaged at this level of philanthropy before, and people who typically give to other causes.
Every cause — our environment, reproductive rights, racial equality, voting rights, the arts, education — you name it, Trump wants to destroy it or remake it in his image. It’s all connected, and safeguarding our democracy is the most urgent and essential thing we can do right now.
There are so many potential new funders who aren’t engaged yet, and who actively need to be invited to engage in the fight for our democracy. We need everyone’s help to bring them on board.
Not only is it time to make your biggest investment ever — knowing that everything is on the line — it’s also the moment, right now, to call on your network and help us widen our circle before it’s too late to make a difference. The clock is ticking, the groups are waiting, and Trump — well, he’s advancing. All of us coming together is the best chance we have to block him and create a 2025 full of hope and possibility.
For more information about Building for Democracy, you can reach us at development@buildingfordemocracy.com.
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Erin Egan is Executive Director of the Committee on States; Pamela Shifman is President of the Democracy Alliance; Billy Wimsatt is Executive Director of Movement Voter Project; and Tory Gavito is President of Way to Win.