Galvanize is a two-part organization that engages moderate white women, one of the most decisive voting blocs in recent elections. Galvanize USA, a 501(c)(3), focuses on outreach and education, building digital communities designed to provide women a safe arena to share their beliefs, learn more about the issues that matter most to them, and gain confidence as political actors. Galvanize Action, a 501(c)(4), meanwhile, seeks to influence voters through research-backed messages and outreach tailored for moderate white women who likely share more values with liberals than many realize. 

Why This Work is Important

• White women are the single largest voting group in America. These voters, heavily concentrated in suburban, small-town, and rural areas often decide electoral outcomes. But while a majority of white women now vote Republican, Galvanize sees an opportunity for Democrats to do much better with them, particularly in the aftermath of the 2022 Dobbs Supreme Court decision. Even modest gains with this huge group of voters could transform the political landscape. 

• These voters are persuadable. Many voters, including white women, do not have strongly fixed views or fail to make connections between their values and their voting behavior. With the right types of engagement, these voters can be persuaded to support progressive policies and Democratic candidates. Galvanize draws on behavioral psychology, data science and other tools to understand its target audience and craft tested messages and engagement strategies that can change how they vote 

Why Donors Should Consider Galvanize

• Galvanize is laser-focused on voters that other electoral groups ignore. While the lion’s share of funding for electoral groups on the left is focused on mobilizing core Democratic voters, Galvanize has emerged as a leader in the underfunded area of persuasion. Its c3 arm, Galvanize USA, uses “deep listening,” “deep canvassing” and provides opportunities for direct dialogue, to understand what issues matter most to moderate women. Galvanize Action uses this knowledge to create a variety of media and ads designed to persuade. 

• Rigorous research is central to its work. Beyond drawing on academic research and deep voter engagement to shape its programming, Galvanize uses randomized controlled trials to test which messages and approaches work best. This level of rigor means that donors can feel confident they are supporting persuasion efforts of proven effectiveness and offers a good return on investment in terms of the net number of Democratic votes that result. 

• Galvanize boasts results early in its short history. The organization saw progress in two of its target states in 2020, Michigan and Wisconsin: White women overall and non-college-educated white women specifically both moved toward the Democratic candidate and away from Trump compared to 2016 – most notably non-college-educated white women in Wisconsin, who moved 11 percentage points toward Biden. The group saw positive results again in the 2022 midterms with research showing their treatment groups in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin had higher Democratic voting numbers compared to the control. 

Conclusion

Galvanize offers a data-driven approach to increasing Democratic vote share among white women who hold the key to electoral outcomes in many places. There is much room to scale its work — Galvanize has identified more than 11 million women in battleground states whom it believes to be persuadable. Greater investments in the group’s work could have a significant impact on elections in these states.  

Related Video: “Why Support Galvanize Action and Galvanize USA.”