Housing is out of reach for most working families. School board meetings are now a battleground over gender and racial equality. And fossil fuel companies are spending millions to convince us they are the good guys (see Californians for Energy Independence ads). This cannot be the future for California.
Chino Valley, Murrieta Valley, and now Temecula Valley Unified School Districts have passed policies eliminating privacy rights of LGBTQ+ youth. This is on top of the already anti-Critical Race Theory policies they have enacted. Conservative activists are taking a cue from Southlake Texas and Florida education policy destruction.
Homes are out of reach for the average family in California. The median home price is now close to $750,000 while median family income is less than half of what it would take to buy such a home. That is why housing advocates are moving to create more affordable housing and transition housing through a ballot measure next year. And the battle to make California less fossil fuel dependent is heating up with both direct battles with fossil fuel giants as they spread misinformation. Or as they push to increase profits through use of public funds such as CalPers and other pension investment groups.
The Opportunity
PowerPAC is in collaboration on all these fronts and seeks to put the movement building work on steroids to ensure we have a democratic turnout in 2024. In this way we can seek to remove hate and misinformation mongering officials from office, pass intelligent and humane school and fuel policies, support better housing policies, and build pride amongst our youth and communities in who they are and how much power they possess to control their futures.
While there has been significant investment in grassroots organizations to build infrastructure and capacity to mobilize voters, most of the resources have been devoted to basic voter education and mobilization. Less resources have been provided to expand research, analysis, traditional and digital communications, narrative development, and content creation. If there is an expectation that building infrastructure and capacity will result in voter wins, organizations must be supported to develop data-informed strategies, deliver trustworthy information in digestible formats, and become trusted messengers with resilient narratives that resonate with the base.
Strategy
PowerPAC is ready to support grassroots base-building organizations in expanding their research and analysis, targeting, and communications capabilities in 5-7 developing regions of California: Orange County, Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties), San Diego and Imperial County, Contra Costa County, the Bay Area and potentially Alameda County. While our work will vary amongst the regions, our partnerships will focus on building tangible capacities and preparation for the 2024 electoral cycle.
PowerPAC will work with partners on the following areas:
Develop Research
Develop research (polling, focus groups and data aggregation) to inform targeting, messaging, and outreach methods.
Build Narratives
Build narratives that resonate with the base and motivate action.
Create Content
Create content and disseminate our content across platforms trusted by the targeted audience.
Build Lists
Build collective lists and develop supporters who will be the tip of the spear for electoral turnout and base building by local organizations.
Voter Turnout
Increase turnout with BIPOC, immigrant and working-class progressive voters.
Starting in 2023 will allow us to execute a full strategy and mentor the partner organizations in the process. We will walk side-by-side in every phase, providing regrants and technology, to ensure we are increasing the capacity and capabilities of the partners along the way.
- Build a strong collaboration with local partners that builds on their capacity to engage in power building beyond the election. Our technical assistance will help the groups build out their capabilities to engage voters at all levels with fully integrated platforms and tools.
- Network with state and national donors to focus resources on these areas in support of our efforts and grassroots base building.
- Target turnout of 75-150K voters in each region to boost turnout by 5%.
- Build a robust data and targeting effort to grow the target population.
- Set up expert data management and communications strategies that can help build on work cycle after cycle.
Budgetary Needs
PowerPAC is seeking to raise $500,000 for support work through the Primary season of 2024. Our budgets are designed to enhance the work of local activist groups along with being a value add partner in movement building for their organizations.
Our basic budget guideline looks something like this:
- Research and Analysis (10%)
- Targeted Field – Rural, Urban and Suburban (45%)
- Signature Events (5%)
- Digital Organizing (30%)
- Administration, Operating and Finance (10%)
From Candidates to Issues
PowerPAC implements campaigns at every level.