Elections, fundraising and community.

Sure, American elections are total madness. But you and your organization can help people through this. Right?

A few months ago I had a conversation with someone in the UK about their coming elections (held on July 4th this year) and how it impacts online advocacy and fundraising.

Ha. Imagine if you will a six week election season. It's manic! And glorious.

U.S. elections are constant, loud and generally exhausting for everyone. The ads, texts, emails have been going for a year or more.

Where we are now - after party conventions and two months from election day - is a grind of nonstop shouting for attention, money and volunteering.

How do nonprofits and news organizations compete? How do you get heard, seen and read amidst the chaos?

1. You know your audience. Hopefully you know where your people are, what issues are important to them, and how they engage in their community and politics. Your people who are community activists and funders may already be out making calls, knocking doors and clicking donate buttons for their candidates. Meanwhile, your people who are busy working, paying bills and taking care of kids or elders are trying to get through the day and may have a lot at stake in local or national elections. But not enough time to sort through any of it.
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   Know where your folks are, accept it and communicate as a partner in the messiness. As a c3 you can let folks know that the election is relevant, give them info on registering to vote, and connect them to local news sources who are going deeper into election guidance than you're probably doing. If you're a c4 with a voter guide or other candidate materials then get those out there.
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2. You accept and reflect your audience's reality. Elections are here and people are concerned, confused, annoyed, troubled, and (see above) busy. Don't carry on like nothing's happening. Don't assume that fundraising will continue apace but don't just write off these months.
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   Elections and candidates come and go. Your mission and work continue.
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   Show your people how to get involved. Tell the stories of priority work in November, December, next year and beyond.
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3. You serve your audience every day. Keep the good work, storytelling and action coming. People will continue to be impacted by rising home and food prices, fires and floods exacerbated by climate change, the direct and indirect impacts of conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and beyond.
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   Create opportunities for people to talk with you about your work before and after the election. Election results may can be gratifying or concerning. But they're almost always confusing. Be of service to your audiences in a time of confusion. Be accessible and supportive. Address the reality of the election before diving right into your regularly scheduled year-end fundraising programming.

Resilient organizations are those who continually help people recognize the value of their work. They deliver results, tools, and frameworks to support personal and community success. They engage people in conversations about the big concerns facing their family, community or country.

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What we’re reading

News without community is just words. Newsrooms are finding new ways to build community, online and off by Celeste Lecompte in Nieman Lab.

“We have learned that there is an audience that is happy to pay for fearless journalism and fun blogs that are written by real human journalists.” 404 Media recaps its first year.

"Right to repair" meets social media platforms? How a law that shields big tech is now being used against it in the New York Times.

Subscribe to Harvard Public Health's email newsletter and you'll be presented with a great example of a new subscriber survey.

Great long-read on the challenges of small town news: Bought-out, priced out, burned out: the individuals fighting to keep local journalism alive in Colorado by Chase McCleary.

Swooning for a slide deck that speaks the truth. The screenshot below comes from Mattia Paretti and newsalchemists.org. It's speaking about journalism but it's true of a much broader range of nonprofit comms, fundraising and marketing - far too much of which exists only in the service of attention and money. See also Mattia's deck from his talk at Media Party 2024.

Future Community Jobs

Some new gigs. Full list here and check out the jobs-only newsletter on LinkedIn.

• ​Vice President, Growth : Engaging Networks [Washington, DC preferred / Remote possible]
• ​Head of Digital Mobilisation and Engagement and Research Coordinator : Students Organising for Sustainability (SOS-UK) [Remote in the UK / London]
• ​Senior Associate, Operations and Administration : National Women’s History Museum [Hybrid in Washington, DC]
• ​National App Worker Campaign Director : Powerswitch Action [Remote in the US]
• ​Director of Design : Code for America [San Francisco / Remote in the US]
• ​Senior Director, Digital Product Management : Tides [San Francisco / New York City / Remote in the US]
• ​Communications Organizer : Community Power Collective [Los Angeles]
• ​Communications Director : Code the Dream [Remote / Durham, NC]
• ​Senior Director, Strategic Communications : Natural Resources Defense Council [Hybrid in New York City or Washington, DC]
• ​Latino Communities Reporter : Connecticut Public Radio [Hybrid in Hartford, CT]
• ​Newsletter and Audience Engagement Editor : The War Horse [Remote in the US]
• ​General Manager : The Publish Press [Los Angeles or New York City]
• ​Head of Operations : AI and Democracy Foundation [San Francisco preferred / Remote]

Thanks for being part of Future Community. Hit reply with questions, project ideas, or jobs to share. Please forward, read more or subscribe.

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