The 2021 Alliance Monthly Donor Competition is officially here! 

This is our biggest competition ever with twelve of our network organizations from Miami to Seattle participating in this week-long match with the goal of growing their local grassroots sustainer base.

This is more than just a competition. By growing their monthly donors, organizations share ownership of their work with their supporters and have a sustainable revenue stream they can count on. Monthly donors are vital in the longevity and independence of youth-led organizations. Every dollar goes toward year-round grassroots organizing and creating long-term change. This is the strength of people-powered fundraising.

Participating organizations competed in two separate leagues. Here are the top three organizations that raised the highest percentage of their budget over the course of the week.

Participating organizations also unlocked grants for reaching certain benchmarks or outperforming on certain tactics:

Organizations that grew their number of monthly donors by 20% or higher:

• Engage Miami
• Forward Montana
• Michigan Student Power Network
• New Hampshire Youth Movement
• Virginia Student Power Network
• The Washington Bus

Organizations that converted the most one-time donors into monthly donors:

• Forward Montana
• New Hampshire Youth Movement
• Next Up

Organizations who made the most amount of calls:

• New Era Colorado
• Next Up

Organizations who engaged the most non-staff:

• Forward Montana
• Michigan Student Power Network

Organizations that grew their monthly income the most:

• Engage Miami
• Virginia Student Power Network

Organizations with the best digital engagement:

• Chicago Votes
• Virginia Student Power Network

Meet the Players

Here are the 12 Alliance Network organizations competing in the Monthly Donor Competition this year! Want to get in the game? Become a monthly donor today!

Young people’s impact on the 2020 election was resounding, creating a fervor for progressive change that has continued into 2021. Young people are at the forefront of breaking down barriers to accessing democracy and taking action on issues that matter most in state houses, city council chambers, school board meetings, and more. The Alliance’s network of youth-led organizations have employed a wide array of tools and tactics to build our generation’s political power at scale. From legislative advocacy to holding our elected leaders accountable — this work would be under resourced without flexible funding from individual donors. Putting your resources behind 501(c)(4) organizations, like the Alliance for Youth Action, allows for full-spectrum political organizing and education to enable the greatest impact possible. Take the Alliance Voter Guide for example — our c4 voter guides provide clear, concise, issue-based contrasts between candidates and measures on the ballot to ensure young people have the information they need when it’s time to vote.

The Alliance launched our monthly sustainer program in late 2019 to build a broad base of grassroots donors who care deeply about our mission. Our monthly donors are one of our greatest assets. Here’s why they are committed to our work for the long haul:  

Our sustainer program helps to ensure that we are an independent, sustainable and people-powered organization.

Albrecht Moritz, one of our wonderful monthly donors, had this to say about his ongoing support:

Albrecht’s sustaining contribution is helping us build long-term people power that will endure well beyond the next election. Our network of young leaders and organizations are in their communities for the long haul, not like the one-off campaigns that come and go each cycle. Every day, we support the young people that are showing up and fighting for the change we want to see in the world,  and our monthly donors are crucial in this fight. 

Learn more about our sustainer program and start your monthly contribution today. 

Alliance Executive Director, Sarah Audelo, joined actress and activist Storm Reid and Vice President Kamala Harris in a special Instagram Live conversation about voting rights, the power of the youth vote, and important issues young people are fighting for right now. We also highlighted some of the incredible voting rights work youth-led organizations in the Alliance Network are leading on.

Watch the full conversation on our Instagram:

Young organizers, including those in the Alliance Network, are at the forefront of the fight for voting rights. From passing legislation that expands our democracy to blocking voter suppression efforts, young people are taking charge in their communities. But we can’t do it alone. We need these local efforts to be supported by federal action and legislation. Learn more about how you can take action in your local community and at the federal level.

State legislatures are targeting voting rights in an effort to silence young people and people of color. And major legislation to expand voting access at the federal level is being blocked by racist and outdated processes like the filibuster, while Democrats are not taking this threat to our democracy seriously. In this country, no matter our background or zip code, we value our freedom – including our freedom to vote. Our elected leaders must ensure we can safely and freely cast our ballots, have our voices heard, and elect leaders who deliver on our priorities.  When our people cannot vote, our voices are silenced and we cannot elect representatives who reflect our values. Our vote is our power.

Youth-led organizations in the Alliance Network are fighting back to defend our democracy, but we need everyone in this fight. 

1 Tell the Senate to end the filibuster

The filibuster is a ‘Jim Crow relic’ that congress members are weaponizing to keep our democracy rigged. Senate Republicans have already used it to block critical legislation and have promised to use it to prevent landmark voting legislation like the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act from passing. In order to pass the legislation to protect democracy, we must get rid of the filibuster.

2 Tell the Senate to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act

The combined Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act incorporates most of the critical provisions from the For the People Act including landmark voting rights, and anti-corruption legislation that passed the House in March 2021. It also includes some much-needed safeguards against attempts to undermine the electoral process. We are in a critical time for defending our democracy. Call your Senators and tell them to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act today.

3 Donate to local youth-led organizations fighting for voting rights 

Youth-led organizations like MOVE Texas, Loud Light, Forward Montana, and more are fighting to protect the right to vote and expand voting access. Donate and support these organizations in the network so we can continue to protect our democracy. 

Youth organizers have been putting in the work to welcome people into our democracy and ensure their freedom to vote despite years of legislation making it harder to vote. Now, we need the President and Congress to be as bold as organizers on the ground because there is too much at stake. It is time to end the filibuster so legislation like the Freedom to Vote Act can pass. The future of our democracy hangs in the balance.

Here’s the Latest and How We’re Taking Action

Stay Up To Date on Voting Rights Legislation

Young people have been at the forefront of the most critical fights for our communities taking place in state legislatures. Alliance Network organizations are mobilizing their communities to pass innovative policies that strengthen our democracy and block harmful legislation that threatens it.  

Here is how they did it.

Building a Democracy Done Right

Chicago Votes | Voting in Prison

Chicago Votes has been leading some of the most revolutionary voting rights work through their Unlock Civics program. In 2019, they wrote and passed landmark legislation – the Voting in Jails bill – that expanded voting access for incarcerated citizens who were eligible to vote. Now, they are organizing to pass new legislation they wrote that would restore voting rights to people in prison. Learn more about their 2021 Unlock Civic Policy Platform here.

Next Up | Voting Rights Restoration & Lowering the Voting Age

Next Up is co-leading landmark legislation that would restore voting rights to incarcerated Oregonians. This bill would not only restore voting rights, it would also address the disproportionate silencing of the voices of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx citizens due to their higher rates of imprisonment. Next Up is also leading legislation that would allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in school board elections.

The Washington Bus | Restoring Voting Rights

The Washington Bus helped to pass legislation that automatically restores voting rights to people convicted of a felony.

Advocating for Students

Leaders Igniting Transformation | Divesting from Campus Police

Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT) is fighting for an end to the policing and criminalization of BIPOC populations on Wisconsin’s public university and college campuses by divesting financial resources from policing and reinvesting those funds into restorative justice, community care, and supporting BIPOC populations.

New Era Colorado | Student Loan Equity & Improving Financial Literacy

New Era Colorado helped lead the passage of the Student Loan Equity Act—a trailblazing bill that would create protections for private student loan borrowers in Colorado. Right now, private student loans don’t receive many of the basic protections afforded to borrowers of other types of loans. As a result, borrowers are vulnerable to shady loan industry practices, like robo signing and auto-defaulting. Their bill protects these borrowers, creates greater transparency, and offers better recourse if lenders break the law. New Era Colorado is also leading legislation that would dramatically improve the existing financial literacy education provided to high school students. The legislation would update school standards for financial literacy to include costs of obtaining a degree, student loan information, financial aid information, how to save for retirement, and how to manage credit cards.

Ohio Student Association | Fighting the Transcript Trap

The Ohio Student Association has mobilized their student base to fight back against the Transcript Trap — a punitive practice that penalizes students with debts to their institution until repayment is complete by withholding transcripts.

Virginia Student Power Network | Financial Aid for Undocumented Students

Virginia Student Power Network worked in a broad coalition and engaged 30 student leaders to advocate for and pass in-state tuition for undocumented students. This makes Virginia the seventh state in the nation to give undocumented students access to state financial aid!

Other Major Legislation

Chicago Votes | Ending Prison Slave Labor

Chicago Votes is leading legislation that would expand the state minimum wage to include people serving a sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections and increase the state pay to all people in Illinois prisons.

Forward Montana | Indigenous People’s Rights

Forward Montana worked in coalition to pass legislation that would extend the Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force beyond its termination date later this year and require the task force to examine and report on the causes contributing to missing indigenous persons cases.Forward Montana helped pass legislation that would extend the Missing Indigenous Persons Task Force beyond its termination date later this year and require the task force to examine and report on the causes contributing to missing indigenous persons cases.

The Washington Bus | Banning For-Profit Private Prisons

The Washington Bus worked in coalition with advocates to approve a ban on private, for-profit prisons. As a result, the Northwest Detention Center, the private immigrant detention center in Tacoma, WA, will be closed by 2025.

Fighting harmful legislation

Alliance Network organizations also faced a hostile and aggressive legislative environment where conservative legislators threatened the right to vote, the right to protest, the right to healthcare, and more.

• Forward Montana led a fierce accountability campaign to call out electeds for supporting legislation that would strip voting rights, harm the LGBTQIA community, and allow guns on campus.  
• Loud Light activated youth organizers across the state to call their legislators and fight against two voter suppression bills. They also fought against legislation barring trans athletes from competing in school sports.
• Mississippi Votes worked extensively to track and successfully block legislation that would restrict voting rights and mandate voting purges targeting low-income voters and communities of color.
• MOVE Texas is one of the most powerful organizations in the state fighting back against racist voter suppression bills in Texas where Republican lawmakers focused more on undermining the freedom to vote than providing necessary relief from the pandemic or the winter freeze. But thanks to unrelenting commitment and dedication, MOVE Texas fought back to stop the horrible anti-voter legislation in its tracks during the final hours of the legislative session. They will continue the fight in a special session in July.
• New Hampshire Youth Movement worked to defeat four anti-student voting rights bills by driving thousands of messages to lawmakers and turning out students from around the state to testify. One of these bills would have required student voters to provide proof they pay in-state tuition to cast a ballot. 

Thanks to the tenacity of these organizations, some of these harmful pieces of legislation were blocked. However, some of them did pass but this does not mean organizations are backing down. Forward Montana is suing the state over legislation that, if implemented, may face steep penalties for conducting voter engagement activities on college campuses. Loud Light is suing the state of Kansas over a voter suppression law that makes it more difficult for their organizers to register voters. 

Even after state legislative sessions come to a close, youth organizers will keep fighting from the streets to the ballot box to ensure that young people’s priorities are elevated.

President Joe Biden signed into law the bill that makes Juneteenth – the commemoration of the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States – a federal holiday, but this isn’t enough to keep the legacy of Juneteenth alive. There is still work to be done to ensure that all Black people in the United States are seen in their full humanity and treated as such. 

That is why this Juneteenth, the Alliance is celebrating the youth organizers who fight for equal justice and liberation that has yet to be delivered to Black people across the country. Here is how Alliance Network organizations are fighting for Black liberation every day.

Restoring Voting Rights

Chicago Votes has been leading some of the most revolutionary voting rights through their Unlock Civics program. In 2019, they wrote and passed landmark legislation – the Voting in Jails bill – that expanded voting access for incarcerated citizens who were eligible to vote. This made Cook County Jail the first jail in the country to become an official polling location allowing for 1,500 people in pretrial detention to vote. Now, they are organizing to pass new legislation they wrote that would restore voting rights to people in prison. Learn more about their 2021 Unlock Civic Policy Platform here.

Defunding the Police and Holding Them Accountable

Minnesota Youth Collective is working in coalition with Yes 4 Minneapolis—a Black-led, multiracial campaign composed of grassroots, community organizations and individuals who are organizing for community safety. They are collecting signatures for the People’s Petition which gives Minneapolis voters the opportunity to create a Department of Public Safety that takes a comprehensive public health approach to community safety.

Along with their coalition work on the Yes 4 Minneapolis campaign, Minnesota Youth Collective is also hosting a monthly book club, MNYC Reads, to engage members of their base in conversations around police abolition, public safety, and reimagining the world through the eyes of prolific Black writers.

Youth organizers in the Alliance Network know that the fight for Black liberation will transform our communities and create a better future for us all. We’re grateful for their leadership always – but especially today. 

The time has come to usher in new leadership here at the Alliance. 

After four incredible years at the Alliance for Youth Action, I will transition out of the organization later this year.  It has been an incredible honor and privilege to serve as the Alliance’s Executive Director and I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished. 

• Growing the network to expand in more communities, centering more young people of color.
• Pushing more money to field organizations and young organizers than we ever could have imagined.
• Uplifting our growing network of youth organizers who are building the country we all want and deserve 365 days a year by registering hundreds of thousands of young voters, training thousands of young leaders, passing laws, and pushing candidates on the issues young people care about most. 
• Shifting the narrative on the youth vote and youth organizing.
• Building an incredible team that continues to innovate, inspire, and drive the work forward. 

As a product of the investment in youth leadership, I know the importance of making room for new leaders and new ideas. This year is a great time to transition leadership as we continue to build a future that is centered in love, joy, justice, and liberation.  

So, I encourage you to do a few things:

• Share the job posting. Be sure to share the Executive Director job posting with your network. We want to cast a wide net and be sure we attract candidates who will bring new ideas and energy to the organization.
• Fuel the movement. The Alliance Network works 365 days a year knocking doors, texting our lists, and contacting millions of our peers to turn up and turn out in ways that are authentic and powerful. We invest in young leaders and strengthen the capacity of their organizations to do this crucial organizing. Consider becoming a monthly donor to help us continue to build for the future. 
• Stay tuned. Of course, this won’t be the last time you hear from me before I go. I can’t wait to share with you what I’ve learned. 

The Alliance is in the strongest place in the history of our organization because of the network of innovative and badass youth organizers, skilled and dedicated staff, and a smart and strategic board of directors. I am confident that we have set the organization up for a thoughtful and successful transition. 

I look forward to updating you along the way. Now, I’ve got to get back to work!

With deep gratitude, 

Sarah
Executive Director

P.S. I couldn’t be more proud of all that we accomplished in 2020. Be sure to check out our 2020 Annual Report: Joy, Resiliency, Innovation we released last week!

For almost a decade, the Alliance for Youth Action network has led groundbreaking youth electoral engagement across the country. Our network has been building for this moment and in 2020, we had our biggest year yet. Together, we made over 25 million contacts with young voters in 2020. This output reflects the incredible efforts by our network of 20 local grassroots organizations as well as the Alliance’s first-ever national mail voter contact program that served to help fill youth infrastructure gaps in key states. 

We worked alongside progressive partners in the youth sector to shift the youth vote narrative and uplift local young BIPOC organizers. The Alliance conducted a series of partisan polling to further inform the sector and push candidates on the issues that matter to young people. Despite facing unprecedented challenges, the Alliance empowered millions of young people to flex their political power this year, making a historic impact on the most important election of our lifetimes.

Check it out:

Shifting the Youth Vote Narrative

“Go To Source” on Youth Vote

In 2020 we conducted a series of polls to amplify the Alliance as a “go to source” on the youth vote, change the narrative about the youth vote, and push candidates on the issues that young people care about.

We kicked off the year with a national poll surveying Democratic and Democratic-leaning Independents ages 17 – 35 showing that young people are issues-first voters who by and large had yet to be contacted by Democratic candidates as the first contests of the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary were underway. 

Youth Letter to Biden

Mail to Persuade & Mobilize

To help fill gaps in c4 youth infrastructure in particular, the Alliance for Youth Action ran a four piece mail program targeting 18-25 year olds in GA, NC, and PA. Between August and October, we sent 4 pieces of persuasion and mobilization mail to nearly 700,000 young voters in these three states. Our mail pieces provided information about Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Kamala Harris, and their plans to address the issues young people care about. 

With additional support, we were able to expand our initial program into South Carolina and Texas. In South Carolina, we sent one mobilization mail piece to over 300,000 young voters with information about Jaime Harrison. In Texas, we repurposed creative from the original three-state presidential persuasion program and mailed it to nearly 1 million young Texans. This expanded Texas program was intended to fill a gap identified by our local Affiliate, MOVE Texas, targeting 18-39 year olds in targeted Congressional Districts, State House Districts, and key counties. In total, we sent 4,015,236 individual pieces to a universe of nearly 2 MM young people in GA, NC, PA, SC and TX that are typically left out of other traditional persuasion and mobilization efforts. Overall more than half of the combined mail universe voted, including more than 400,000 people who had never voted in a general election before.

We worked with partners to get additional texts sent to follow up with some of our mail targets. Color of Change PAC texted approximately 70,000 voters within our South Carolina mobilization universe and NextGen America texted and called about 200,000 voters within our Texas persuasion universe, with a particular emphasis on El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley.

Preparing for the Georgia Senate Runoff Elections 

Ahead of the crucial federal runoff elections in Georgia that were set to determine control of the US Senate, the Alliance ran a text, mail, and call program from mid-November to Election Day to reach young voters. Building on our 2020 general election work in Georgia, we focused on messaging on turnout: absentee ballot request, absentee ballot chase, early voting information, turnout/election day information, and social pressure.

Through this program, we sent 1.53 million text messages, 830,000 pieces of mail, and made more than 820,000 calls to a universe of 980,000 young Georgians. Our universe targeted young voters of color, of whom 75% were young Black voters. This program turned out 378,871 voters in the runoff, including 35,505 young people who didn’t vote in the November general election.

The 2020 Alliance Voter Guide

Research has shown that when young people don’t turn out to vote, many will point to two main reasons: 

• 1. They believe all politicians are the same 
• 2. They could not find reliable information about the candidates.