​

Support the Rural Victory Fund

 

Nine states are key to Democratic control of the Senate and White House in 2024. Thirty-eight percent of voters in these states live in rural areas, small towns, cities of less than 50,000.

 

In states where the margin of victory is often just 1-2%, Democrats are currently getting 30-40% of this rural and small town vote. Connecting with these voters enables us to build strength in rural America and win elections.

 

Force Multiplier is again partnering with the Rural Democracy Initiative to support the groups engaged in the essential work of organizing rural voters. 

 

Our 2023 Rural Victory Fund supports a slate of C4 groups mobilizing rural and small town voters in eight of our target states. 

 

ARIZONA: RAZA 

RAZA’s mission is to organize among communities of color, young people, women, working class, and low income people in rural Arizona They work in Pinal County in the region between Tucson and Phoenix, and are expanding to Yuma and Coconino counties. Their 2023/2024 programs are focused on voting rights, water, environmental, and rural broadband issues. RAZA will lead political organizing in key swing legislative contests in Pinal and Yuma Counties, as well as increasing organizing capacity to educate and turn out voters for Ruben Gallego’s 2024 Senate campaign and for Biden/Harris. 

 

GEORGIA: Black Male Voter Project 

The Black Male Voter Project (BMVP) was established in 2020 to address the fact that more than half of Black men in this country who are already registered to vote have not voted in the last five elections. BMVP seeks to close this gap with field outreach using deep relational organizing models and programs like  “Brothas Be Voting,”  which offers safe space  for Black men to talk about  issues that are important to them. BMVP also launched “The John Lewis Project” which started as a way to address voter suppression and intimidation that Black men face participating in our democracy. Our funds will support BMVP’s work in Georgia in advance of the 2024 Presidential race.

​

MICHIGAN: We the People Michigan

We the People Michigan is focused on building deep relationships in a wide range of rural, urban, and suburban communities across the state, from the Keweenaw Peninsula to the city of Detroit. They are dedicated to building disciplined organizing capacity in communities across the state by developing a strong narrative and an agenda rooted in the concerns of the communities. They are building a progressive statewide multiracial coalition. 

 

Our support will allow WTPMI to retain staff and hire additional canvassers, organizers, and managers to  work year-round with the deep canvassing team in the lead-up to 2024 election work in support of the Democratic Senate candidate and Biden/Harris.

​

MONTANA: Big Sky 55+ 

Big Sky 55+ engages the 56% of Montanans who are 55 and older on the policy issues that impact them most: affordable housing, healthcare, Medicare and Social Security protection, prescription drug prices, and availability of nursing home beds.  

 

Big Sky works through relational networking in this enormous state and is holding Medicare Negotiation Town Halls with Senator Tester. To be successful,  they need funding to increase their organizing infrastructure.. Big Sky 55+’s 2023 policy and advocacy work is establishing a strong foundation to ensure the re-election of Jon Tester and to win the new competitive Congressional seat created in 2022.

​

NEVADA: Courier Newsroom

Courier Newsroom is a network of local news organizations with a civic mission to increase engagement and combat disinformation by delivering factual information, relevant news, and cultural storytelling to millions of eligible low-information voters. They have eight  newsrooms in MI, PA, WI, IA, NC, FL, AZ, and VA, most of which are targeting large rural audiences of voters who do not hold hyper-partisan allegiance. Research has shown that Courier increases both turnout and partisan preference of voters.

 

We are supporting Courier’s launch of a new newsroom in Nevada that  will offer both English-first and Spanish-first content for voters including those in the vast, sparsely-populated areas of Nevada not currently reached by mobilization efforts. Launching Courier Nevada in 2023 builds capacity for countering disinformation in 2024 Senate and Presidential races. 

​

NORTH CAROLINA: New Rural Project

New Rural Project (NRP) engages young and marginalized residents in rural communities in seven rural counties along the North Carolina/South Carolina border, a previously under-organized region of North Carolina. Their signature programs include: barbershop conversations titled FADE (Fruitful African-American Discussion on Empowerment) with Black male voters 40+ and a new companion program for beauty salon conversations titled CURLS (Cultivating Unified Relationship with Ladies for Success), with Black women under 40. NRP will also hold candidate forums between August and October for the municipal elections this fall. Our support will help them  hire an Organizing Director to increase their outreach and organizing presence throughout their target geography. NRP is building capacity now for higher turnout for Biden/Harris in 2024.

​

OHIO: RuralOrganizing.org

RuralOrganizing.org is a national rural action and communications hub that includes a network of over 500,000 people. They seek to ensure that the concerns of rural voters are recognized in federal policy and helped secure $200 million in rural-specific funding through the RECOMPETE Act. They also work to communicate these policy victories to rural communities and to ensure there is  sufficient capacity to utilize these funds. Our support will help them achieve their organizing, civic engagement, policy, and communications goals in a challenging funding environment. Your funds will be allocated for their work in Ohio.

​

PENNSYLVANIA: PA United

Pennsylvania United organizes and builds power across Western Pennsylvania in communities that have experienced historic disinvestment from both economic opportunities and organizing resources. Their primary strategies include community organizing, research, advocacy, and strategic communications. 

 

Their 2023 focus is  on the Allegheny County Executive race. The race for this obscure office is crucial because the executive controls over $5 billion in public funding that touches everything including  the environment, housing and homelessness, reproductive justice, businesses and real estate deals, and the regulation of polluting facilities. The Executive’s decisions will impact the surrounding rural counties. In mobilizing voters for this municipal race, they are laying the groundwork for mobilizing voters in those critical rural counties for the 2024 Senate and Presidential races.

 

Many rural voters are swing voters, and these swings can determine elections!

​