Host A Friendraiser!

It’s simple! Get your friends on a call, raise a little money using your team’s unique ActBlue link and help elect our great candidates in priority state legislative races.

EXAMPLES: check out this $2k Old-Timey Blues Jam run by Barb and Paul in WA. Or check out this example in which a volunteer in Portland OR hosted a virtual friendraiser, connected with friends, raised over $1,000, and “didn’t have to clean my house!”

YOUR STEPS

Before the Event

Step 1: Get your team’s unique ActBlue link from a team leader or staff.

Step 2: Settle on: date, time, venue, concept. Think fun, light-lift, something you might do anyway. Cocktails help.

Step 3: If your gathering will be virtual, set up a meeting on your platform of choice (e.g. Zoom, Google Hangouts). You can use our team’s Mobilize account to collect RSVPs and automatically text and email reminders or use your own system (texting helps increase attendance)!

Step 4: Prepare to tell your friends about Sister District, why states matter, and your candidates.

Step 5: Invite people! We suggest following up an email with calls and texts. Here’s a sample email invitation from Sister District East Bay in 2020:

Hey friends!

Please join me for a virtual cocktail party DAY DATE TIME! We’re going to do three things at once – hang out, have a beverage, and also do some good. 

You might know I’m very passionate about electing the Sister District candidates we’re supporting this year: Cindy Polo (FL), Aleta Borrud (MN), and Bonnie Westlin (MN). We need Polo to win reelection as we continue to make inroads into the FL legislature, and if we flip two seats blue in the MN State Senate, Minnesota will become a blue trifecta! 

You’ll have a chance to donate to the candidates if you’d like to help them build winning GOTV programs and increase voter turnout, but please come to learn about how you can help other ways too. 

Please register for the call here: <LINK>

Get a jump on donating to the candidates here: <LINK>

See you then! 

Step 6: Send a reminder email day before and reminder text day-of (again, this really helps increase attendance)

At the Event

Step 7: Introduce the candidates and stakes for their races — you don’t have to be an expert! Talk about Sister District, why states matter, and your candidates.

Step 8: Make The Ask at the event & share the ActBlue link in the chat

Example “Ask”:

“We’re raising money here today to help our campaigns build winning Get Out The Vote programs for the final crucial weeks of the race. We need Cindy Polo to keep this seat in Florida, and if we flip two seats in the State Senate, Minnesota becomes a Blue Trifecta, and it’s pedal to the metal for passing progressive legislation. Big deal.

Our dollars will help the campaigns turn out supporters. It takes a lot of work and a lot of money to do this effectively. Please donate what you can – – 100% of what you donate will be split equally between our three candidates Cindy Polo (FL), Aleta Borrud (MN), and Bonnie Westlin (MN). 

This is the time to invest! Thank you so much for your generosity.”

(Note: if in Zoom, share entire URLs so they’re clickable)

Step 9: Set up next steps

Give everyone something they can do beyond donating to get more involved & be a greater part of the community you’re building. You could ask attendees to sign up at https://sisterdistrict.com/volunteer so they’ll be invited to upcoming events. If your team has a recurring phonebank series, get that link from staff or a team leader and share it in the chat!

After the Event

Step 10: Send post-event messages. You can call, text, or email to thank individual donors and/or send an email to all registrants. Your post-event note could be only a thank you, or it could include next step asks. Here’s an example for an email to all registrants with next step asks:

Hey friends,

That was really fun! If you weren’t able to make it, you were there in spirit! Big thanks to everyone who contributed to help our great candidates. We surpassed my goal for the night — we raised $1,230 for our great candidates! I hope you’ll continue to support these candidates with me and get more involved in this great Sister District community. Here are next steps:

• Sign up to volunteer with Sister District so you’re on our mailing list and we can invite you to the next event!
• Share our ActBlue link with friends: <ActBlue LINK>
• Join us Thursdays at 3pm to talk with voters! Phonebanking is our #1 tactic — we find undecided voters, introduce the candidates, and help tidy the campaigns’ data. It really works, it’s a great crew, and we have fun. Sign up here. <Embed Phonebank RSVP LINK>

Thank you!

Step 11: Reach out to anyone who seemed really engaged to see if they’ll throw a Friendraiser. You’ll now be able to help!