Since its founding in December of 2003, GCI has partnered with a wide variety of groups and campaigns. We’re best known for working with MoveOn Political Action to pioneer innovative get out the vote strategies in the 2004, 2006 and 2008 elections, as well as raising millions of dollars in small donor contributions for the Democratic National Committee.

The Democratic National Committee

"The DNC Canvass Program is finding new supporters and activists that we would not have been able to reach otherwise. We have taken on the mission of building the Democratic Party from the ground up- I could not be more proud of the canvassers and supporters who are helping to build the financial base of the party from the grassroots."

       -Howard Dean, Former Chair, Democratic National Committee (pictured with GCI Chicago office staff)

At the time Grassroots Campaigns was founded in December 2003, the Democratic Party was staring uphill at a massive fundraising advantage amassed by the Bush/Cheney campaign and the national GOP. This was nothing new. The Republican Party had two major advantages: a loyal base of conservative small donors built through decades of direct mail fundraising campaigns, and a tightly knit network of deep-pocketed corporate donors. It had become conventional wisdom that Democratic candidates would start out every campaign with fewer resources than their opponent, and would have to hope their message alone would be powerful enough to win an election -- even if fewer voters heard it.

Given the urgency of fighting President Bush, the DNC set out to level the playing field by engaging more rank-and-file Democrats in supporting the party. The DNC enlisted Grassroots Campaigns to develop and manage a face-to-face fundraising program, as a critical piece of its party-building strategy. By May 2004, we had opened local field offices in 40 different cities. By July, over 2,000 Grassroots Campaigns canvassers were knocking on doors and speaking to people all across the country. In the end, the campaign generated millions of additional dollars for the 2004 campaign effort and identified several hundred thousand new grassroots donors – effectively tripling the DNC’s small donor base. After 2004, these donors have continued to support the Democratic Party, and, alongside supporters recruited in other ways, have given the financial resources needed to fund the 50-State Strategy, an innovative organizing plan to build support for the party in every single state. This new approach helped win seats in unexpected places during the 2006 Midterm elections..

Moving into the heart of the 2008 cycle, Democrats everywhere were more engaged than at any time in recent history, and grassroots funding had finally made the party competitive with its opposition. GCI is added a more robust volunteer-recruitment component into our proven donor outreach model for DNC. Having millions of Democratic voters investing time and resources into their party is critical way to empower citizens, win campaigns and build for the future.

Find out more about the Democratic National Committee at www.democrats.org.

MoveOn.org Political Action - Voter Registration (2008)

MoveOn.org Political Action's youth voter registration effort was a nine week registration drive. Grassroots Campaigns' staff ran 57 offices in 44 cities across 13 battleground states, and registered 230,000 new voters.

In the two years leading up to the 2008 election, GCI staff worked to organize MoveOn's most active members into nearly 200 Councils nationwide. These Councils tool a lead role in MoveOn's massive election recruitment effort to boost the Obama Campaign. Councils organized canvasses, held call parties to recruit volunteers in battleground states and volunteered directly with the Obama Campaign. Councils working with GCI staff took an especially leading roll in enabling the call party program, which culminated in over 7,480 house parties where volunteers made 2.14 million calls, recruiting over 90,000 volunteers for Obama in swing states.

After the election, the MoveOn volunteer network translated quickly into post-election work; on November 20, Councils organized over 1,000 house parties where members commited to keep organizing to pass a progressive agenda.

MoveOn.org Political Action - Call for Change (2006)

After six years of mostly one-party rule led by Bush, Cheney, and Rove, the 2006 mid-term election was the last opportunity to stop the far-right agenda. Early in the year, a few pundits thought the Democrats could take back Congress, but virtually none thought switching the Senate was possible.

Enter MoveOn.org Political Action and its unmatched combination of cutting edge technology with a passionate membership base 3.3 million strong. To win enough House and Senate seats required an untested, yet promising strategy, and this meant teaming up with Grassroots Campaigns. We placed 120 trained organizers in 40 campaign offices around the country working with tens of thousands of MoveOn members to identify potential Democratic voters in contested races. The plan was an overwhelming success—over 7 million calls were made in key districts and states, including the dramatic Senate-switching victories in Virginia and Montana. Click here to download a report on MoveOn.org Political Action's work on the 2006 election.

MoveOn.org - Caught Red Handed (2006)

Entering 2006, the goal was to take back Congress and stop the Bush agenda for the remaining two years of his presidency. Most political pundits, pollsters, and TV talking heads were crunching the same numbers and coming to the same conclusion: it was possible for the Democrats to win enough seats in the House to take control, but it would be close and the Senate was virtually out of the question. The challenge was how to put more races in play. MoveOn.org Political Action decided to target what were thought to be relatively “safe” Republican seats with a volunteer-driven visibility blitz that would generate an outpouring of negative media coverage.

To pull this off, MoveOn joined forces with Grassroots Campaign staff and the result was the “Caught Red Handed” campaign—a series of people-powered exposés that educated voters about the campaign contributions and voting records of once-unbeatable House Republicans. This campaign help put more safe seats into play, which then led to the get out the vote campaign in the fall.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

It’s no secret -- the Bush Administration has been undermining our civil liberties for the last seven years. Fortunately, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has been there to defend our constitutional rights. In 2007, when the ACLU wanted to expand its membership base, they hired Grassroots Campaigns. Running a face-to-face canvass in over one dozen cities across the country, we added thousands of "card carrying members" to the ACLU and helped them build the support needed to restore the writ of habeas corpus for detainees labeled as enemy combatants. We are currently focused on preserving reproductive freedom, and fighting for LGBT rights.

For more of Grassroots Campaigns' past campaigns, please click here.