Howard Dean (DNC): SOMETHING NEW & DIFFERENT

[Terre]

I only checked the Greatest page and this forum and didn't see it posted. If it's a dup, I hope the Mods will move it for me.

Please recommend so that people like me that enter DU on the Greatest page will see it.

I received an email from Dr. Dean earlier, and it's such a GREAT IDEA! that I wanted to share it. Not the WHOLE email, but just enough to give you the gist:

Dear Terre

Our records show that you have donated this year, but hundreds of thousands of Democrats haven't.

So I'm asking you to do something special -- something no one has ever tried before.

You've probably gotten a message from an organization saying that some anonymous, wealthy donor will match your donation. But are those donors real? And if they're able to match so many donations with a single check, why don't they just give anyway? Is it just some gimmick?

I don't know about anyone else, but I sure had those same questions.

We're going to try something different. We've built a unique tool that gives you the power to match someone's donation. If you choose to participate, you will have the opportunity to match the donation of someone who hasn't given yet in 2006.

You choose the amount you're willing to match, write a note to your potential donor about why winning this election is important to you, and wait. We'll find someone who hasn't given yet to take you up on your offer.

You'll receive a note with the new donor's name and hometown, and a message from the person whom you convinced to take the leap. You will have grown the Democratic Party and doubled the amount of your own contribution.

Will you make a promise now to match someone's donation?

www.democrats.org

I don't want to rely on your donation alone. I'm determined to grow the number of small donors to the Democratic Party so that when we win this election, it will be clear that we are accountable to the people, not the special interests.

You know that when you make a donation of any size, you own the Democratic Party. If you watched the news on Friday and saw Republican Congressman Bob Ney leaving a courtroom after pleading guilty to bribery, you saw the clear difference between how the two parties operate.

I took this job with a promise to change the way our party does business. You helped me keep that promise.

Now I'm asking you to make a promise yourself. {snip}

You can be the deciding factor in someone's decision to invest in the future of our country. They will know that every dollar they give will have double the impact. Pledge to match their donation now:

www.democrats.org

{snip}

Think about the difference it will make for someone to watch the returns on Election Night knowing that they made victory happen. Imagine what it will feel like to know that a total stranger cared deeply enough about our country to ask them to be a partner in creating that change.

A terrific idea! Wish it would have been thought of earlier, but better "late" than never.

Best I can do is $25, but HEY! - it's really $50!

ARE YOU GAME?

EDIT: If you do make a pledge, there will be a text box to write a personal message to your donor partner. The message you write will be read by the donor AFTER you've been matched with them.

There is a diary posted on this same email at DailyKos

[Terre]

1. Kicking until I get 5

I know, it's shameless.

And who knows? If you haven't donated to the DNC before, maybe I'll be your donor partner!

Wouldn't that be swell?  ;)

[Arugula Latte]

2. Sounds like fun!

:kick:

[Terre]

3. Doesn't it?

Lots of people here may already be Democracy Bond holders, but another pledge for something small, like $5 or $10, may bring people in thinking  "Hey - I can afford that."

Also, it's more "personal", which in itself is attractive.

[Terre]

4. OK - How 'bout this? - Reverse psychology

Please don't recommend this post.  ;)

[Terre]

5. Thanks!!

:yourock:

But you all knew that didn't you?

:)

[madfloridian]

6. Just got my mail...do we pick the matching donor? or what?

This is very interesting.

[Terre]

9. No, you just pledge as much or as little

as you want, then the DNC will do the rest. They'll let you know when a new donor is matched to you.

Here is what the THANK YOU Confirmation page says once you've made a pledge:

Thank you for making a pledge. As soon as a new donor agrees to match you, you'll receive an email with the name of the donor and a short message from them. At that point, you'll fulfill your pledge. You have nothing left to do but wait for someone to match you.

Each year, tens of thousands of people like you from across the country make the decision to support the Party and Democratic candidates. By matching someone who has yet to contribute, you're helping to build a larger sense of community and civic responsibility that we as Democrats stand for.
To build on the pledge you made today, take a minute to explore PartyBuilder -- a suite of tools that allows you to take control of the future of the Democratic Party not just by contributing, but by participating.

PartyBuilder isn't the typical online tool set. Individual users control most of the activity -- from blogging, to setting up and managing groups or activists, to organizing and managing real-world events, and, yes, to fundraising, Democrats are entrusted to build the space and the Party.

It's uses the Internet to build the sense of a Democratic community -- just as you did when you agreed to match another Democrat's contribution.

[madfloridian]

12. Thanks.

:hi:

I gave your post a boost in my post about the DNC agreeing to borrow money for Schumer. It was just getting ignored.

We need to fund our party.

[rockymountaindem]

7. This is a really cool idea

I'm sorry this thread isn't getting enough love though.

[Terre]

11. Lots of us may be tapped out

at this stage of the game. I know I'm pretty darn close.

Just remember folks, small pledges are just as good, if not better than the large ones. The smaller pledges will be easier to match, and if we can get new donors, those new donors might turn around and do the same thing, and so on, and so on, and so on...

It's sort of like a Donor Chain Letter.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

13. here's what I wrote: how does this sound?...

Isn't about time for a change in America? I know my tiny donation doesn't offset the millions handed to Republicans by the mega-corporations they serve but it's nice giving to a party that depends on the little guys. I read somewhere that no one can serve two masters and the current party in power has shown who they serve and it's not old 'Nam Era Navy veterans like me. Hey, it's only $25. If these crooks stay in power, we'll be paying that for two lousy gallons of gas, after November.

[Terre]

14. Perfect...

I wrote one too, but forgot to copy it (so I could share) before I hit the button to submit.

BTW, if I get an update on the number of pledges to-date I'll post it here.

[UDenver20]

8. WOW-AWESOME-KICK

I love HOWARD DEAN

[Jeffersons Ghost]

10. K&R Dr Dean is brilliant! what fun and I'm all over it...

I'm checking my email now to participate.

[Eric J in MN]

15. I just pledged $50.

http://www.democrats.org

[Eric J in MN]

20. My pledge was matched, and so $50 became $100. NT

NT

[Terre]

16. SUCCESS! - UPDATE

I got a match just now!!  How exciting!!

She's from South Carolina, and I'm from Oregon. I checked that my email address be made available to the donor, and she returned the gesture so I'm gonna write and thank her.

Here's what she wrote (I don't think she'll mind):

"Thank YOU for helping. You're right. We have to DO something."

I'm gonna do this again.  What a great feeling.   :bounce:

[pscot]

17. Time to feed the kitty

and kick this thread.

[IndyOp]

18. Elizabeth in Texas donated to the DNC for the first time today!!

I know because she was my match. I am in Indiana.

Elizabeth -> :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[Turn CO Blue]

19. I received the "opposite" message, saying that there

are at least 2000 donors waiting to match my first-time donation of the year...

This is a fantastic idea!

[Eric J in MN]

21. It's part of Howard Dean's philosophy of getting ordinary people...

...involved instead of just courting big donors.

[Turn CO Blue]

24. It worked. I just donated.

[madfloridian]

23. That's interesting. I wondered what message others got.

They have had an overwhelming response to this.

[Turn CO Blue]

22. I just gave $100. Thanks for kicking me in the rear...

On edit: The only thing is that they didn't have a match for me. The reply message said that either I gave too much for a match (possible, I gave $100)or else the program is so successful that have more NEW pledgers than they have matchers... we will see. I hope I get a match eventually.