Our members are protecting and advancing a system that is in deep peril in our country: democracy. The members of our network don’t stop at funding; they use their expertise, skills, and connections to mobilize, connect, and grow in many different ways. Whether it’s meeting up with peers to take action together, quilting, or founding an organization that will strengthen our progressive infrastructure, we need everyone in this fight, doing what they can, and approaching it with their unique skills and abilities. It’s clear from the work below that there’s no one way to fight for our rights, our freedom, and our values.

“I’m seeing all the ways our members are stepping into this moment to ensure that our democracy is healthy and functioning and protected to reflect those who are often left out of the process. Ultimately it will change the face of power in this country.” – Leena Barakat

“Why do you vote?”

Filmmaker Holly Mosher launched the campaign “Why do you vote?” on TikTok and Instagram. In Holly’s words, “The last few elections we’ve seen an uptick in youth voter engagement and we want to take that to new levels.” Holly aims to shift voters towards supporting issues (rather than candidates) and get young voters excited about civic engagement by meeting them where they are, on social media. 

Getting Above Local News Algorithms

Lisa Liddle runs the billboard program for the Democratic Messaging Project, a PAC that arose from the need to get progressive ads above local news algorithms. To do this they produce digital ads and static and rolling billboards with bold messaging on a range of issues including abortion, immigration, and white supremacy. Lisa is also a part of American Man, a project tackling the issue of Democrats’ failure to engage men as a key voting bloc, despite their evident shift towards conservatism. 

Despair Is NOT an Option

“NOW is the time to take ACTION to protect democracy ahead of the November election,” says the Protect Our Democracy learning group. Despair Is NOT an Option lays out resources to quickly get you started. You’ll find highly effective organizations and an array of possible activities. 

Mobilizing With Peers

Our North Bay regional member group has a standing monthly meetup and this year, they’re using them as opportunities to learn about and mobilize for trusted elections, civic engagement, messaging shifts, and progressive candidates. One of the strengths of being a part of a values-aligned community is that you have peers ready to mobilize with you!

Establishing a Powerful Line of Defense in States

Gaby Goldstein, co-founder of Women Donors Action grantee partner Sister District, is working to build sustained progressive power in state legislatures. We are seeing a narrowing of federal protections and a widening of state governing power, yet progressives have yet to build a strong defense in our state legislatures. This also means there’s a tremendous opportunity for impact, which is why Gaby co-founded Sister District in 2016.

Powering Progressive Women Candidates in Pennsylvania

M. Patricia West is on the executive committee for Represent PA, a volunteer-based organization that has been instrumental in getting progressive women candidates elected in Pennsylvania. Their support has helped elect 52 women candidates into PA’s legislature, turn the House blue in 2022, and get 200+ pieces of progressive legislation passed in the House. 

Holding the Courts Accountable

“We’ve seen over and over again that the courts are poised to systematically eviscerate our rights and the response on the left has been insufficient. Court oversight is disorganized and terribly under-resourced. We needed to build the infrastructure,” Naomi Aberly said of her decision to co-found the Court Accountability Alliance, which launched in 2023 with the help of many WDN members. The organization works behind the scenes to expose and challenge judicial abuses of power. An example of their impact is the research they contributed to ProPublica’s Friends of the Court series, which uncovered the biggest ethics scandal to hit the Supreme Court in the modern era. The piece pushed the Court to adopt its first code of conduct and was recognized with a Pulitzer.

Strengthening Election Technology

For the past two decades, Barbara Simons has worked on making our country’s election technology more accurate, secure, and transparent. In Barbara’s words, “winning elections depends on having elections accurately counted,” and that means having rigorous post-election ballot audits that use paper ballots to check on the tabulating computers. Her concern about the insecure use of computers in elections is why she became actively involved with starting Verified Voting, which promotes the responsible use of technology in voting. She is Verified Voting’s Board Chair.

Direct Action, GOTV, and Quilts!

Kit Miller volunteers with Th!rd Act and Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada and recommends both as excellent organizations to mobilize with. Th!rd Act brings together Americans over sixty to tackle the big issues of our time. Kit volunteers mostly with their Banking On Our Future campaign, doing direct actions like bank sit-ins to pressure big banks to stop bankrolling the climate crises. In her volunteer work with Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, Kit registers first-time, youth, and Latine voters at local events to support their civic engagement work. Kit is also a part of Radical Threads, a collection of quilters and fiber artists who create textile magic that communicates what is happening in the world today.