15 Comments

Thanks for your diligence Mike.

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Michael - love all of this - have been watching this infrastructure emerge and grow, had mapped as well but with a different lens. Would add that much of the more mainstream donor infrastructure has shifted into more of an organizing stance, anchored down on values, etc. And there's a long way to go because while this all was happening, wealth continued to accumulate at the top.

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Yeah, it's been so interesting to see how the mainstream donor infrastructure groups have moved left.

And yes, yes, yes. The dominant, primarily role and orientation of the rich remains in full defense of their wealth and power, and the current economic system.

Wasn't sure if I needed to underline that I understand that. Curious if that will be one reflection from sharing this piece.

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this is some awesome ecosystem mapping! thanks for bringing this into the world!

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Yay Michael!!! I so appreciate the comprehensive history - acknowledging beginnings and listing as guide in such a thoughtful way. I have yet to dive into the Venn but will!

Onward with love and organizing power. Do m

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=) Thanks Marian! You're such an important leader and elder in this work. From Play Big to Jubilee Gift (https://jubilee.gift/, check it out if you don't know), you've been rocking it for years. You're on my list of people to interview. I know you have many stories to tell that we'd all benefit from.

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❤️🙏🏼💙

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This is so great. I work for Hand in Hand and would love to connect with you to add additional details about our work and how it fits into organizing the rich! Grateful for this newsletter and always feel optimistic and inspired when I read it.

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Yes! Thanks for the support Erica and so glad you like the newsletter.

Would love to talk. Been a fan and sometimes participant with Hand in Hand for years and so appreciate your work. I've texted a bit with Stacy about the project. maybe the three of us could talk sometime? I'm curious to learn how you all think about the class dynamics of your multi-class base. Seems like it's mostly professional middle class with some wealthy folks and some working class members. You do key work organizing the middle and owning class towards working class power in the way few do.

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Yes please! I'm at erica@domesticemployers.org. Would love to share where we're going in 2024 and beyond.

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I love this article Mike, the thoroughness, visuals, and honesty about what your charts and ideas are, as well as what they are not. Yay for venn diagrams! Keep writing and sharing your wisdom please.

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Michael!! This post is fantastic and such a great resource too! Love those venn diagrams (immediately texted them to a bunch of folks) and honestly this is making me so excited to read your book ❤️🔥

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Thanks Charlotte. So glad for your support and to be in this work together. And love that the venn diagrams are useful.

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Loving this mapping exercise and the graphic! I've only been a part of the donor organizing infrastructure for a couple of years myself. Even in that short time, I've seen really interesting ways that its grown and evolved. There is a lot of alignment work to do among the various nodes of the ecosystem so that are all better at engaging across our buckets of work. There's definitely more to be done to help donors understand how their money can support a multiracial democracy, in particular, by funding across tax statuses (not just through funding c3/nonpartisan strategies). Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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yes! and the state tables, like California Donor Table, are such a crucial part of that infrastructure. glad to have your experience and skills as an organizer and leader, brought to this world that needs lots of help getting aligned and moving towards multiracial democracy together.

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