Level up your political philanthropy

Another way to influence policy:💰

We’re all still in various stages of grief after Nov 5. The last stage of grief is “acceptance,” but let’s change that in this case to “action.” Actions that you can take to shore up our civic ecosystem and shape your community to reflect your values. 

If you’re reading this, you don’t need a reminder that local and state politics have the most direct impact on your day-to-day life. But it never hurts to repeat things that are true😉. Next year, New Yorkers are voting for Mayor, City Council, Borough Presidents, and more. These are the roles that govern many of the systems and services that we interact with regularly, from the police that keep our blocks safe to the sanitation teams that pick up our trash. Our city electeds determine how our local tax dollars are spent– taxes you pay when you buy things, when you pay rent, when you make wages. Local electeds shape the systems we rely on every day.

The next election is just over 7 months away: the primary is June 24, 2025. And as we all know, the primary is the election that matters most. June, not November, will decide who’s Mayor. June, not November, will decide who’s Comptroller. June, not November, will decide who’s your City Council member. With only 7 months to go, what’s your plan for impacting the issues that you care about?

Your plan needs to take into consideration that you’ve got limited resources. And that you want to invest those resources for the highest return on impact. You have three resources: time, social capital, and money. In the last post, I covered ways to invest your time and social capital effectively. Now, let’s turn to money.

To maximize your impact, become a political philanthropist

When you hear the word “philanthropy”, you probably think: giving a donation to a nonprofit like a food bank or afterschool program. Philanthropy is the act of donating money to promote the welfare of others. Political philanthropy works similarly, but focuses on funding efforts to create systemic change through policy. Instead of addressing immediate needs, it targets the root causes of those needs.

You have limited money, so think about the most impactful way to spend it. If you want to maximize long term impact, political philanthropy makes more sense than donating to the food bank or the afterschool program. Systemic solutions impact more people and over a longer time period than funding direct services.

To maximize your impact, become a strategic political philanthropist (not a haphazard one)

Most everyday political donors are haphazard in their giving. They’re not optimizing for impact. They’re giving to a presidential candidate once every four years. And maybe a local candidate once in a while when a friend throws a fundraiser. 

Strategic political philanthropists pick an issue, research evidence-based solutions, and fund the most effective groups/individuals advocating for those solutions. Strategic political philanthropy is the most impactful way to direct your donations. It’s proactive, focused on systems change, and outcomes-oriented.

I’ve thought a lot about how to invest my (very limited) dollars. Here’s two tips that guide my strategy for my own political philanthropy.

Donate to effective advocacy organizations over candidates.

When most people think about influencing policy, they immediately think: “I should give money to candidates that champion my values and the policy solutions I believe in.”

I’m proposing a reframe. Political philanthropy is about influence. Influencing the adoption and implementation of the policies you care about. Giving to an effective advocacy organization accomplishes that even better than giving to candidates directly. 

Advocacy organizations are more effective investments than candidates because they pull a strategic combination of levers to move your policy and values forward with voters, electeds, and the general public. 

Let’s use my own political philanthropy as an example. I donate to an advocacy group called Open New York because 1) I care about the cost of housing, 2) they advocate for evidence-based solutions, and 3) they have a winning strategy. I could donate to a bunch of pro-housing candidates instead, but Open New York is a more effective investment because of that strategic combination of levers.

Here’s the levers that advocacy groups, and Open New York in particular, use to influence policy:

Lever 1: Press / Narrative. 

Given that I think more housing supply is the solution, I want more voters and electeds to agree with that position. Only then will policy reflect my position. Open New York puts my position in front of a wide audience through op-eds and news stories. For example, here are three articles that Open New York was featured in in September: 1, 2, 3. 

Because humans believe statements the more they hear them repeated, funding an organization’s comms strategy shifts the overall narrative about an issue. Polls show that the vast majority of New Yorkers support addressing our housing shortage with zoning reforms that make it possible to build. Pro-housing groups like Open New York paved the way to make it politically feasible for Harris and Walz to make housing supply the national platform for the Democratic Party. 

Lever 2: Grassroots organizing. 

It takes people power to pass policy and hold government accountable for implementation. It takes people campaigning for good candidates, calling their elected officials, and standing behind them when they stand up for good policy. Funding Open New York’s grassroots organizing is an investment in the people power that sustains the policy.

Some of Open New York’s most dedicated members at a press conference in the rain, alongside aligned elected officials

Lever 3: Legislative / Policy. 

Advocacy groups employ staff to interface with elected officials to inform policy. Some of that is education: for example, not all elected officials come into office with a strong understanding of housing policy. Open New York staff provide electeds with resources to understand the effects of complicated policies like zoning reform and tenant protections.

As experts in the field, advocacy groups also provide expertise on particular bills. For example, Open New York advised the authors and co-sponsors of the Faith Based Affordable Housing Act, which would empower churches/ temples/ etc. to develop affordable housing on their property. 

Donating to candidates can be an effective way to influence their legislative agenda. But only if that candidate knows what you care about and you’re giving money consistently. If I give a personal donation to a mayoral candidate, do they know that it’s because I support their stance on housing? What if I disagree with their stance on education? A personal donation without a relationship is a muddy signal, it just says: “I support you as a candidate.” If your contribution is just to hit “donate” on a candidate’s page, they have no way of knowing your values or priorities. They don’t know how their policies align with your political philanthropy.

Whereas when legislators are working with Open New York, they know exactly what the organization stands for. Advocacy groups are better positioned to communicate a well-defined focus and objective, compared to individual political donors.

Lever 4: Political / Electoral. 

More and more, savvy advocacy organizations are standing up their own ways to support aligned candidates’ campaigns. For example, Abundant New York is Open New York’s PAC. 

A PAC, or Political Action Committee, is an organization formed to raise and spend money to influence elections or public policy. PACs support specific candidates, parties, or issues by contributing directly to campaigns or funding independent activities like ads. 

The NY Times summarized Abundant New York’s goals well: “The PAC is a more aggressive attempt by [Open New York] to make politicians feel consequences for not doing enough to address a worsening housing crisis.”

Open New York does the research and legwork to pick the most impactful local and state races to weigh in on. When I donate to the PAC, my dollars support those candidates. I don’t have to do a bunch of work to figure out who the pro-housing candidates are, whether they’re in competitive races, and how much each one needs. The PAC does that for me.

Donate to effective advocacy organizations over candidates.

When you donate to a candidate, you’re helping to pay for their mailers, their staff’s time, and that specific candidate’s influence. 

When you donate to a strategic advocacy group, you have the opportunity to influence not just an elected official, but also: the voters, the overall narrative, and the policy itself.

If you do give to candidates, give local.

I donate to some candidates. But only state and local. 

Compared to federal policy, it takes less money to get things done at the state and local levels, and policy moves faster. So my return on investment to political donations is higher, and I will likely see improvement faster. 

Also, my donations to NYC City Council races get matched 8 to 1. State elections also have matching funds available, sometimes up to 12x. That means when I donate to an NY state or local candidate, my money actually goes further, because it turns into more money.

The more local the race, the greater my potential to influence it. As a rule, the bigger the district, the more expensive the race. So if I give $10 to a city council race, that’s a bigger proportion of their overall fundraising than $10 to a mayoral race. My $10 just means more to the council candidate than it does to the mayoral candidate. The council candidate sends fewer mailers, gives out fewer buttons, has less ground to cover. To give an idea, the max spend for the 2025 NYC mayoral race is ~$7M compared to $182K for a NYC city council race. This is why with local races, I can go to a fundraiser and get 1:1 time with candidates. I can have a relationship with them so that they know what I value. The more local the race, the more influence I can have.

Takeaways:

Find an advocacy group that

1. advocates on an issue you care about,

2. is pushing evidence-based solutions, and

3. has a winning strategy to get them passed and implemented.

This might take some research. You might have to ask for help. You might even have to start it yourself. But it’s worth it to invest effectively and be able to see the results of your political philanthropy.

Don’t just donate to highly funded campaigns for national office – that’s not an effective use of your political dollars. Make the most of your political dollars by spending them locally, where they will have far more influence and impact.