This past month, millions of people cast their vote in elections across the country to choose local leaders and decide on policies that will be consequential for their communities. Although some people considered these to be ‘off-year’ elections, organizers and nonprofit leaders who are committed to sustaining grassroots movements know that there’s really no such thing as an ‘off year.’

All elections shape the nature of the communities we live in, and there has been an immense amount of work that went into ensuring that the will of the people was heard. Yet after the votes are counted, there is still the need for organizers after every election to continue engaging their communities. This kind of sustained effort is key – to holding elected officials accountable, passing progressive legislation, and continuing to leverage people power in the struggle for collective liberation.

This year’s election wins a in Viginia and Ohio were years in the making but may become flashes in the pan if the current level of funder engagement is not reversed.

This is why we should all be concerned about the current state of funding for voter engagement which is detailed in Movement Voter Project’s Executive Director Billy Wimsatt’s must-read memo, Sending Up the Bat Signal: An Urgent Message for Progressive and Democratic Donors. Here, Wimsatt has noted that donations to progressive organizations in 2023 have decreased significantly compared to contributions made throughout the 2019-2020 and 2021-2022 election cycles. This could be due to a misinformed belief that recent wins in the past two election cycles means that voter engagement groups no longer need resources to do their work. Or perhaps donors have turned their attention to other, seemingly less controversial strategies for impacting communities.

Whatever the reasons for this drop may be, Wimsatt is right to point out that there’s still time to correct course and set up progressive organizations to do the work that is required between now and November 2024, but donors need to act now because the stakes are too high to wait.

Whether they are canvassers or strategy directors –these changemakers are providing important labor in the progressive organizing ecosystem. These are the people who funders need to consider as they determine if – and when – they will move much needed resources to grassroots groups. Despite that misstep, it touches millions of people and makes a difference on a national scale. This organizing is happening year-round, and that is part of why voters trust these groups when the time comes to head to the polls. As Wimsatt stated, organizers are the “essential workers” of democracy. Their work of bringing people together for political education, engaging voters, building relationships, and providing resources in their communities is often rendered invisible.

If progressive donors wait too late to provide necessary funding to community organizations doing this important work, they risk undermining the people and the movements that they want to support. It takes time to thoughtfully scale up a voter engagement campaign with consideration for factors such as reaching overlooked populations, organizer safety, and combatting misinformation. Early investments can help groups ensure that they have the right people in place who will be paid what they deserve for the important work they do.

This is not the time to become relaxed about the future of this country, nor is it the time to hold back support for grassroots voter organizing. If progressive donors are committed to supporting a multiracial democracy and winning on issues that matter to impacted communities, then they must focus their attention and giving toward the tried-and-true approach of grassroots organizing to prepare for 2024 and beyond.

Read the full article about funding grassroots organizing for voter engagement by Trey Gibson at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.