Answers to the most commonly asked questions about EWA.
What is the Electing Women Alliance?
The Electing Women Alliance is a national network of local giving groups focused on building political parity by harnessing the collective power of women to support women candidates. Our goal is to increase participation in the political process by building communities of women who come together to contribute to women running for office.
Where are EWA groups located?
The national network is currently made up of giving groups in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, Vail, Washington, DC Region, and Wisconsin. We are always working to grow existing groups and start new groups.
Why is it important to elect more women?
We truly believe that we need more women in office. Women in office:
- Are uniquely prepared to advocate for the interests of women.
- Better engage their female constituents helping them become more informed and involved.
- Act differently. They find common ground and cross partisan lines to make common sense change.
- Fight for legislation that matters such as childcare, climate change, reproductive rights, healthcare, economic opportunity, and education.
- Ensure we as a country are maximizing our strengths and resources.
How is EWA different from other organizations that support Democratic women?
Most of the other organizations that focus on funding women candidates will directly collect donations and then make contributions to candidates based on their own political calculus. EWA focuses on empowering women donors by giving them opportunities to meet candidates and providing in-depth education on candidates and races. All contribution decisions are left up to donors themselves and we support donors in deciding which candidates they want to prioritize. Beyond that, our commitment to creating community around political giving makes us different from other fundraising efforts. Members value the opportunity to come together with like-minded donors to have substantive, meaningful conversations with candidates and each other.
Why the Electing Women model?
- Community: By creating a network of women donors supporting women candidates, we build a community that facilitates important political dialogue and personal connection while improving donor engagement and commitment.
- Strategy: Electing Women provides in-depth information about the political landscape to enable more strategic and impactful giving by its members.
- Efficiency: The Electing Women network is a critical tool for women candidates and incumbents to call upon to provide critical support. By banding together, we help our candidates to create efficiency in their travel and fundraising schedules.
- Key Funding: By supporting women candidates early, and even when they are in challenging races, they know they have a reliable support network and will be more likely to run again, and win. We also find ways to support down ticket races that are crucial to building a diverse Democratic leadership pipeline.
How do I get more people involved?
The best way to get more people involved in this work is to draw from existing connections and invite new people to join candidate events. We’ve found that many women who are educated and involved in politics are simply unaware of donor communities like ours. One of the easiest ways to cultivate new members is to invite members of your community who you think might be interested to join events and meet candidates. You can also connect prospective members with group leaders in your community, who are happy to discuss why this work is so important.
How should my group decide what candidates to support?
Many of our groups have a Steering Committee that helps lead decisions on which candidates to host for events. The Electing Women Alliance provides a variety of resources to help educate members and support informed decisions, including monthly political briefings, access to candidate biographies and race overviews, and in-depth analysis from our political director. Our groups often will choose to prioritize candidates in more competitive races and races thought to be essential to establishing a Democratic majority in the Senate or a key governor’s race.
How much are EWA members expected to give annually?
While giving amounts vary depending on the giving group, most of our groups require attending at least three to five events a year, each with $1,000 contributions in support of candidates through events. Most groups also require their members to contribute annually to group operating expenses. Your local group leaders can share more information about your group’s membership model and options.