Frequently Asked Questions

WHAT IS AIRLIFT?

Airlift answers the question: “How can I make the biggest impact with my political giving?”

Airlift is an all-volunteer organization that  raises money to support grassroots groups  committed to progressive values and winning elections. Airlift acts as a conduit between political donors who care about making an impact with their giving and highly vetted grassroots organizations strategically located in key battleground states. Selected groups work within their local communities, engaging infrequent and non-voters (mostly young people and people of color) to show up at the polls. When voters focus on issues that matter to them, they become engaged in civic dialogue–and they vote. The critical year-round work of Airlift’s Partner Groups provides the highest rate of return on the investment of donor dollars.    

Airlift wants to make donating easy and strategic for anyone who believes in expanding the electorate and supporting progressive policies. We also want to simplify the political giving landscape for anyone who would like to donate but is overwhelmed by the choices.

WHO ARE THE PEOPLE BEHIND AIRLIFT?

The Airlift Team is made up of committed, passionate volunteers.

Airlift is an all-volunteer team of people dedicated to and passionate about supporting progressive grassroots groups that engage young people and people of color in the political process. The professional experience of our team members includes a branding specialist, a university professor, a digital marketer, a psychologist, a former medical researcher, a teacher, and a technology executive. Our career experience is varied, but our commitment to funding the critical work of community-based power building is a common goal. As a near-zero-overhead organization, every donor dollar goes directly to the grassroots groups who work year-round on extensive voter registration, mobilization, and GOTV (get-out-the-vote)—the work that is crucial if progressives are to win big in 2023-2024.

WHY WAS AIRLIFT CREATED?

Airlift is a grassroots organization that supports grassroots organizations. 

Airlift was created by Danny Altman, one of the original founders of the Mill Valley Community Action Network. (MVCAN is a Northern California-based political action group that formed shortly after the 2016 Presidential election). After discovering there was no easy way to give to a targeted group of grassroots organizations, Danny worked with the Movement Voter Project (MVP) as well as several senior advisors experienced in progressive movement and power building.

HOW IS AIRLIFT DIFFERENT?

Airlift makes it easy to give.

We are all overwhelmed with the number of organizations, candidates, and party appeals for our money. The amount of time and effort it takes to research and determine where our money will be most effective is a daunting, time-consuming task. At Airlift we want the average donor to feel like the money they give is effective and strategic—that it goes directly to the grassroots groups working every day, not to Airlift’s administrative overhead. 

Airlift does the hard work for you! Our vetting and selection process ensures that the organizations we choose to fund are some of the most effective groups in the country. These groups are committed to progressive ideas and expanding the electorate.

WHAT DO AIRLIFT PARTNER GROUPS ACTUALLY DO?

Airlift’s Partner Groups work face to face year-round with people generally left out of the political process.

Partners organize within their communities to engage new and unlikely voters around issues that impact their daily lives. Higher wages, healthcare, local policing and criminal justice reform, and improved public education are among the issues that motivate people to vote.

Every day, Airlift’s Partner Groups:

• Register and mobilize voters, with a focus on young people and people of color

• Perform year-round, neighbor-to-neighbor, issues-based organizing

• Execute critical get-out-the vote campaigns

• Fight for popular issues at the local and state levels

• Develop and distribute voter guides that make it easy for people to vote

Airlift’s Partner Groups also:

• Continuously build coalitions with other local grassroots groups

• Hire strong, experienced leadership with a demonstrated ability to develop their organizations

• Recruit, motivate, and train local organizers who reflect the communities where they live

• Help elect progressive candidates who support their issues, and then hold those elected officials accountable

HOW DOES AIRLIFT CHOOSE THE PARTNER GROUPS WE FUND?

We do our homework!

We utilize a multi-layered selection and evaluation process led by our Portfolio Management Team. We also consult with a network of nationally recognized advisors from across the country. Airlift’s advisory panel includes:

• Billy Wimsatt, Founder and Executive Director, Movement Voter Project

• Larry Litvak, former CFO, Working Assets, former board member, Tides Foundation, and Lecturer in Public Policy, Stanford University

• Ludovic Blain, Director, California Donor Table

• Danny Altman, Founder of Airlift who provided the vision, direction, and leadership that has guided the success of the organization since its inception

Leveraging this extensive expertise, our Portfolio Team selects high-performing grassroots groups focused on bringing young people and people of color into the political process. Here’s an overview of our selection process: 

1. The Airlift Portfolio Management Team defines a strategy based on key objectives, such as extending the Democratic wall of the Western states eastward, rebuilding the Blue wall in the Midwest, and fighting voter suppression in the South.

2. All Partner Groups must be located in “battleground” regions. Airlift’s 2023-24 portfolio consists of Partners in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, and California.

3. The Airlift Portfolio Management Team then evaluates each group by:

   • Reviewing each group’s plan and past performance

   • Conducting in-person and video interviews with the group’s leadership

   • Conducting cross-check interviews with other local movement leaders

4. Each selected group undergoes ongoing performance reviews so we can ensure that our donors’ dollars are going to the most effective groups.

DOES AIRLIFT WORK CLOSELY WITH MOVEMENT VOTER PROJECT (MVP)?

Airlift collaborates with like-minded organizations. 

MVP and Airlift share the same philosophy of giving to high-performing, issue-driven local groups. They  provide  us  access  to  their  team  of  national  organizers,  donor  advisors,  and their close-to-the-ground intelligence.

MVP excels at:

• Aggregating research on the entire field of local electoral organizing

• Understanding where money is needed most and how it can be spent most effectively

• Finding and quickly galvanizing support for new local organizing groups in key states

• Collaborating with field experts across the country

WHY DONATE NOW?

Working for political change is a year-round endeavor. 

Early money provides the highest return on investment, especially in the grassroots ecosystem. Hiring and training staff and field organizers early (as opposed to letting go of staff due to insufficient funds) allows the groups we fund to engage with voters continuously prior to the 2024 election. Early and frequent voter contact results in significantly higher voter turnout. If Airlift’s Partner Groups have limited resources and can’t make contact multiple times prior to an election, GOTV efforts are much less effective. Establishing local infrastructure now will provide the most effective GOTV framework for local, state-wide, and national level races in 2024.

SHOULD I GIVE TO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OR TO CANDIDATES?

It is not an either/or decision. Grassroots giving and candidate/party giving turn out different voters. We need all of them to win.

The Democratic Party and candidates focus on likely and (in some cases) swing voters, as they base their organizing and GOTV efforts on polling data from past elections. The grassroots groups funded by Airlift focus exclusively on infrequent voters and non-voters, those who have never participated in the political system before, or have chosen to stop. The grassroots groups we support are key to expanding the electorate by activating the 40 million people who aren’t engaged. By turning out even a small percentage of infrequent and non-voters, the Democratic party will lead the country for years to come.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GIVE TO AIRLIFT?

Airlift is an all-volunteer project of MVCAN, Mill Valley Community Action Network, a 501(c)(4) organization. Online donations go directly to the groups we support via ActBlue. Airlift takes recommendations from check donors into account but the IRS requires that we retain full discretion over the distribution of funds. Contributions to Airlift are not tax-deductible. Ask at info@airlift.fund about tax-deductible giving.