May 5, 2025 • 41 mins
Part 5 of Andrew Gillum's Organizing Playbook: a primer on fundraising and tips for how to make an effective fundraising call.
So you want to know how to raise money? Whether you’ve got a community group, you want to run for the school board, or just gather dollars to support a cause–you can’t avoid fundraising!
Andrew Gillum goes LIVE with interviews, resources, and tips on how to get plugged into The Fight. Check out this spreadsheet of organizations to join, volunteer, or donate to: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13Qxu32zcQNhVRNkhSy2oy0IDLY4VVLhuZC9N-2FXLTQ/edit?usp=sharing
A fun throwback that inspired the thumbnail for this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnuKrfzjI6g
Welcome home, we want to hear from you! Send us a video @nativelandpod and we may feature you on the podcast.
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We want to hear from you! Send us a video @nativelandpod and we may feature you on the podcast.
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Angela Rye as host, executive producer and cofounder of Reasoned Choice Media; Tiffany Cross as host and producer, Andrew Gillum as host and producer, and Lauren Hansen as executive producer; Loren Mychael is our research producer, and Nikolas Harter is our editor and producer. Special thanks to Chris Morrow and Lenard McKelvey, co-founders of Reasoned Choice Media.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Native Land Pod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership
with Reason Choice Media.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. What's up everybody, It's been
a minute, y'all. It's Andrew Gilliam here reintroducing myself through
this through this mini pod. I hope everybody had a
good weekend if you're listening on on Monday here live,
and I know mine was eventful, that is for sure.
(00:28):
So first point a personal privilege. I want to wish
again a very very special and happy, happy happy birthday
to my life partner, my wife, my everything, my best
friend R J. Gillam, who turned blah blah blah blah
blah blah yesterday Sunday, and my son and the kids
wrote their own cards out. I will I won't say
(00:49):
a real age. I'll let her say it. But my
oldest Jackson writes a beautiful note and then at the
end says, happy fifty seventh birthday my me, and neither
of those number actually only one of those digits in
her is in her age. It ain't the five. Okay,
that's it, And continuing, well, oh, one more update, my kid,
(01:15):
my youngest Davis breaks his damn arm in two places
and does it at school and the most wildest thing
you know I've seen, and what is great at the
kid's threshold for pain is crazy good because shortly after
I arrived to collect him and his siblings to go
(01:36):
to the hospital, he starts comforting them. It's gonna be okay, Caroline,
It's gonna be okay, Jackson. I thought, Davis Man, you
are a soldier because I be screaming bloody murder, which
he was when we got there. But everybody's doing well,
and I hope the same is true on your end.
I am not going to take up a terribly long
amount of time. I wanted to continue this conversation about
(01:59):
resistance and organizing in the political environment that we all
find ourselves, and really doubling down in this idea of
doing it right where you are in your own local community.
And by the way, protests or opposition doesn't always have
to come in the form of taking over a building
or even lying the streets with people. A former protest
(02:21):
could be running for your local school board, your local
city council, your county council. Places and institutions locally who
people often under underestimate for their impact but if you
were to really analyze what probably impacts your everyday lived experience,
(02:43):
the roads you drive on, the power you know that
you drive, you know, pull on for your electric supply,
the schools that your kids attend, and quite frankly, the
type of businesses that surround where you live and maybe
where you go to church, or the kind of infrastructure
(03:08):
that either does exist or doesn't, say, for instance, internet
or high speed internet or fiber being available to you,
and who are the people who provide that, and then
who are the people who govern the rules that allow
them to do what they do, if they if the
local government itself isn't the entity that does it. And
whether you're organizing an effort for a cause for people,
(03:30):
or running for or supporting someone running for office, there's
very very, very very little you can do without resources.
Those resources can come in the form of time, which
a lot of times is exactly what you use the
raised financial resources to do. Pay somebody to provide a service,
(03:52):
to do a thing, and if you were able to
have someone's time in the right someone's time, they would
be doing that work. And so by resources, I'm being
a little bit elastic in that definition, but very specifically. Now,
I wanted to just chat with you all about what
it means to do direct fundraising, to ask someone to
support what it is you're doing, or to support you directly.
(04:16):
And I will not lie. Fundraising was uh and has
been for a long time like the bane of my existence.
When I had to do it pretty regularly, I really
really really hated people. Hey, hated call Not hated people
some people, No, I hated uh calling folks to ask
for money. And I think it has something to do
(04:36):
with just maybe my childhood and how I grew up
very proud family, you know, maybe poor by objective standards,
but and my parents, you know, in their minds, I
and they communicated the same to us, is that you know,
we were rich in love, we were rich in family,
(04:56):
we were rich in spirit, and and you know, I
just don't be rich in money. But whatever, they didn't
sort of they didn't sort of raise us with a
beggar's attitude, if you will. And I've associated asking people
for things money specifically, but even other things. I sort
of break in that cardinal rule that I think was
(05:18):
instead of me early and so I had to walk
myself back off the fact that it is not a
burden that you're giving someone when you ask them to
so accede into what you believe in, or even into
you directly say, for instance, you were a candidate and
you needed to raise money. But rather it is a
sign of respect and humility to be willing to go
(05:44):
to someone and to respect them enough to say I
want you and I need you with me in order
for this thing to be possible. People love to be asked,
and that's exactly what a lot of candidates don't like
to do. Do the asking. And some people are in
love with it, y'all. You know, you listening, you may
be in love with You may like the idea and
the challenge. I didn't. I would much prefer to call
(06:06):
and check up and see how you're doing, then call
and ask for money. But to an extent, I got
over it. I had to get over it, and my
race for governor we raised, you know, were sixty million
dollars through various outlets and arms, wherein I had to make,
you know, significant asks all along the way. In fact,
in the primary process, and those of you around campaigns
(06:30):
might be able to relate. I would go entire days,
seven eight hours of call time on the phone calling folks,
and some folks, you know, being willing to engage me
in rather extended conversation and to a person at the
end of that day, every answer, and I'm not giving
folks credit for their excuses, but for every question of
(06:54):
around the money I wanted to raise, the answer was
no from every single person to a person, and that
was really challenging. And these were largely not people who
I knew personally, or if I knew, didn't know very
well personally. But these are people whose names were on
a call list, a call sheet that was provided to me,
(07:14):
who had the characteristics through their previous giving of looking
like I would be the type of person they might
give to if asked. There was a lot in that
by way of what I wanted to communicate because a
lot of folks are, I think, confused about how the
(07:34):
process works around trying to raise money. One one big
I think you know misno more about it, And I
think this is on the candidate side more than it
is the organizational or the cause side of things, and
that is that that people, how do you say, are
(07:58):
are sort of just sort of that it's the scariest
thing in the world that you could possibly do is
to pick up a phone and call a person whom
you don't know and ask them for money. But the
truth is is, over time a profile gets built on
those individuals. If you have a finance staff person they'll
bring they'll make you aware that, hey, John Doe looks
(08:19):
like he gives the Sierra Club and also a big
supporter of criminal justice reform because he gives to uh,
you know, whatever democracy project that that that might be
out there. You may not know them, but by reading
a little bit about them and their interests kind of
gives you a little bit of the courage and necessary
(08:39):
to pick up the phone and say, hey, John, you've
been a you know, a supporter of such and such
and such, and my position on the environment aligns with
what I understand yours to be. And you know, if
you give me this amount, you know we'll be able
to do great things and build a beautiful future prioritizing
the things that both you and I care a great
deal about. Those individuals are not unaccustomed to getting phone calls,
(09:07):
to being asked for money. If you're nervous or a
little bit uneasy about that process, please satisfy yourself by
knowing that these people are used to this and right
now at this stage, expect that if they're going to
give money politically to this cause or to this individual candidate,
(09:29):
that that person or someone from that institution or that
effort is going to reach out to them directly and
ask them for money, and frankly would take it as
an insult if the ask came through somebody else. The
other thing about asking that was really important for me
to learn and to understand and to really accept receive
(09:53):
was this notion of respect, that it's respectful to ask
someone for their money. I'm not sure respect is what
I would have initially associated with it, but in truth,
data from fundraising outlets and experts does show that people
want to be asked. They want to be asked by
the candidate or the person leading the cause or high
(10:15):
up in it, and largely don't give significant money. May
give twenty five to fifty here, but I'm not going
to give significant dollars unless they're asked. It's important to
know that because it should assuage us a little bit
of some of the concern there. But it's really important
(10:35):
to be able to raise these resources to get across
the finish line on whatever the mission is. People can't
work forever for free. There are a lot of folks
who want to be in movement based work and they
looking for a job full time. I think as progressives
who go around advocating for a higher minimum wagent, for
health care for all, and for the ability for people
(10:57):
to work to earn a respectable living for themselves, we
can advocate all those things, but then when it comes
to asking for us a candidate or asking for an organization,
we get real shy and we sort of forget about
what it means to pay these individuals for their time,
energy effort when the resources are allocated, and you got
(11:18):
the resources to do that, and so let's just release
the burden of shame with fundraising. And I'm still pulling
back the layers of mind. But having raised for an
organization before my professional life and for causes, and also
raising significant money as a candidate, I will tell you
I always found it easier to raise for a cause,
(11:40):
for a purpose, for an organization, at least easier for
me making the ask. But in fact, in politics it
is you're dealing many times with people who are used
to being asked and are used to giving, and it's
sort of you if you allow yourself, you make a
game of the process of asks and how many ways
(12:02):
you might ask in a single call to help that
person get to yes. Another misnomer is that people on
the other end of the phone, on the other end
of your ask, I guess you'd say, don't feel like friends,
(12:22):
don't feel like good friends, and real friends would be
the sort of same individual who would then turn around
and ask you for money. I never stumbled on that,
but there were a lot of people who are basically like,
if I have an authentic and maybe friends isn't the
right word I should use people with whom they've worked with,
have worked for, or they know through some other association
(12:45):
and not really a very familiar one. They believe that
it might present as unsincere or insincere a relationship, that
the person being asked might conclude that, oh, you're only
my friend, or you're only trying to casey up to me,
to ask me for my resources, to take something from me.
(13:06):
And truth, you're an authentic person, You're a real person.
You're real wherever you are. I hope and the same
passion you would put into asking for yourself you would
put into asking for a cause, and that's probably the
same passion that landed you in relation to this person
in the first place. So people are more complex than that,
(13:28):
and they also get it. So just we've got to
let ourselves off the hook. One common mistake that I
find when fundraising, especially if you're one of these people
(13:49):
who has an ethos or grown up with a habit
around not asking and having shame around asking, you talk
yourself and you talk to the person who you're asking
to give out of the gift. I'll give you an example. Hey, Jody, Uh,
it's been a minute, but I hope you're doing well.
I'm doing well, well great. I'm not gonna do both
(14:11):
ways is I'll just do my You can assume pluging
what you want. Y'all know how I humor myself, and
I'm like humoring myself right now.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
But Jody, Hey, I just wanted to reach out and
let you know that I've decided I'm a run for
the local school board and and and do everything that
I can. Jody's probably screaming at this point on the
other end while you're still talking. And I would love
for you to be one of my early donors to
show you know your support. Now Jody, if she homegirl,
(14:40):
she's probably already screaming and it's like, why could I
do all this kind of stuff. But if she's less
of that, she's saying, yeah, well of course. And then
you make the amount asked, or maybe you don't mention
a number and you just say, I know times are tough,
and I know the kids are getting ready to go
back to school, or I know summer's coming up and
(15:02):
you're gonna be paying a lot for those camps. So
you know, you got a lot to think about. But
I would really love if you would do this for me. Well,
you've already started negotiating against yourself with Jody, telling her
all the things she ain't even thinking about right now
that may be expense coming up, and giving her all
kinds of reasons to either one not give or two
(15:23):
to give, which is probably more likely she would, but
to give a lesser amount because all the things you
just reminded her are upcoming expenses that she wasn't even
thinking about. People know their wallets generally, and they have
a general understanding of the capacity that they can give
at A person who knows their financial situation enough is
(15:46):
it knows that the most they can give is fifty.
But you their friendly ain't on spring for five hundred.
They're probably a delusional because you know, you got other
things you gotta do. But generally a five hundred dollars
person is not is not in the same bracket generally
with the person who's only got the capacity to give,
you know, twenty five dollars in may spring for fifty,
(16:07):
but they're not gonna go from twenty five to five
hundred generally. But you talk yourself out of the ask.
And one of the habits that I sort of observed
and I've now heard later taught, I wish I had
been taught it before I observed it for myself, having run,
you know, when I was twenty three years old, and
(16:27):
talked a lot of people out of giving, if not
giving generally, certainly giving what they could if they were
really stretching themselves. But that habit, that tool was to
make the ask and not just we need you to
give money or we want you to give money, but
more specific than that, I would love for you to
invest in me and in this race and in the
(16:48):
future of our state by giving one hundred dollars to
this effort, you know, in time for our next reporting
period at the end of the month, or five undred
or a thousand a lot of times early on. And
if again, if you aren't well trained in the art
of asking for the gift, you're going to negotiate yourself
(17:10):
out of the gift if you keep talking, and so
developing a habit of something to do as a distraction
from having to keep talking silence can be uncomfortable, especially
after you don't ask the people for the eight dollars.
They're harder money money, but you have to force yourself
to stop. So to role play this real quick, it
(17:32):
would be you know, and I would really really appreciate
you making a five hundred dollars contribution to help us
change our state or change our community and make our
schools better for our kids. I know you feel like
I do about how desperately things need to change. This
is a way that we can really do something about it.
(17:53):
And if you could make that contribution, firstly, how would
be eternally grateful. But secondly, in time for us to
report that gift and our next fundraising report, which would
be an impressive display for people to see and to
know that you're giving one, but two that we're also
raising real resources here to make this thing happen. And
(18:15):
then stop and take a drink of water. Don't ever
go to fundraising meeting without a bottle of something or
a container or something that you can drink, hopefully not alcoholic,
something you can drink as a way of shutting yourself up.
And if you don't figure out practice practice, I mean
(18:36):
that what method you're going to instrument to keep yourself
from talking. I would suggest something non distracting, not like dude,
do do do? That's not I want to do that thing,
but maybe a different habit that you might develop. But
my habit was taking a drink. So I'd make that ask,
I'd save the amount, and I'd say when I'd like
(18:58):
to get it, and I appreciate you listening to my vision,
put it down. And by that time they've already taken
up the task of responding. It's either quick one yes
I can do that, or no, I can't. But generally
people want to get to yes, and sometimes it's your
(19:20):
job to help them get there. So two different potential
outcomes aside from the yes scenario might be ah darn
I wish. I wish I could, but I am. I've
decided I think I may I may stay out of
this race. You know, I know a lot of you
all in it. Da da da dada. And you said,
you know, jem, I understand that, I know you've got
(19:42):
a lot of friends throughout this race, and I certainly
don't want to put you in a position where you're
put out by them, and if you cannot find yourself
and the course of the race that we're in to
to to to to invest in me as a candidate.
Do I understand you're also not going to invest in
anybody else. Oh yeah, if I'm staying out, I'm staying out.
(20:04):
I'm not gonna Okay, have you considered or maybe perhaps
would you consider what it would mean to maybe make
an investment in all of us as a show of
support that you know, Hey, you know you're my friend
enough that I will stay out of giving to anyone
else in this race. I want to put some money
(20:25):
behind you, and I'm going to do the same for
a couple of other people, right, So just creating off
ramps another off ramp might be okay. I understand that
five hundred is a lot of money. I know, God knows,
I work hard for every time that I that I
that I earn. I'm wondering, do you think it might
be possible to do one hundred or potentially commit to
(20:46):
one hundred and over a period of cycles, pay a
little bit toward that commitment, give them the opportunity to
respond to that. People don't like silence A lot of
unless you know somebody real well, a lot of folks
generally don't vibe well with quiet. We always feel the moment.
Use fundraising as an opportunity to not fill the moment
(21:09):
with your voice, your presence ought to be there, but
with silence, to give the other person the cue that
it's not time for them to respond to you. So
one way, again might be I can't meet that amount,
as a form of rejection. The other I'm sorry. The
form of rejection in this case is I've got a
bunch of people I know, and so the off ramp
(21:31):
you gave is can you give to all of us?
Another potential scenario might be that the amount is too high.
We work through that as part of this scenario with
the friends. In that case, again, you can do this
sort of step down, step off approach and then you know,
sometimes the opportunity presents itself as as a chance to
(21:51):
make your case and to make it very directly and
strongly for why a person ought to be behind you,
or be with you or give to you. And that's
the instance where the potential donor says, you know, I'm
still sort of taking my time and I'm waiting to
see what's gonna happen there. I'll get involved at some point,
(22:13):
but you know, right now, we're just sort of observing
the field again with the spirit of never ever taking
no or the or the response that you don't want
as the ultimate response. Convince yourself that there is always
a way too. Yes, there is always a way too. Yes,
it's just our jobs as those who are going out
(22:34):
to try to raise these resources for a cause or
for candidate, to be creative enough and confident enough in
ourselves and moreover, confident enough in the work that we
are raising for. If it's a mission, you know, have
that thing in your spirit and your soul. It'll power
you through a day of seven hours of phone calls.
(22:55):
And every answer is no, right, as the example I gave.
But but but you out of feel strongly enough about
the thing you're raising four that you'll be willing to
go the extra step of being creative to help facilitate
somebody getting to the answer. Yes, I want to invite
Lolo in our sister Lo Lo and Lolo. I'd love
(23:17):
to if you're able to join. I love if you're
able to monitor whether there are any questions or anything
like that, or if in the in the course of
listening here I'm assuming you was listening, uh, and the
course of listening here that maybe there's some angles here
that I didn't go down that you think in the
few moments we have remaining are worthwhile to do. What's up?
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Lo Lo Hio? We actually have some really good questions. Yeah,
we had a few. So I'm gonna start off with
the first one, and it is how do you create
a leader list organization? I think that this is not
very specific. We do have some that are specific to
the fundraising aspect, but I've seen this one. It was
one of the first ones, and it was like, how
(24:00):
do you create a leaderless organization? Also one that is
completely transparent?
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Oh? What what did you say before being completely transparent?
Speaker 4 (24:11):
I also also it's just also one that is completely transparent.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Right, that is without a leader, and that your intention
is not to to listen. This is actually a really
layered and complex question when you when you get at it.
We've been having, uh a native Lampard, a bit of
a conversation around who is our leader? You know, in circumstances,
who are we following? I don't feel like there's anybody
you know that kind of thing, And I sort of
like to introduce into the conversation that there are a
(24:37):
lot of models of organizations and even of governing bodies
that operate without a known leader, you know, a singular
known leader, I should say leadership exists, but a singular
known leader. And I'm actually an advocate for that. I
think we've we've gotten a little bit too Western in
our in our styles that we think we need a
(24:59):
person Donald Trump, a culture personality to follow. We don't.
And part of the way through that is one to believe,
is to get a sense of if everybody agrees that
we need to be individual you know, leader lists and
rather a counsel, that that that is an important decision
that must be bought into by the people who are
engaged and involved. Once you get beyond the buy in,
(25:22):
you could create a panel of individuals. You can create
rotating leadership that is not by volunteerism but by lot,
which is, if you're involved in this, just know one day,
when we roll the dice, you may be the one
who's up here leading. And that again requires a lot
of trust that people have the skill sets to do
(25:42):
what is required. But there are a lot of models
to do that, and I can't get through all of them,
but I wanted to at least share one example there.
Sorry about that, go ahead, that was good.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
I'm surprised that that was your answer.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Oh really you thought that. I'm actually I think people.
People are fallible, we're imperfect, and a lot of times
this sort of cultive and individual's personality weds us to
a lot of things that if we had our dreathers,
our choices, we wouldn't be wedded, you know, to those things.
And or it is when that person disappoints us, the
(26:17):
movement starts to come apart because they've made him priest
and pope and not person, or they've made her priest
and pope and not person. They're persons. And if everybody
understands that and is willing to ride like that, then cool.
But in other instances it might be helpful for people
to be to wedded to the cause, what is to
the thing that you're on, or not to an individual.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
Yeah. One of the other questions that we had is
how would you recommend building a donor list? Well, actually
a question I had about that too.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Okay, yeah, we didn't see. I didn't get to get
into lists building and that kind of thing, and especially
with individual candidates, but also organizationally, where does the information
come from? Especially if you've never raised money before? Right,
So here it is. This is the this is the
era of big information, big technology, big government, big everything.
You cannot purchase these lists from organizations. You can purchase
(27:13):
them from companies. These already made lists that exists in
the in the broader fundraising spectrum where people collect data
on everybody who's given to environmental organization X, the Sierra Club.
You can see everybody who's given to NAACP based off
of tax filings and that that sort of thing. But
(27:33):
the information gets cold for you, and all you got
to do is go through and you say, oh, man,
if they gave to Jesse Jackson Jr. They might be
the kind of donor who would be interested in giving
to me if they gave to Kamala Harris southern California
and also to Corey Booker and also to redmend Warnock.
It seems to me this might be the type of
person who likes to give to individuals who are people
(27:57):
of color, who are not usually elected to these large
bodies of government, and that makes a good donor. But
you're fundraising person, or you if you're the person and
you don't have that, can, of course search where you
can purchase these lists and make that decision. I will
tell you in the race for governor, initially that thing
began with whoever I had in my cell phone or
(28:20):
an email I had an addressed for. But the friends
and family network was the first ask that I made,
and it is the most important ass you can make,
and one that will largely power you up until the
point that you've got to broaden out and expand the
amount of money that you're raising. But those lists exist,
they can be bought, and you can then across the
(28:42):
set of criteria determine who are the best fits for
you and either make those phone calls, send those emails,
or put them on your mail program where they would
give the money themselves directly.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
Okay, Andrew, I'm gonna ask one more question. I know
we have more, but I think some of your answers
is kind of like answering some of the other ones.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Got it?
Speaker 1 (29:10):
So someone no, it's done.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
This is actually.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
But so Kaiya says, how do you assage people's new
fear of retaliation? So she said, I'm finding that during
phone banking and VA lately that people are becoming more
hesitant to even rebuild their political views over the phone.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Oh so true, or period where that information can then
be tracked back to them. Right, And this is the
this is the real chilling effect and lasting effect of
what Trump is is demonstrating at the federal level that
if you cross me, Harvard University, I'm taking all fifty
million away. If Individual X decides to sue me, I'm
(29:59):
going out to your sister, your brother, your cousin, and them,
and all of them are going to have problems with ice,
right and bless the court that can force me to
bring them back right after I've sent them away. So
there is this real legitimate fear because it's not just
at the federal level. Conservatives and Trumpers all around the
country are taking note, and in places where they have
(30:21):
the ability, they're trying to extract the exact same kind
of penalties that he's illustrating at the federal level that
you can do and get away with. So I would
say one is really hard to completely cover the fears
of someone who is afraid of being docksed or being
come after if they give. I'm guessing if you're calling
(30:46):
from a list of other people you know or people
who you don't know but have demonstrated a record of
giving before, they will already have an appetite to push
through because they would be more accustomed to it. Anyway.
Not knowing your specific situation and your proximity to Washington,
d C. Being in Virginia probably makes this more pronounced
for you, given the number of employees who are federal
(31:08):
workers and also reside in Virginia. So I want to
acknowledge the the the adjacency issue that you got, why
that feels more pronounced for you than not generally. I
think people will get over that fear with a little
bit of you realize that you know, they're probably not
(31:31):
looking at this list at our level, or they're you know,
this is that And the third and obviously I would
never ask you to do anything that will put you
personally in harm's way. And if you feel strongly enough
that showing your support for me and this race could
could make you available to personal attack from the government
or retribution, I don't want to put you in that position.
(31:52):
That's your first answer is you don't want to go there.
Large people. My guess is the majority will say, you
know it was put well, I'm not afraid enough of
you and giving to you that people are gonna come
after me. I think I can get over that now,
I'll give I think the majority respondents are probably gonna
be that way. Then they would Yeah, it's just too
(32:14):
rough right now, little person that I am, that everybody's
tracking me, right, but in some places it's really real,
and retribution is real. They're gonna do what they're gonna do.
I would make the effort to first say what you
really mean, which is your intention is not to get
anybody in trouble. And if that cause is that big
a concern for you, I'm not going to ask you
to give to me. But in most cases I think
(32:35):
they will if it persists as an issue and this
is a big enough donor. You also have the option
of directing them to give to an organization that isn't
supportive you, or to an organization or an arm of
a fundraising organization that you may have access to where
their information is protected. And for those of y'all who
(32:57):
are screaming right now, I know I am talking about
five twenty Evans and those kinds of political organizations that
conceal the giving of their donors. It is a weapon
that the other side uses. And I'm just not a
been a big fan of unilaterally disarming and allowing folks
to come at me with everything they have, with my
hands tapped behind my back. It's not an option.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 4 (33:19):
Well, Andrew, this is really good. It's up to you
because I know, I know Nick is probably like y'all
over time.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
I know, I know, I know we gotta wrap.
Speaker 4 (33:28):
But I there was like one question that we just
got and I found it was a really good question.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Please okay, Well.
Speaker 4 (33:34):
Nick says we did, so we we will do one
more question. How do you counsel yourself to not take
the nose personally, especially if it comes from personal contacts,
not typical donors.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
So tough it is as a head fake. I'm gonna
admit that straight up. I've I live in a government town,
and so a lot of people who I know personally
have personal relationships with me, with with Jay, with our
family work either in the government or adjacent to it,
or our friends with people who are who are political,
(34:07):
and so I'm accustomed to the kind of response of
you know, oh I wish I could, but I you know,
so on and so forth. The way I sort of
mind trick myself is to basically remind myself it ain't
personal for those individuals. It is personal for me. I
wouldn't put myself out there if I didn't feel you know,
if I didn't feel it. But I realize that everyone
does not have the freedom I want to underline that
(34:29):
word freedom to move the way they want to move,
that if they had their drethers, they would move. Everybody's
not free. In fact, the overwhelming majority of us are
not free. We're tethered to something that causes us to
have to question a thing when the going gets tough,
and so know that they're not trying to put you off,
(34:53):
but are frankly, they're they're tending to their home needs,
their personal needs, eat first, and I don't think any
of us could reasonably expect people not to. Now, I
will also say that there are some folks who are
maybe not friends, wouldn't do this to you, but are
associates who might reach for that excuse. Even in that
(35:16):
excuse frankly doesn't apply very neatly to their situation. And
if you know that, you can go the approach of
navigating another set of asks that can get them to yes,
a lower ask, a different amount, a different way or instrument,
or or whether or not you want to trade that,
ask them ount for time or talent. Those folks, I
(35:40):
would probably say, create another, create at another option for
them to be supportive. But people who you legit believe
are conflicted right that way, don't take it personal. It happens,
and you just got to keep moving. God knows those
days that were seven hours long, and I couldn't no
matter how good the conversation went, how many times they
(36:02):
agreed with me, and by agreeing with me was basically
disagreeing with the person who they were going to be
giving to or had given to, because that person didn't
believe like I did. Those are really difficult days. Those
are difficult calls, and those are difficult moments, but if
I allowed myself to be tripped up on it, I
(36:24):
would have been, you know, half the mount effective in
future calls, because the thing about these calls is your
confidence needs to be intact, whether that is the confidence
around the movement you're raising for, or confidence around yourself
as a candidate or on behalf of the candidate. Your
confidence is what's going to power you through that call,
(36:44):
and your confidence is what's going to give you all
those options that come to mind as another way for
the person to contribute or to give. But if you're down,
you might hear that no, and you'll be like, I understand,
I really appreciate you taking my call and taking up
thirty minutes of my time and then not giving I
really do I'm being fasticious.
Speaker 4 (37:04):
I was about to say, but the way you're say
it is so like I'm like, I'm taking notes, like
I'm going to do this next time.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Oh god, all thirty minutes, because we could have covered
this at moment one.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
You knew I was thirty seconds. He It's like, you
know what, I would stopping there?
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Oh that before you go on, I just want to
say I'm behind such and such in this race, I
can we can get through that. But thirty minutes.
Speaker 4 (37:32):
And you know what's so funny, Andrew, real quick while
we're ending this. A lot of people don't know this,
but in my previous life, I had started an organization.
It's actually still around. I've been around for about six
years now, and I had to do fundraising in the organization,
and so a lot of the stuff that you're talking about,
I'm like, oh, I remember.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
Those days, I'm telling you, or true.
Speaker 4 (37:56):
Was event or you know, just all of the things
that you have to do. But you can't take that
stuff personal. And even people. Somebody told me that people
who know you personally usually are sometimes the last people
to come around sometimes.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
Yeah, and now that's gonna be another conversation. And the
general donors we're talking about, but we gonna have a
conversation those those longtime friends, associates, family members. I definitely
got some messed up cousins still waiting for that check
by the way, anyway, But who, yeah, you know folks
who who, As the saying goes, I'll say this lo Loo.
(38:37):
The saying is it's hard to be a prophet in
your own land, which is you're preaching the same thing
at home that you're out there preaching on the road.
But it seems like the people on the road can
hear what you're saying, you know, and and credit you
for the gift you got, But at home you just
a little you know, use, just another you know whatever.
(38:57):
So it's hard to be a profit in your own land,
and fundraising can be that way. Sometimes people are slow
to give until they see that others are willing to
do the same without relationship to you.
Speaker 4 (39:06):
Yeah, well, thank you. I just want to say this
because I know we actually are starting to get more
questions in like, people are really interested in this topic,
but we're not gonna look, we're gonna leg productions.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Well, you know, a Phase two possibly might be how
we deal more specifically in the organizational side, some of
the technocratic kinds of things that go into getting yourself
ready for fundraising, because there are some things that I
just really skipped over out of the interest of trying
to be brief here, But fundraising is something you must
(39:38):
master if you're going to be in this space for yourself,
as a candidate or for a cause. You want to
master that.
Speaker 4 (39:45):
So what I will say for the immediate people who
are watching this. If you all have a specific question
and you want to continue this conversation, I'm going to
give you a soft plug. If you are not following
us on Instagram, go to our instagram at Native Land
Pie and if you record a quick like sixty second
video it could be less than that. Try not to
(40:07):
make it more than ninety seconds and send it to
us in our DMS. We like to include those questions
on the regular show, so this could be an and
conversation for the regular show. I see that there were
some questions. I'm like, oh, that was really good, Like
Meek asked a question. Please submit that question to us
(40:28):
on our Instagram. But you have some party words, Andrew do.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
Y'all see what Lolo just did. Y'all just got co opted.
She's not taking no for an answer. It is just
because we can't do it now. There are other ways
in which you can do it. But she tried to
co opt you into a video for the main show
that record each week. But please do that. But also
if you want to communicate those questions in this chat,
we'll capture them and in the future episodes, maybe what
(40:52):
we'll do is just start at the questions and if
there's time remaining, then make a pitch on one of
the points around organizing and raising love it and my
sign off is you gotta go with a money reside.
What a money reside? Where the money reside? Give me
that money that dough do?
Speaker 4 (41:12):
All right, two weeks from now, meet us next, not
the next monday, but the Monday after that.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
That's it, So y'all soon, and welcome home.
Speaker 3 (41:20):
Y'all, Welcome home, What on moneys I? What on moneys
I Money?
Speaker 1 (41:40):
Native Land Pod is a production of iHeartRadio and partnership
with Reason Choice Media. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
favorite shows.
Native Land Pod is a production of iHeartRadio in partnership
with Reason Choice Media.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome, Welcome. What's up everybody, It's been
a minute, y'all. It's Andrew Gilliam here reintroducing myself through
this through this mini pod. I hope everybody had a
good weekend if you're listening on on Monday here live,
and I know mine was eventful, that is for sure.
(00:28):
So first point a personal privilege. I want to wish
again a very very special and happy, happy happy birthday
to my life partner, my wife, my everything, my best
friend R J. Gillam, who turned blah blah blah blah
blah blah yesterday Sunday, and my son and the kids
wrote their own cards out. I will I won't say
(00:49):
a real age. I'll let her say it. But my
oldest Jackson writes a beautiful note and then at the
end says, happy fifty seventh birthday my me, and neither
of those number actually only one of those digits in
her is in her age. It ain't the five. Okay,
that's it, And continuing, well, oh, one more update, my kid,
(01:15):
my youngest Davis breaks his damn arm in two places
and does it at school and the most wildest thing
you know I've seen, and what is great at the
kid's threshold for pain is crazy good because shortly after
I arrived to collect him and his siblings to go
(01:36):
to the hospital, he starts comforting them. It's gonna be okay, Caroline,
It's gonna be okay, Jackson. I thought, Davis Man, you
are a soldier because I be screaming bloody murder, which
he was when we got there. But everybody's doing well,
and I hope the same is true on your end.
I am not going to take up a terribly long
amount of time. I wanted to continue this conversation about
(01:59):
resistance and organizing in the political environment that we all
find ourselves, and really doubling down in this idea of
doing it right where you are in your own local community.
And by the way, protests or opposition doesn't always have
to come in the form of taking over a building
or even lying the streets with people. A former protest
(02:21):
could be running for your local school board, your local
city council, your county council. Places and institutions locally who
people often under underestimate for their impact but if you
were to really analyze what probably impacts your everyday lived experience,
(02:43):
the roads you drive on, the power you know that
you drive, you know, pull on for your electric supply,
the schools that your kids attend, and quite frankly, the
type of businesses that surround where you live and maybe
where you go to church, or the kind of infrastructure
(03:08):
that either does exist or doesn't, say, for instance, internet
or high speed internet or fiber being available to you,
and who are the people who provide that, and then
who are the people who govern the rules that allow
them to do what they do, if they if the
local government itself isn't the entity that does it. And
whether you're organizing an effort for a cause for people,
(03:30):
or running for or supporting someone running for office, there's
very very, very very little you can do without resources.
Those resources can come in the form of time, which
a lot of times is exactly what you use the
raised financial resources to do. Pay somebody to provide a service,
(03:52):
to do a thing, and if you were able to
have someone's time in the right someone's time, they would
be doing that work. And so by resources, I'm being
a little bit elastic in that definition, but very specifically. Now,
I wanted to just chat with you all about what
it means to do direct fundraising, to ask someone to
support what it is you're doing, or to support you directly.
(04:16):
And I will not lie. Fundraising was uh and has
been for a long time like the bane of my existence.
When I had to do it pretty regularly, I really
really really hated people. Hey, hated call Not hated people
some people, No, I hated uh calling folks to ask
for money. And I think it has something to do
(04:36):
with just maybe my childhood and how I grew up
very proud family, you know, maybe poor by objective standards,
but and my parents, you know, in their minds, I
and they communicated the same to us, is that you know,
we were rich in love, we were rich in family,
(04:56):
we were rich in spirit, and and you know, I
just don't be rich in money. But whatever, they didn't
sort of they didn't sort of raise us with a
beggar's attitude, if you will. And I've associated asking people
for things money specifically, but even other things. I sort
of break in that cardinal rule that I think was
(05:18):
instead of me early and so I had to walk
myself back off the fact that it is not a
burden that you're giving someone when you ask them to
so accede into what you believe in, or even into
you directly say, for instance, you were a candidate and
you needed to raise money. But rather it is a
sign of respect and humility to be willing to go
(05:44):
to someone and to respect them enough to say I
want you and I need you with me in order
for this thing to be possible. People love to be asked,
and that's exactly what a lot of candidates don't like
to do. Do the asking. And some people are in
love with it, y'all. You know, you listening, you may
be in love with You may like the idea and
the challenge. I didn't. I would much prefer to call
(06:06):
and check up and see how you're doing, then call
and ask for money. But to an extent, I got
over it. I had to get over it, and my
race for governor we raised, you know, were sixty million
dollars through various outlets and arms, wherein I had to make,
you know, significant asks all along the way. In fact,
in the primary process, and those of you around campaigns
(06:30):
might be able to relate. I would go entire days,
seven eight hours of call time on the phone calling folks,
and some folks, you know, being willing to engage me
in rather extended conversation and to a person at the
end of that day, every answer, and I'm not giving
folks credit for their excuses, but for every question of
(06:54):
around the money I wanted to raise, the answer was
no from every single person to a person, and that
was really challenging. And these were largely not people who
I knew personally, or if I knew, didn't know very
well personally. But these are people whose names were on
a call list, a call sheet that was provided to me,
(07:14):
who had the characteristics through their previous giving of looking
like I would be the type of person they might
give to if asked. There was a lot in that
by way of what I wanted to communicate because a
lot of folks are, I think, confused about how the
(07:34):
process works around trying to raise money. One one big
I think you know misno more about it, And I
think this is on the candidate side more than it
is the organizational or the cause side of things, and
that is that that people, how do you say, are
(07:58):
are sort of just sort of that it's the scariest
thing in the world that you could possibly do is
to pick up a phone and call a person whom
you don't know and ask them for money. But the
truth is is, over time a profile gets built on
those individuals. If you have a finance staff person they'll
bring they'll make you aware that, hey, John Doe looks
(08:19):
like he gives the Sierra Club and also a big
supporter of criminal justice reform because he gives to uh,
you know, whatever democracy project that that that might be
out there. You may not know them, but by reading
a little bit about them and their interests kind of
gives you a little bit of the courage and necessary
(08:39):
to pick up the phone and say, hey, John, you've
been a you know, a supporter of such and such
and such, and my position on the environment aligns with
what I understand yours to be. And you know, if
you give me this amount, you know we'll be able
to do great things and build a beautiful future prioritizing
the things that both you and I care a great
deal about. Those individuals are not unaccustomed to getting phone calls,
(09:07):
to being asked for money. If you're nervous or a
little bit uneasy about that process, please satisfy yourself by
knowing that these people are used to this and right
now at this stage, expect that if they're going to
give money politically to this cause or to this individual candidate,
(09:29):
that that person or someone from that institution or that
effort is going to reach out to them directly and
ask them for money, and frankly would take it as
an insult if the ask came through somebody else. The
other thing about asking that was really important for me
to learn and to understand and to really accept receive
(09:53):
was this notion of respect, that it's respectful to ask
someone for their money. I'm not sure respect is what
I would have initially associated with it, but in truth,
data from fundraising outlets and experts does show that people
want to be asked. They want to be asked by
the candidate or the person leading the cause or high
(10:15):
up in it, and largely don't give significant money. May
give twenty five to fifty here, but I'm not going
to give significant dollars unless they're asked. It's important to
know that because it should assuage us a little bit
of some of the concern there. But it's really important
(10:35):
to be able to raise these resources to get across
the finish line on whatever the mission is. People can't
work forever for free. There are a lot of folks
who want to be in movement based work and they
looking for a job full time. I think as progressives
who go around advocating for a higher minimum wagent, for
health care for all, and for the ability for people
(10:57):
to work to earn a respectable living for themselves, we
can advocate all those things, but then when it comes
to asking for us a candidate or asking for an organization,
we get real shy and we sort of forget about
what it means to pay these individuals for their time,
energy effort when the resources are allocated, and you got
(11:18):
the resources to do that, and so let's just release
the burden of shame with fundraising. And I'm still pulling
back the layers of mind. But having raised for an
organization before my professional life and for causes, and also
raising significant money as a candidate, I will tell you
I always found it easier to raise for a cause,
(11:40):
for a purpose, for an organization, at least easier for
me making the ask. But in fact, in politics it
is you're dealing many times with people who are used
to being asked and are used to giving, and it's
sort of you if you allow yourself, you make a
game of the process of asks and how many ways
(12:02):
you might ask in a single call to help that
person get to yes. Another misnomer is that people on
the other end of the phone, on the other end
of your ask, I guess you'd say, don't feel like friends,
(12:22):
don't feel like good friends, and real friends would be
the sort of same individual who would then turn around
and ask you for money. I never stumbled on that,
but there were a lot of people who are basically like,
if I have an authentic and maybe friends isn't the
right word I should use people with whom they've worked with,
have worked for, or they know through some other association
(12:45):
and not really a very familiar one. They believe that
it might present as unsincere or insincere a relationship, that
the person being asked might conclude that, oh, you're only
my friend, or you're only trying to casey up to me,
to ask me for my resources, to take something from me.
(13:06):
And truth, you're an authentic person, You're a real person.
You're real wherever you are. I hope and the same
passion you would put into asking for yourself you would
put into asking for a cause, and that's probably the
same passion that landed you in relation to this person
in the first place. So people are more complex than that,
(13:28):
and they also get it. So just we've got to
let ourselves off the hook. One common mistake that I
find when fundraising, especially if you're one of these people
(13:49):
who has an ethos or grown up with a habit
around not asking and having shame around asking, you talk
yourself and you talk to the person who you're asking
to give out of the gift. I'll give you an example. Hey, Jody, Uh,
it's been a minute, but I hope you're doing well.
I'm doing well, well great. I'm not gonna do both
(14:11):
ways is I'll just do my You can assume pluging
what you want. Y'all know how I humor myself, and
I'm like humoring myself right now.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
But Jody, Hey, I just wanted to reach out and
let you know that I've decided I'm a run for
the local school board and and and do everything that
I can. Jody's probably screaming at this point on the
other end while you're still talking. And I would love
for you to be one of my early donors to
show you know your support. Now Jody, if she homegirl,
(14:40):
she's probably already screaming and it's like, why could I
do all this kind of stuff. But if she's less
of that, she's saying, yeah, well of course. And then
you make the amount asked, or maybe you don't mention
a number and you just say, I know times are tough,
and I know the kids are getting ready to go
back to school, or I know summer's coming up and
(15:02):
you're gonna be paying a lot for those camps. So
you know, you got a lot to think about. But
I would really love if you would do this for me. Well,
you've already started negotiating against yourself with Jody, telling her
all the things she ain't even thinking about right now
that may be expense coming up, and giving her all
kinds of reasons to either one not give or two
(15:23):
to give, which is probably more likely she would, but
to give a lesser amount because all the things you
just reminded her are upcoming expenses that she wasn't even
thinking about. People know their wallets generally, and they have
a general understanding of the capacity that they can give
at A person who knows their financial situation enough is
(15:46):
it knows that the most they can give is fifty.
But you their friendly ain't on spring for five hundred.
They're probably a delusional because you know, you got other
things you gotta do. But generally a five hundred dollars
person is not is not in the same bracket generally
with the person who's only got the capacity to give,
you know, twenty five dollars in may spring for fifty,
(16:07):
but they're not gonna go from twenty five to five
hundred generally. But you talk yourself out of the ask.
And one of the habits that I sort of observed
and I've now heard later taught, I wish I had
been taught it before I observed it for myself, having run,
you know, when I was twenty three years old, and
(16:27):
talked a lot of people out of giving, if not
giving generally, certainly giving what they could if they were
really stretching themselves. But that habit, that tool was to
make the ask and not just we need you to
give money or we want you to give money, but
more specific than that, I would love for you to
invest in me and in this race and in the
(16:48):
future of our state by giving one hundred dollars to
this effort, you know, in time for our next reporting
period at the end of the month, or five undred
or a thousand a lot of times early on. And
if again, if you aren't well trained in the art
of asking for the gift, you're going to negotiate yourself
(17:10):
out of the gift if you keep talking, and so
developing a habit of something to do as a distraction
from having to keep talking silence can be uncomfortable, especially
after you don't ask the people for the eight dollars.
They're harder money money, but you have to force yourself
to stop. So to role play this real quick, it
(17:32):
would be you know, and I would really really appreciate
you making a five hundred dollars contribution to help us
change our state or change our community and make our
schools better for our kids. I know you feel like
I do about how desperately things need to change. This
is a way that we can really do something about it.
(17:53):
And if you could make that contribution, firstly, how would
be eternally grateful. But secondly, in time for us to
report that gift and our next fundraising report, which would
be an impressive display for people to see and to
know that you're giving one, but two that we're also
raising real resources here to make this thing happen. And
(18:15):
then stop and take a drink of water. Don't ever
go to fundraising meeting without a bottle of something or
a container or something that you can drink, hopefully not alcoholic,
something you can drink as a way of shutting yourself up.
And if you don't figure out practice practice, I mean
(18:36):
that what method you're going to instrument to keep yourself
from talking. I would suggest something non distracting, not like dude,
do do do? That's not I want to do that thing,
but maybe a different habit that you might develop. But
my habit was taking a drink. So I'd make that ask,
I'd save the amount, and I'd say when I'd like
(18:58):
to get it, and I appreciate you listening to my vision,
put it down. And by that time they've already taken
up the task of responding. It's either quick one yes
I can do that, or no, I can't. But generally
people want to get to yes, and sometimes it's your
(19:20):
job to help them get there. So two different potential
outcomes aside from the yes scenario might be ah darn
I wish. I wish I could, but I am. I've
decided I think I may I may stay out of
this race. You know, I know a lot of you
all in it. Da da da dada. And you said,
you know, jem, I understand that, I know you've got
(19:42):
a lot of friends throughout this race, and I certainly
don't want to put you in a position where you're
put out by them, and if you cannot find yourself
and the course of the race that we're in to
to to to to invest in me as a candidate.
Do I understand you're also not going to invest in
anybody else. Oh yeah, if I'm staying out, I'm staying out.
(20:04):
I'm not gonna Okay, have you considered or maybe perhaps
would you consider what it would mean to maybe make
an investment in all of us as a show of
support that you know, Hey, you know you're my friend
enough that I will stay out of giving to anyone
else in this race. I want to put some money
(20:25):
behind you, and I'm going to do the same for
a couple of other people, right, So just creating off
ramps another off ramp might be okay. I understand that
five hundred is a lot of money. I know, God knows,
I work hard for every time that I that I
that I earn. I'm wondering, do you think it might
be possible to do one hundred or potentially commit to
(20:46):
one hundred and over a period of cycles, pay a
little bit toward that commitment, give them the opportunity to
respond to that. People don't like silence A lot of
unless you know somebody real well, a lot of folks
generally don't vibe well with quiet. We always feel the moment.
Use fundraising as an opportunity to not fill the moment
(21:09):
with your voice, your presence ought to be there, but
with silence, to give the other person the cue that
it's not time for them to respond to you. So
one way, again might be I can't meet that amount,
as a form of rejection. The other I'm sorry. The
form of rejection in this case is I've got a
bunch of people I know, and so the off ramp
(21:31):
you gave is can you give to all of us?
Another potential scenario might be that the amount is too high.
We work through that as part of this scenario with
the friends. In that case, again, you can do this
sort of step down, step off approach and then you know,
sometimes the opportunity presents itself as as a chance to
(21:51):
make your case and to make it very directly and
strongly for why a person ought to be behind you,
or be with you or give to you. And that's
the instance where the potential donor says, you know, I'm
still sort of taking my time and I'm waiting to
see what's gonna happen there. I'll get involved at some point,
(22:13):
but you know, right now, we're just sort of observing
the field again with the spirit of never ever taking
no or the or the response that you don't want
as the ultimate response. Convince yourself that there is always
a way too. Yes, there is always a way too. Yes,
it's just our jobs as those who are going out
(22:34):
to try to raise these resources for a cause or
for candidate, to be creative enough and confident enough in
ourselves and moreover, confident enough in the work that we
are raising for. If it's a mission, you know, have
that thing in your spirit and your soul. It'll power
you through a day of seven hours of phone calls.
(22:55):
And every answer is no, right, as the example I gave.
But but but you out of feel strongly enough about
the thing you're raising four that you'll be willing to
go the extra step of being creative to help facilitate
somebody getting to the answer. Yes, I want to invite
Lolo in our sister Lo Lo and Lolo. I'd love
(23:17):
to if you're able to join. I love if you're
able to monitor whether there are any questions or anything
like that, or if in the in the course of
listening here I'm assuming you was listening, uh, and the
course of listening here that maybe there's some angles here
that I didn't go down that you think in the
few moments we have remaining are worthwhile to do. What's up?
Speaker 4 (23:39):
Lo Lo Hio? We actually have some really good questions. Yeah,
we had a few. So I'm gonna start off with
the first one, and it is how do you create
a leader list organization? I think that this is not
very specific. We do have some that are specific to
the fundraising aspect, but I've seen this one. It was
one of the first ones, and it was like, how
(24:00):
do you create a leaderless organization? Also one that is
completely transparent?
Speaker 2 (24:06):
Oh? What what did you say before being completely transparent?
Speaker 4 (24:11):
I also also it's just also one that is completely transparent.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Right, that is without a leader, and that your intention
is not to to listen. This is actually a really
layered and complex question when you when you get at it.
We've been having, uh a native Lampard, a bit of
a conversation around who is our leader? You know, in circumstances,
who are we following? I don't feel like there's anybody
you know that kind of thing, And I sort of
like to introduce into the conversation that there are a
(24:37):
lot of models of organizations and even of governing bodies
that operate without a known leader, you know, a singular
known leader, I should say leadership exists, but a singular
known leader. And I'm actually an advocate for that. I
think we've we've gotten a little bit too Western in
our in our styles that we think we need a
(24:59):
person Donald Trump, a culture personality to follow. We don't.
And part of the way through that is one to believe,
is to get a sense of if everybody agrees that
we need to be individual you know, leader lists and
rather a counsel, that that that is an important decision
that must be bought into by the people who are
engaged and involved. Once you get beyond the buy in,
(25:22):
you could create a panel of individuals. You can create
rotating leadership that is not by volunteerism but by lot,
which is, if you're involved in this, just know one day,
when we roll the dice, you may be the one
who's up here leading. And that again requires a lot
of trust that people have the skill sets to do
(25:42):
what is required. But there are a lot of models
to do that, and I can't get through all of them,
but I wanted to at least share one example there.
Sorry about that, go ahead, that was good.
Speaker 4 (25:53):
I'm surprised that that was your answer.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Oh really you thought that. I'm actually I think people.
People are fallible, we're imperfect, and a lot of times
this sort of cultive and individual's personality weds us to
a lot of things that if we had our dreathers,
our choices, we wouldn't be wedded, you know, to those things.
And or it is when that person disappoints us, the
(26:17):
movement starts to come apart because they've made him priest
and pope and not person, or they've made her priest
and pope and not person. They're persons. And if everybody
understands that and is willing to ride like that, then cool.
But in other instances it might be helpful for people
to be to wedded to the cause, what is to
the thing that you're on, or not to an individual.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
Yeah. One of the other questions that we had is
how would you recommend building a donor list? Well, actually
a question I had about that too.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Okay, yeah, we didn't see. I didn't get to get
into lists building and that kind of thing, and especially
with individual candidates, but also organizationally, where does the information
come from? Especially if you've never raised money before? Right,
So here it is. This is the this is the
era of big information, big technology, big government, big everything.
You cannot purchase these lists from organizations. You can purchase
(27:13):
them from companies. These already made lists that exists in
the in the broader fundraising spectrum where people collect data
on everybody who's given to environmental organization X, the Sierra Club.
You can see everybody who's given to NAACP based off
of tax filings and that that sort of thing. But
(27:33):
the information gets cold for you, and all you got
to do is go through and you say, oh, man,
if they gave to Jesse Jackson Jr. They might be
the kind of donor who would be interested in giving
to me if they gave to Kamala Harris southern California
and also to Corey Booker and also to redmend Warnock.
It seems to me this might be the type of
person who likes to give to individuals who are people
(27:57):
of color, who are not usually elected to these large
bodies of government, and that makes a good donor. But
you're fundraising person, or you if you're the person and
you don't have that, can, of course search where you
can purchase these lists and make that decision. I will
tell you in the race for governor, initially that thing
began with whoever I had in my cell phone or
(28:20):
an email I had an addressed for. But the friends
and family network was the first ask that I made,
and it is the most important ass you can make,
and one that will largely power you up until the
point that you've got to broaden out and expand the
amount of money that you're raising. But those lists exist,
they can be bought, and you can then across the
(28:42):
set of criteria determine who are the best fits for
you and either make those phone calls, send those emails,
or put them on your mail program where they would
give the money themselves directly.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
Okay, Andrew, I'm gonna ask one more question. I know
we have more, but I think some of your answers
is kind of like answering some of the other ones.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
Got it?
Speaker 1 (29:10):
So someone no, it's done.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
This is actually.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
But so Kaiya says, how do you assage people's new
fear of retaliation? So she said, I'm finding that during
phone banking and VA lately that people are becoming more
hesitant to even rebuild their political views over the phone.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Oh so true, or period where that information can then
be tracked back to them. Right, And this is the
this is the real chilling effect and lasting effect of
what Trump is is demonstrating at the federal level that
if you cross me, Harvard University, I'm taking all fifty
million away. If Individual X decides to sue me, I'm
(29:59):
going out to your sister, your brother, your cousin, and them,
and all of them are going to have problems with ice,
right and bless the court that can force me to
bring them back right after I've sent them away. So
there is this real legitimate fear because it's not just
at the federal level. Conservatives and Trumpers all around the
country are taking note, and in places where they have
(30:21):
the ability, they're trying to extract the exact same kind
of penalties that he's illustrating at the federal level that
you can do and get away with. So I would
say one is really hard to completely cover the fears
of someone who is afraid of being docksed or being
come after if they give. I'm guessing if you're calling
(30:46):
from a list of other people you know or people
who you don't know but have demonstrated a record of
giving before, they will already have an appetite to push
through because they would be more accustomed to it. Anyway.
Not knowing your specific situation and your proximity to Washington,
d C. Being in Virginia probably makes this more pronounced
for you, given the number of employees who are federal
(31:08):
workers and also reside in Virginia. So I want to
acknowledge the the the adjacency issue that you got, why
that feels more pronounced for you than not generally. I
think people will get over that fear with a little
bit of you realize that you know, they're probably not
(31:31):
looking at this list at our level, or they're you know,
this is that And the third and obviously I would
never ask you to do anything that will put you
personally in harm's way. And if you feel strongly enough
that showing your support for me and this race could
could make you available to personal attack from the government
or retribution, I don't want to put you in that position.
(31:52):
That's your first answer is you don't want to go there.
Large people. My guess is the majority will say, you
know it was put well, I'm not afraid enough of
you and giving to you that people are gonna come
after me. I think I can get over that now,
I'll give I think the majority respondents are probably gonna
be that way. Then they would Yeah, it's just too
(32:14):
rough right now, little person that I am, that everybody's
tracking me, right, but in some places it's really real,
and retribution is real. They're gonna do what they're gonna do.
I would make the effort to first say what you
really mean, which is your intention is not to get
anybody in trouble. And if that cause is that big
a concern for you, I'm not going to ask you
to give to me. But in most cases I think
(32:35):
they will if it persists as an issue and this
is a big enough donor. You also have the option
of directing them to give to an organization that isn't
supportive you, or to an organization or an arm of
a fundraising organization that you may have access to where
their information is protected. And for those of y'all who
(32:57):
are screaming right now, I know I am talking about
five twenty Evans and those kinds of political organizations that
conceal the giving of their donors. It is a weapon
that the other side uses. And I'm just not a
been a big fan of unilaterally disarming and allowing folks
to come at me with everything they have, with my
hands tapped behind my back. It's not an option.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 4 (33:19):
Well, Andrew, this is really good. It's up to you
because I know, I know Nick is probably like y'all
over time.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
I know, I know, I know we gotta wrap.
Speaker 4 (33:28):
But I there was like one question that we just
got and I found it was a really good question.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Please okay, Well.
Speaker 4 (33:34):
Nick says we did, so we we will do one
more question. How do you counsel yourself to not take
the nose personally, especially if it comes from personal contacts,
not typical donors.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
So tough it is as a head fake. I'm gonna
admit that straight up. I've I live in a government town,
and so a lot of people who I know personally
have personal relationships with me, with with Jay, with our
family work either in the government or adjacent to it,
or our friends with people who are who are political,
(34:07):
and so I'm accustomed to the kind of response of
you know, oh I wish I could, but I you know,
so on and so forth. The way I sort of
mind trick myself is to basically remind myself it ain't
personal for those individuals. It is personal for me. I
wouldn't put myself out there if I didn't feel you know,
if I didn't feel it. But I realize that everyone
does not have the freedom I want to underline that
(34:29):
word freedom to move the way they want to move,
that if they had their drethers, they would move. Everybody's
not free. In fact, the overwhelming majority of us are
not free. We're tethered to something that causes us to
have to question a thing when the going gets tough,
and so know that they're not trying to put you off,
(34:53):
but are frankly, they're they're tending to their home needs,
their personal needs, eat first, and I don't think any
of us could reasonably expect people not to. Now, I
will also say that there are some folks who are
maybe not friends, wouldn't do this to you, but are
associates who might reach for that excuse. Even in that
(35:16):
excuse frankly doesn't apply very neatly to their situation. And
if you know that, you can go the approach of
navigating another set of asks that can get them to yes,
a lower ask, a different amount, a different way or instrument,
or or whether or not you want to trade that,
ask them ount for time or talent. Those folks, I
(35:40):
would probably say, create another, create at another option for
them to be supportive. But people who you legit believe
are conflicted right that way, don't take it personal. It happens,
and you just got to keep moving. God knows those
days that were seven hours long, and I couldn't no
matter how good the conversation went, how many times they
(36:02):
agreed with me, and by agreeing with me was basically
disagreeing with the person who they were going to be
giving to or had given to, because that person didn't
believe like I did. Those are really difficult days. Those
are difficult calls, and those are difficult moments, but if
I allowed myself to be tripped up on it, I
(36:24):
would have been, you know, half the mount effective in
future calls, because the thing about these calls is your
confidence needs to be intact, whether that is the confidence
around the movement you're raising for, or confidence around yourself
as a candidate or on behalf of the candidate. Your
confidence is what's going to power you through that call,
(36:44):
and your confidence is what's going to give you all
those options that come to mind as another way for
the person to contribute or to give. But if you're down,
you might hear that no, and you'll be like, I understand,
I really appreciate you taking my call and taking up
thirty minutes of my time and then not giving I
really do I'm being fasticious.
Speaker 4 (37:04):
I was about to say, but the way you're say
it is so like I'm like, I'm taking notes, like
I'm going to do this next time.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Oh god, all thirty minutes, because we could have covered
this at moment one.
Speaker 4 (37:18):
You knew I was thirty seconds. He It's like, you
know what, I would stopping there?
Speaker 2 (37:23):
Oh that before you go on, I just want to
say I'm behind such and such in this race, I
can we can get through that. But thirty minutes.
Speaker 4 (37:32):
And you know what's so funny, Andrew, real quick while
we're ending this. A lot of people don't know this,
but in my previous life, I had started an organization.
It's actually still around. I've been around for about six
years now, and I had to do fundraising in the organization,
and so a lot of the stuff that you're talking about,
I'm like, oh, I remember.
Speaker 2 (37:52):
Those days, I'm telling you, or true.
Speaker 4 (37:56):
Was event or you know, just all of the things
that you have to do. But you can't take that
stuff personal. And even people. Somebody told me that people
who know you personally usually are sometimes the last people
to come around sometimes.
Speaker 2 (38:13):
Yeah, and now that's gonna be another conversation. And the
general donors we're talking about, but we gonna have a
conversation those those longtime friends, associates, family members. I definitely
got some messed up cousins still waiting for that check
by the way, anyway, But who, yeah, you know folks
who who, As the saying goes, I'll say this lo Loo.
(38:37):
The saying is it's hard to be a prophet in
your own land, which is you're preaching the same thing
at home that you're out there preaching on the road.
But it seems like the people on the road can
hear what you're saying, you know, and and credit you
for the gift you got, But at home you just
a little you know, use, just another you know whatever.
(38:57):
So it's hard to be a profit in your own land,
and fundraising can be that way. Sometimes people are slow
to give until they see that others are willing to
do the same without relationship to you.
Speaker 4 (39:06):
Yeah, well, thank you. I just want to say this
because I know we actually are starting to get more
questions in like, people are really interested in this topic,
but we're not gonna look, we're gonna leg productions.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
Well, you know, a Phase two possibly might be how
we deal more specifically in the organizational side, some of
the technocratic kinds of things that go into getting yourself
ready for fundraising, because there are some things that I
just really skipped over out of the interest of trying
to be brief here, But fundraising is something you must
(39:38):
master if you're going to be in this space for yourself,
as a candidate or for a cause. You want to
master that.
Speaker 4 (39:45):
So what I will say for the immediate people who
are watching this. If you all have a specific question
and you want to continue this conversation, I'm going to
give you a soft plug. If you are not following
us on Instagram, go to our instagram at Native Land
Pie and if you record a quick like sixty second
video it could be less than that. Try not to
(40:07):
make it more than ninety seconds and send it to
us in our DMS. We like to include those questions
on the regular show, so this could be an and
conversation for the regular show. I see that there were
some questions. I'm like, oh, that was really good, Like
Meek asked a question. Please submit that question to us
(40:28):
on our Instagram. But you have some party words, Andrew do.
Speaker 2 (40:31):
Y'all see what Lolo just did. Y'all just got co opted.
She's not taking no for an answer. It is just
because we can't do it now. There are other ways
in which you can do it. But she tried to
co opt you into a video for the main show
that record each week. But please do that. But also
if you want to communicate those questions in this chat,
we'll capture them and in the future episodes, maybe what
(40:52):
we'll do is just start at the questions and if
there's time remaining, then make a pitch on one of
the points around organizing and raising love it and my
sign off is you gotta go with a money reside.
What a money reside? Where the money reside? Give me
that money that dough do?
Speaker 4 (41:12):
All right, two weeks from now, meet us next, not
the next monday, but the Monday after that.
Speaker 2 (41:17):
That's it, So y'all soon, and welcome home.
Speaker 3 (41:20):
Y'all, Welcome home, What on moneys I? What on moneys
I Money?
Speaker 1 (41:40):
Native Land Pod is a production of iHeartRadio and partnership
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Hosts And Creators
Tiffany Cross
Andrew Gillum
Angela Rye
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