Here's how it works. Any citizen can contribute up to $50 per calendar year to a small donor committee. The committee may then make contributions to local and state candidates at higher contribution limits than may any one person. For example, for this year we can give $2125 to a state senate or state house candidate.
To whom are we doling out the moolah? That's yet to be determined but candidates will be asked to demonstrate that they hold our same set of beliefs:
Economic Justice: Prosperity should be accessible to everyone, not merely the few.
Civil Rights: Every individual's civil rights must be protected; discrimination and harassment based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or physical and developmental ability should be banned.
Health Care: Every individual should have affordable, quality health care.
Education: It is essential that we invest in quality public education for all.
Environment: We must commit to restoring and protecting our environment. In addition, our new energy economy must favor less and non-polluting energy production instead of 19th century technology.
Reproductive Freedom: Women and men - not politicians - deserve the right to make personal decisions about their reproductive health in accordance with their own personal and moral beliefs.
Immigration: We must reform our immigration laws in a way that recognizes the economic contributions and basic human rights of all immigrants, regardless of legal status, and oppose punitive or "enforcement only" approaches to immigration control.
Netroots: Grassroots activism on the internet (thus, netroots) should be encouraged. Citizen participation in politics on the internet only makes our democracy stronger.
Candidates to be considered should submit in writing how they intend to uphold these progressive beliefs. Their voting records will also be taken into consideration if applicable. For those interested in applying, we encourage you to post your response on SquareState.net to maintain an open dialog with the netroots.
Our banking is done through Elevations Credit Union (formerly CU credit union). Because a government of, by, and for the people of Colorado sounds like a good idea for banking as well.
ActBlue was generous enough to setup the website, while the funds go through a separate merchant account as required by Colorado law.
Counting reported donations, donations from this cycle both online and by mail, we've already raised over $600.
Want to help more progressives get elected in Colorado? Contribute here. Or if you prefer the old fashioned way, send your check with a note stating your full name, address, occupation, and employer for reporting purposes to:
SquareState Small Donor Committee
P.O. Box 12511
Denver, CO 80212
The development of this SDC was not a singular effort. For those of you who helped make this possible, a thousand thank yous. Two organizations that deserve a shout out include of course ActBlue who many already know and trust. Thanks as well go to Progressive Majority who agreed to let us borrow heavily from their statements of belief.
And, once you've maxed out for state and local candidates, you can also donate to federal races with SquareState. I've created a separate ActBlue page, Squarestate is blue, make it Act Blue to support Congresspeople Degette (C0-01), Perlmutter (CO-07), Udall (CO-02, running for Senate), and CO-04 candidate Betsy Markey. I've also created my own page to support CO-02 candidate Jared Polis.
Cross Posted at SquareState.
