2024 Impact Report

A message to our community from Laura Pearl, Flip the Vote Executive Director

Since our founding, Flip the Vote has built a community dedicated to creating a more just, equitable, and inclusive democracy. Collectively, we have raised over $19 million in the last four years to fund trusted grassroots voter mobilization groups in swing states. Despite our collective best efforts, we suffered huge national setbacks in this last election that have crushing implications, especially for the most vulnerable among us. But our contributions staved off worse outcomes in the House and Senate and also paid off in significant state and local victories. The election results only strengthen our commitment to winning at the ballot box and bolstering democracy from the ground up.

In this report, we share what we accomplished with you and our grassroots partner groups in 2023-24 and give a preview of how we will tackle the hard work we have ahead of us.

While we suffered devastating losses in 2024, our work made a difference.

We achieved our engagement and fundraising goals. Flip the Vote gave thousands of people a way to cultivate community and take meaningful action together leading up to the 2024 election. Thanks to our hundreds of hosts and thousands of donors, we organized over 300 parties and events and raised over $9 million for our partner groups in the 2023-24 election cycle.

Grassroots organizing remains a linchpin of democracy. Our partners’ work is about building democracy from the ground up through active civic participation by those the government is meant to serve. The grassroots organizing that Flip the Vote supported saved us from far worse losses in 2024. The political power we continue to grow, in partnership with our grassroots partners, will be critical to winning in 2025, 2026, and beyond.

Despite our evident losses, we secured significant wins. Yes, we lost the presidency and the Senate and failed to flip the House. However, we saved four critical Senate seats and won numerous House races that left Republicans with the slimmest of majorities. We also won many critical down-ballot races in all of our target states, all the more important now that states and localities must serve as the bulwarks of democratic rights and values.

Fundraising and engagement

Together, our Flip the Vote community raised over $9 million from 9,820 donors to fund the crucial work of our grassroots partner groups.

We encourage people to treat political giving as an investment in the future of our democracy and activate their own networks to do the same. In 2023-24, we asked our donors to think big and they delivered. We raised money for our partner groups in three main ways:

  1. We helped over 700 hosts galvanize their friends through 321 house parties that raised a total of $4.7M. Over 12,000 guests attended our parties, and of those who did, over half donated, demonstrating the power of our strategic approach.

  2. One new approach we had for this election cycle was the creation of a $2.7M match fund from generous individual donors. This fund was used to match donations from our house parties.

  3. Finally, we created tools for people to spread the word about Flip the Vote’s recommendations through email and social media campaigns. We raised $1.6M from donors who were inspired by this outreach or word of mouth.

House party multiplier effect

Here is a real-life example of how much money a person can generate through just one house party. This host, who had his party in March 2024, was able to raise $26,929 and recruit three new hosts. These three people raised a total of $29,991 and recruited six new hosts. These six people raised a total of $145,085 at their parties, for a total fundraising impact of $202,005!

Grassroots partners

The funds we raised enabled our trusted grassroots partner groups to empower their own communities to stand up for democracy.

Flip the Vote makes strategic recommendations, based on diligent research, about where and how to make political donations that will have the biggest impact. This election cycle we focused on the most critical elections by directing funds to 12 carefully-selected grassroots groups in nine states.

Our partner groups worked throughout the 2023-24 election cycle in their local communities to engage people who have been neglected by the political process. By forming trusting relationships, these groups combatted misinformation and inspired community members to get politically involved. They also battled voter suppression by disseminating information about changes in registration and voting rules. 

Angela Lang, Executive Director of BLOC, discusses the importance of power building

Electoral outcomes

Our partner groups helped achieve important electoral wins in the face of a national rightward shift.

Grassroots organizing helped secure important electoral victories in our target states thanks to locally focused, person-to-person voter engagement and mobilization. We protected four Democratic Senate seats and prevented any House seats in swing states from flipping red, leaving Republicans with the smallest House majority in modern history. State-level wins included electing pro-democracy supreme court judges, passing three ballot measures protecting abortion rights, and breaking three GOP legislative supermajorities.

Minimizing the rightward shift

Organizing efforts in purple states minimized the rightward shift seen nationally. Compared to the 2020 election, the popular vote in 2024 swung 6 points in Trump’s favor nationally but only 3.5 points in the seven purple states.

The local impact of this organizing is evident in a comparison of Milwaukee in the purple state of Wisconsin with Chicago in the blue state of Illinois. These cities are similarly large and diverse, but Milwaukee experienced a huge Democratic organizing push, while Chicago received far less attention. Ultimately, Milwaukee County swung only 1.5 points toward Trump, while Cook County (where Chicago resides) swung 8.3 points in Trump’s direction.

Marcus Bass, Executive Director of Advance Carolina, explains how the work continues

What’s next

As we enter the first harrowing months of the Trump administration, our mission to build a more inclusive, equitable, and just American democracy feels all the more paramount.

To focus our collective energy where we can make an immediate impact, Flip the Vote recommends investing now in our Wisconsin grassroots partners, Black Leaders Organizing for Communities and Voces de la Frontera. The April 1 Wisconsin state Supreme Court election is an opportunity to build opposition power, protect important rights, and eliminate gerrymandered congressional districts that could make or break our ability to regain control of the House in 2026.

As of spring 2025, Flip the Vote’s staff and volunteer Advisory Board are engaging in an intensive period of data-gathering, reflection, and planning to hone our strategy moving forward in order to be maximally effective in meeting the gravity of the moment. We hope to broaden our community in the “off year” and encourage you to help us spread the word by sharing this report with your network and encouraging them to join our mailing list.

Gratitude

2023-24 Advisory Board

Flip the Vote’s dedicated volunteer Advisory Board in 2023-24 was our organizational engine, setting strategic direction and operating the working groups that implement all Flip the Vote activities.

  • Jacquie Anderson

  • Trisha Cruse

  • Elissa Gershon

  • Maria Giudice

  • Samantha Graff

  • Kim Haveson

  • John Ifcher

  • Daniela Matejkova

  • Carolyn Sherwood Call

  • Kathy Simon

  • Penni Takade

Cultivators

Our Cultivators (aka “super volunteers”) helped make everything possible by leading hundreds of house parties and providing behind-the-scenes tech, research, and communications support.

Adrienne C., Alex A., Alissa M., Andrea B., Anthony E., Avi R., Ben R., Cathy M., Claudio S., David B., Diana B., Erin L., Jill C., Jill M., Jill Y., John M., Josh A., Julia M., Justyn L., Kari N., Leah M., Lee S., Lena W., Leslie H., Mack R., Maya G., Rebecca R., Saira M., Sue P., Tenaya A., Valerie K., Victoria R.

Staff and Interns

Flip the Vote could not function without our mighty, multi-talented two-person staff, and we are grateful for the valuable strategic and operational support our interns provided this past cycle.

Laura Pearl, Executive Director

Avery Bluey, Donor Engagement Coordinator

Ethan Rhorer, Donor Engagement Intern

Ben Ross, Donor Engagement Intern

Hosts

Flip the Vote would not be who we are without the 702 house party hosts who graciously let us into your space and shared your network and resources.

Internal Donors

Flip the Vote is able to focus our house parties and other fundraising entirely on our partner groups because a few generous angel donors have stepped up to cover our own costs of operation. We are immensely grateful to these donors for allowing us to do this work, and we are proud to have provided them a substantial return on their investment given that our operating budget was equivalent to four percent of the amount we fundraised for our partner groups in 2023-24.