What is Involver
INVOLVER is an alliance of independent organizations, venues and artists who are pissed off about the state of our country and are facilitating a new political movement with two solutions: 1. Convincing our generation that we have to get involved in politics in order to fix the big problems. 2. Offering ways to take action that will make the country work for us. We can just get pissed, or we can get involved.
The Involver message is simple: You Can Just Get Pissed, or You Can Get Involved. It's up to us to make it happen and we know what this country needs:
- No more secrets; we can handle the truth.
- Listen to people before corporate lobbyists.
- Be a world leader, not a world bully.
- Build a society that works for everyone.
If you agree to what this alliance is all about and our message, and you want to be a part of Involver and list your events here:
You can download the technology here to have a great events calendar that will automatically feed into the Involver calendar. Anyone who would like their events to be a part of our Involver community can do it themselves with this Free and Open Source technology.
Who's Joined the Alliance?
A number of groups are participating in our loose affiliation, to dramatically increase youth voter turnout in November 2004; to ensure the role of youth in the 2004 elections is taken seriously by Washington DC and the Press; to turn individuals into activists and activists into organizers.
Together we are building a core of more than 10,000 volunteers trained and organized to mobilize in swing states and a lasting alliance, increasing participation in Involver organizations that is maintained years beyond this election.
BILLIONAIRES FOR BUSH
Billionaires for Bush is a grassroots media campaign that is changing voters' minds in swing districts. We're using humor, street theater, and the media to flush out the truth about the Bush administration's disastrous economic policies. We are headquartered in New York City. Our field campaign is strategically focused on the 19 battleground states — 5 in particular (Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Florida) — and we've grown our network from 2 chapters to 50 in the last several months. Our field organization is bird-dogging Bush and Cheney across the country. Soon they won't be able to make a speech, or hold a fundraising dinner, without finding themselves sharing the spotlight with a contingent of Billionaires in tuxedos and evening gowns, thanking them for being the best friends we Billionaires have ever had in Washington.
Marco
(Monet Oliver d'Place)
monet@musicforamerica.org
(201) 709-7550
THE COMMITTEE TO REDEFEAT THE PRESIDENT
ReDefeatBush.com is a political action committee whose goal is to register one million new Democratic voters in swing states. We organize weekly Calling Crews across the country at which metro-area volunteers register voters in battleground states by telephone, following up with personal notes. We make our calls to unregistered unmarried women, a demographic highly likely to vote Democratic. ReDefeatBush makes it easy for volunteers by providing a predictable meeting place that offers food and drink, a cell phone, and all the paperwork they need. Most of our funding comes through sales of our merchandise bearing the ReDefeatBush logo.
Anne Singer
Director of Communications
anne@redefeatbush.com
(202) 271-4679
DRIVING VOTES
Driving Votes is a grassroots organization that helps people plan trips to battleground swing states to register voters to beat Bush. Our website makes it simple for anyone to take a swing-state road trip to register new voters. Driving Votes volunteers across the country work directly with the most effective local organizations to register voters in under-represented neighborhoods. To learn more about Driving Votes, visit www.drivingvotes.org
(206) 920-6320
GREENE DRAGON
Greene Dragon is a media and street theater campaign celebrating the American Revolution 2004, a fun and freewheeling independence movement from President-Select George II and his corporate monarchy. Wearing outrageous colonial uniforms, we are recreating America's mythic birth to take back our government from the special interests, bringing it to the people. Events include a July 4th Declaration of Independence (High noon, 26 Wall St.), a Paul Revere's ride warning Manhattan "The Republicans are coming!," a historic "crossing of New York Harbor" to liberate New York during the RNC, Valley Forge voter drives and more.
General Jonny America
jonnyamerica@greenedragon.org
(347) 210-3892
THE KNITTING FACTORY
The Knitting Factory has been an integral part of the cultural fabric of New York City since 1987, providing a voice and platform for the development of alternative music of all genres. The Knitting Factory has produced some of the most revered festivals in New York, particularly the annual "What is Jazz?" series that for 10 years was widely acclaimed as the premier jazz festival in the city. Knitting Factory remains active throughout the year, with a commitment to voter-registration at its venues in New York and Los Angeles.
For Booking Contact:
Yalan Papillons
(212) 219-3006 ext. 430
LEAGUE OF PISSED OFF VOTERS
The League of PISSED OFF Voters is doing national voter organizing out of New York City. Our mission is to engage pissed off 17-35 year olds in the democratic process to build a progressive governing majority in our lifetime. From brunches and book clubs in your living room to coalition-building across communities, the League is building a long- term progressive power base, by engaging the resources and social networks of young people, and providing them with the training they need to become effective voter organizers. With a commitment to open dialogue, diversity, and cross-pollination, local League organizers are forming voter blocs in key swing districts, endorsing candidates on progressive slates, and building political power that could swing many close elections.
Naina Khanna
naina@indyvoter.org
(212) 283-8879
MUSIC FOR AMERICA
Music for America is a partisan, political nonprofit getting 1 million new progressive voters to participate in the 2004 elections. Through live concerts and an interactive website, we are connecting culture and politics, exposing political hypocrisies, and igniting a grassroots movement. We see the country heading in the wrong direction; our generation has the most at stake, and as long as we remain spectators, nothing will change. MfA successfully facilitated a “Party & Politics” concert series before Super Tuesday -- the largest primary day of the year -- involving 65 events in 10 states. MfA currently registers, educates, and motivates voters at an average of 100 events per month.
Franz Hartl
Franz@musicforamerica.org
(718) 349-9700
NEW DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY
New Democratic Majority is a New York-based grassroots organization growing out of the energy and activism of the 2004 Democratic primary campaign. With over 15,000 network members and counting, we actively support socially aware and fiscally responsible candidates by conducting voter education campaigns, encouraging civic participation, and training new activists to build the progressive movement for the long term. Building on our great Democratic heritage, we are committed to policies that promote the long-term stability of our country: universal healthcare, quality public education, fair taxes and wages, corporate responsibility, civil rights, environmental protection, effective national defense and a multilateral foreign policy.
Margaret Biedel
Communications Director
mediacontact@newdemmajority.org
(917) 324-3037
STUDENTS FOR A SENSIBLE DRUG POLICY
Students for Sensible Drug Policy is a national organization with more than one hundred high school, college and graduate chapters across the country. SSDP promotes an open, honest, and inclusive dialogue on alternatives to current drug policies. Our work concentrates on policies that impact youth and the traditionally underrepresented. SSDP is well known for leading the student movement to repeal the Higher Education Act Drug Provision. SSDP advocates a drug policy that protects the freedom, safety and health of all Americans.
202.293.4414
ssdp@ssdp.org
SWING STATE SUMMER BREAK
Swing State Summer Break (SSSB) is an ultra-convenient, 100% volunteer-operated program for people of all ages, everywhere. People around the country simply "donate time" between now and election day and indicate which states they'd be interested/able to work in, and we do the work of connecting them with the right people, find them housing, and help them get to a nearby swing state and back. Whether you live in a swing state or not, we make the process of getting involved painless.
Sharif Corinaldi
National Coordinator
sharif@anattempt.org
(646)286-0670
THAW: THEATERS AGAINST WAR
THAW is an international network of theater artists responding to the United States' ongoing "War on Terror", aggressive and unilateral foreign policies, and escalating attacks on civil liberties in the US and throughout the world.
thawaction@yahoo.com
(212) 615-6964
21ST CENTURY DEMS
21st Century Democrats builds the Democratic farm team by electing progressive candidates to all levels of government. Thay're grassroots leaders—nobody knows field organizing like they do. They work in every corner of the nation, training thousands of activists to make the difference for progressive campaigns. Bottom line: their on the ground, door-to-door support wins elections. Founded to give progressive and populist candidates the support they need to win elections, 21st Century Democrats has grown to become one of the largest political action committees in the nation. They combine a commitment to progressive values with extensive grassroots organizing experience, bringing together two critical components of Democratic success.
1311 L Street, N.W. Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005
ph: (202) 626-5620
fax: (202) 347-0956
(212) 615-6964