WHY FRIENDS FOR KAMALA

1. Create a WhatsApp* group chat. Select the Chats tab and hit the + or the square with the pen in it. Select “New group.”

2. Add your friends. Click the checkbox for everyone who might like participating and likely isn’t MAGA. When finished, hit “Next.” Then name it. Something like “[your first name]’s Friends for Kamala" and hit “Create.”

3. Pin a welcome message. Copy/paste/personalize one of the messages below into a post to the group to share the critical DNA necessary for these chat groups to spread. Pin it: long press the welcome message (mobile) or hover the welcome message and use the dropdown (desktop).

4. Invite other friends. For friends you didn’t find on WhatsApp, you can grab your group link and send it in an email/DM/SMS invite. Tip: individually ask a few friends to commit to the participation suggestions in your group so it starts with momentum.

5. Join the Group Hosts chat to find and share useful posts. Register your group to get updates by email and to help us count new volunteers.

*You can use a different messenger app if most of your friends are someplace else. Just make sure it handles group chats well.

SHORT PINNED MESSAGE

Hello my friends!

I’m writing to you with a simple idea and request. Let’s get connected for the next several weeks and coordinate our efforts to elect Kamala Harris convincingly.

Did you know that the next president will probably be determined by the number of volunteers we can mobilize in a few key states?

Obama ‘08 had two million volunteers, while the Harris-Walz campaign currently has only 400k (they got a much later start). Together we can close this gap.

Friends for Kamala is a national effort to *mobilize our close friends – to mobilize their close friends* – to volunteer for Kamala Harris together from wherever we live.

*Even if you’re already volunteering, chances are high that you have many friends who want to but aren’t yet.* By creating our own, private “Friends for Kamala” chat groups, we can engage our people as well as fundraise for the most effective voter turnout efforts (instead of the ones who just bombard our inboxes).

Regular strategic volunteering/donating updates will be shared with Friends for Kamala group leaders.

Will you give it a try with me? If so, do the following in the next 10 minutes:

1. Donate $20 to the Movement Voter Project (our first support target) https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fundtheroots

2. Create your own Friends for Kamala group chat. https://fiftyfreedoms.org/friends-for-Kamala

Then, respond to this message that you’ve done so, or just say hi!

Let’s mobilize!
[your name here!]

*It might feel scary to get political with your friends and that’s totally normal. But you are literally the best person to engage your friends and that’s the way we’re gonna win – and if they aren’t interested they can simply opt out.

Dear friends!

I'm inviting you to participate in this chat group as a grassroots way to defeat Trump and elect Harris and a full-on democracy ticket in November; it will also be a fun way to share the election season together.

Forget the polls and the vibes—the winners will be determined by volunteer efforts in a few key states. *The gold standard of presidential campaigns—Obama ‘08—had two million volunteers. The Harris campaign most recently reports having just 400,000.* Even if you’re already volunteering, chances are high that you have many friends who want to but aren’t yet (less than 1% of Americans are).

And, while the Harris campaign is brimming with cash, *the critical grassroots groups that are best equipped to reach infrequent voters are $200 million short* (in an election where $10 billion will be spent).

We can close these gaps.

All over the country, people are starting Friends for Kamala groups to *mobilize our close friends – to mobilize their close friends — to discuss the election with our close people* and learn the *best ways to donate and volunteer together.* Each week, the lead organizers share a real-time strategy for highest-leverage volunteering and donating.

Here’s how we quickly reach Obama-level numbers and peak donation impact:

1. Create your own group in a few minutes, add your friends. Here’s how: https://fiftyfreedoms.org/friends-for-kamala

2. Donate $20 to the (super high impact) Movement Voter Project. Donation link: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fundtheroots

Then report back here on what you’ve done! You can copy your favorite posts into your group from this group and the Group Leaders Chat: https://chat.whatsapp.com/KJBOP4uRwGNFDE6pCRLIRe and vice versa. You’ll always have a ready supply of great content!

Here’s an example of what will be shared to group leaders: stories about where funding is most helpful right now, the differences in where volunteer hours help the most in September vs. October, great memes about the debate, benefits of organizing with your friends, signs that a group makes the most of your time, how to be more persuasive with friends and strangers, invitations to get on a Fifty Freedoms / Friends for Kamala welcome call…

You might feel a little sheepish starting a politics-related chat and adding your friends to it—that’s totally normal. But we need to get people engaged and show them tangible actions they can take; you are literally the best person for engaging YOUR FRIENDS. (And, friends can quietly exit the group with two clicks, no biggie!)

This is a race to the democracy goal line. When you and others create your own 10 to 200+ person group within a day of getting invited to one, we’ll quickly reach millions of folks who can become smarter donors and volunteers in these next critical weeks.

Chat Group Guidelines

This is a pro-Harris-Walz joint. It’s for friendly talk about how to win and support each other in taking meaningful action. Votes aren’t valentines, they’re strategy: what we’re organizing for here is the future of our democracy and the ability to be able to influence it post-election to get the world we want. I don’t and we obviously aren’t all going to agree with the VP on everything. If you aren’t completely aligned with the candidates, that’s ok, you’re welcome here, just please don’t make arguments for another ticket or make this into a policy debate space. The Internets are full of places to do that!

Be kind, CONSTRUCTIVE, funny, friendly, loving, intelligible, thoughtful, respectful, CURIOUS, gracious—you know, the good things!

No offense taken if you want to remove yourself for any reason. I love you anyway!

- [your name here!]

PS - Not so hot on Kamala Harris? This still might be for you.

Some of my friends value most of the same things I do and yet don’t support Harris or Democrats generally right now. I get it. I know the two-party system has failed us in so many ways. Even as I’ve identified as an Independent, I’ve also always felt kinship with most of the stuff the Democrats put in their party platform. The tricky part is passing that platform into law. Fantasy: “we’re going to elect perfect candidates and then get what we want.” Reality: “we’re going to elect flawed candidates and only get what we want when we apply pressure afterwards.”

Two more things: (1) none of my friends who criticize Harris has shared a more likely path for getting what we want (whether it’s climate action, peace in the Middle East, lowering housing costs, addressing the mental health crisis, abortion rights, etc); (2) nearly every justice-oriented organization and leader that I’m aware of supports the Harris campaign. Not because they drank the party-line Kool-Aid but because after spending decades fighting for the people and planet, they know the path to freedom goes through unforgiving terrain and that Democrats generally are far and away our most likely allies.

I believe in the Harris-Walz campaign because it represents a plausible path to a better world.

Want to add a friend to this group?

Feel free to add anyone to this chat, the more the merrier! But here’s a better idea: make a new chat with all of your friends! It will be fun for all of them to get to interact, you’ll generate more juice, and you can cross-pollinate the best memes. It only takes minutes to create a chat group on WhatsApp or the platform of your choice, it will bring you joy for months (or years) to come, and it doesn’t take any special skills.

You in? Let’s go! Create your own group in a few minutes right now: https://fiftyfreedoms.org/friends-for-kamala

LONG PINNED MESSAGE