Subject: A tap on the shoulder
From: Barack Obama <[email-masked]>
To: John Podesta <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 2 Jun 2011 08:40:22 -0400

John --

I need you to tap someone on the shoulder today.
 
You don't know anything about them. Neither do I, except that they haven't been as involved in this campaign as you have -- yet. 
 
But it's time. You've gotten things started, but in order to grow this campaign more people need to take ownership of it. 
 
You can give someone a tap on the shoulder by promising to match their $25 donation. You'll be letting them know how urgent it is for them to make their first donation to the 2012 campaign, and you'll double their impact when they do.

Will you?
 
https://donate.barackobama.com/2011-Grassroots-Pledge1
 
We're not just gathering donations here. We're gathering people.
 
You have the ability to reach out to someone who isn't yet invested in this campaign and say, "Hey -- we've got to get started."
 
Our campaign will not take money from Washington lobbyists or special-interest PACs. You're going to build this 2012 campaign by bringing in more people who share our values. We'll ask them to find a few more. Those people will find a few more -- and after a few million person-to-person connections, we'll have built a grassroots campaign that can change the outcome of an election and change the course of this country. 
 
That's the spirit that drives us. 
 
It all starts with a tap on the shoulder, and your willingness to match someone's commitment. Give it a try:
 
https://donate.barackobama.com/2011-Grassroots-Pledge1
 
Thank you,
 
Barack 

If you missed Jim Messina's message yesterday, keep reading for instructions on how to make a matching donation.

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From: Jim Messina, BarackObama.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Subject: This is actually pretty cool

Friend --

I'm spending this week outlining goals and setting up a structure to methodically grow the base of people who own a piece of this campaign.

You've already made a donation in these early days, when your dollars will go farthest to help us grow our staff and infrastructure, and I thank you for that.

But there are millions of other supporters who haven't yet pitched in to help get our organization-building off to a strong start. We need to start tackling that in a big way this week, and keep at it for the rest of June.

Here's how you can help: by promising to match someone's first donation to the campaign.

It's actually pretty cool -- you'll get to leave a note for a new donor, encouraging them to give, and once someone takes you up on your promise, you'll be able to see their name and town and even exchange messages.

It doesn't matter how much you're able to give -- we'll find someone to match that exact amount, doubling your impact.

Make a pledge of $25 or more to help bring in a new donor now:

https://donate.barackobama.com/2011-Grassroots-Pledge1

From the start of President Obama's 2008 campaign, this operation has viewed fundraising as part of a larger organizing mission. If you can inspire someone to make their first donation, you'll help them take a crucial step in their relationship with the campaign.

The person you motivate to take that step and own a piece of this organization becomes more likely to volunteer their time, engage their friends, become leaders in their community -- and eventually inspire a few new donors of their own.

It's a smart way to build a grassroots campaign, and it's also the right way to do politics. Taking money from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs is the easy path -- and every single one of our prospective opponents are racing down it.

That's not the kind of race we want to run. I know there are easier ways to fund a presidential campaign than getting a whole lot of people to give five dollars or more. But it's an explicit rejection of the money-for-influence game that paralyzes our politics.

So while other campaigns boast about raising tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, we're focusing on a different kind of mission: to get as many people as possible to give, as early as possible.

You and the others who have given to the campaign since the launch less than two months ago are in a unique position to help.

In a few hours I'm sending a note to supporters who haven't given yet, telling them some of our most committed people are ready to double the impact of their first donation.

I'd like for you to be one of those people. Promise to match someone's first donation to this campaign:

https://donate.barackobama.com/2011-Grassroots-Pledge1

Thanks,

Messina

Jim Messina
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

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