This New Year, letai??i??s be proud of what we did together in 2015!

1. Big Ideas Project:

Democrats lost the 2014 election because they lacked big ideas that inspire voters. So the Progressive Change Institute launched the Big Ideas Project, calling for a bold new agenda. PCCC members submitted their own ideas and voted on others, casting over one million votes.

Polling showed that big progressive ideasAi??are popular with Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike. These results were shared with dozens of members of Congress and presidential campaigns — leading to many high-profile endorsements of the big ideas submitted by PCCC members.

Historic first: TV ad for debt-free college

We organized events on campuses.

2. Debt-Free College Campaign:

One of the most popular ideas from the Big Ideas Project was debt-free college — the idea that students should be able to graduate from any public college or university without debt.

Thanks to your phone calls, letters to the editor, and nearly half-a-million petition signatures, as well as a strong lobbying effort and coalition of allies like Demos and Democracy for America,Ai??we now have over 100 congressional co-sponsors on a resolution calling for debt-free college! Plus all 3 Democratic presidential candidates have called for debt-free college, legislators in 10 states are planning their own local efforts, and TV ads are hitting the airwaves. By next year, there will be a major mandate in this …

Earlier this year, the PCCC announced a vital new piece of progressive infrastructure — a National Candidate Training that offered four days of cutting-edge training and networking opportunities.

FromAi??July 30 – August 2, two hundred candidates — local, state, and federal — converged in Washington, DC. You can see Time Magazine’s coverage of the event here.

Senator Elizabeth Warren kicked off the training with a keynote, and we heard from Congressional Progressive Caucus members and movement leaders. Attendees from across the country attended sessions to improve their finance game and media appearances, increase their local and national media exposure, hire top-notch (and progressive) talent, win key endorsements, motivate volunteers, find affordable polling, and more.

Our trainers included practitioners who lead their field — including Joel Silberman, the official media trainer for the Congressional Progressive Caucus. We also heard from senior members of Elizabeth Warren and Al Frankenai??i??s winning Senate campaigns.

The training will help progressives win more ai??i?? and help gain attention for the rising stars of the progressive movement.

The training is already proving successful, with a few of our graduates running (and winning!) in 2015 elections, including:

Mark Levine; VA House of Delegates, 45th District
Pat Davis; Albuquerque (NM) City Council, 6th District
David Doucette; Marlborough (MA) City Council, Ward 2
Joy Maloney; Loudoun County (VA) School Board, Broad Run District

For future training opportunities, we want to know about progressive superstars in your area.Ai??UseAi??this formAi??to nominate great candidates for the training program.

Letai??i??s say that youai??i??ve been invited to a social occasion like a wedding, bar mitzvah, or holiday shindig. How do you make the most of it as a candidate?

Make new connections. Make it a goal to meet 5-10 new people at every event. You never know who will become your next big campaign supporter!
Collect contact information from other guests. Casually exchange business cards, or write down email addresses and cell phone numbers in a small notebook. After every event, be sure to add the information to the ai???Contact Databaseai??? app in PIES.
Scout hosts for future events. If your friend throws a great party, ask them whether they will consider hosting a fundraiser for your campaign! Your new connections could be the solid start of a guest list since they already know the host.
Look the part. Remember that when you are running for office, you may receive more attention than usual. Use this as a chance to shine! Make sure you are dressed cleanly and appropriately. Smile a lot. This is a great chance to project a professional image to a new group of people.
Relax and rejuvenate. Campaigns are stressful. Social events can be a great way to unwind. Try to enjoy yourself, and stop worrying about your long to-do list.

Don’t have a PIES account yet, or not sure how to access it? Bringing PIES to your campaign begins by completing ourAi??candidate questionnaires hereAi??– or just email us atAi??help@campaignpies.comAi??with any questions.

Here are a few tips for making the most of your holiday cards!

When writing your holiday cards, consider a quick note about why you are running for office. Add the URL of your campaign website, and encourage friends and family to sign up for updates from your mailing list.
Holiday cards are a great reason to reconnect with acquaintances. Expand your list by using the ai???Everyone I Knowai??? app in PIES. This will help you brainstorm your contacts, like school friends, business contacts, fellow congregants, teammates from intramural sports teams, and your wedding guest list. A holiday card from you will jog their memory ai??i?? priming them for a phone call later asking for their support.
Once updated, add your holiday card list to the ai???Contact Databaseai??? app in PIES. If you keep your list in a spreadsheet, you can upload in minutes. That way your holiday card list becomes a list of potential supporters.
You can use the magnifying glass button in the ai???Contact Databaseai??? to start researching past giving and identify potential donors. Figure out whether the people on your holiday card list have given to other candidates or political action committees that share your values. For those who arenai??i??t likely donors, you can ask them for other kinds of support, like knocking on doors, staffing your events, or providing a public endorsement statement on your behalf.

Holiday cards are often time-consuming, but these steps will help make your campaign more productive in the New Year. Two birds with one stone!

Don’t have a PIES account yet, or not sure how to access it? Bringing PIES to your campaign begins by completing our candidate questionnaires here — or just email us at help@campaignpies.com with any questions.

Legislators in 10 states nationwide will be introducing debt-free college legislation, making debt-free college a central 2016 campaign issue from the top to bottom of the ticket.

This state-level action will give voters a unified Democratic message going into the 2016 election. All three Democratic presidential candidates have embraced debt-free college, and so have 100 members of Congress.

Progressive organizing has led to all three Democratic presidential candidates embracing debt-free college and 100 members of Congress have endorsing it.

“Progressives are unifying the Democratic Party around a bold Elizabeth Warren-style agenda that motivates people to get to the polls and that would be a game changer in millions of lives,” said PCCC debt-free college campaign director Kayla Wingbermuehle. “The progressive strategy now is to go deep, unifying the Democratic Party around debt-free college and ensuring that there’s an undeniable mandate in November of 2016.”

Lawmakers include those fromAi??the First in the Nation states with Rep. Marjorie Porter of New Hampshire, Rep. Chris Hall of Iowa, and Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter of South Carolina, from key battleground states with Rep. Stephanie Howse of Ohio and Rep. Katrina Shankland of Wisconsin, plus Rep. Paul Mark of Massachusetts, Rep. Will Guzzardi of Illinois, Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal of Missouri, Rep. Paula Hawks of South Dakota, and Rep. Kaniela Ing of Hawaii.

Join the call for debt-free college in your state — sign the petition at DebtFreeCollegeNOW.com and contact your state legislator to ask them to sign on!

Here’s what lawmakers have to say about the importance of debt-free college:

ai???Debt-free college will be a major voting issue in New Hampshire in 2016. Voters are counting on Democrats to make debt-free college a central campaign issue. My colleagues and I will be working hard at the state level to do …