Campaign Memo: 11k Donors Power Campaign Past Matching Threshold + 3,500 Volunteers Sign Up in 30 Days

In under 30 days, our campaign has:

• Reached the $250,000 matching funds threshold from New York City donors, positioning the campaign to unlock over $2 million in public funds, and raised over $1 million total from all donors, the fastest campaign that’s taking part in the public matching system to reach $1 million.
• Become the fastest NYC mayoral campaign ever to get over 11,000 donors, with among the lowest average donation amounts in the race.
• Signed up over 3,500 volunteers, the vast majority of whom live in NYC, with hundreds more being onboarded every single weekend.
• Held more than 15 voter engagement events with at least one in every borough, some organized directly by the campaign and some self-organized by our volunteer network.
• Built and scaled cutting edge organizing tactics - including a city wide relational organizing strategy. We are reaching New Yorkers online safely during the pandemic with tools like Instagram phone banking and new social strategies on TikTok and other platforms.
• Both public and private polls have consistently shown Andrew in first at between 25%-30% and on the rise.
• Had unprecedented success spreading our message organically on social media platforms.

Our First Month:

• We have already reached the $250,000 matching funds threshold from New York City donors, positioning the campaign to unlock over $2 million in public funds to bring our message to New Yorkers. Despite entering the race months, or even years, after other candidates, we have quickly raised over $250,000 in 8:1 matchable donations from New York City residents to qualify for matching funds from the City, the fastest campaign to reach the matching funds threshold in the race. We have raised over $1 million total from all donors, the fastest campaign that’s taking part in the public matching system to reach $1 million. We are proud to be a people-powered campaign reliant on small-dollar donations, demonstrating how Andrew’s bold ideas for New York City are resonating widely with the electorate. We are the fastest campaign to ever reach the matching threshold. We have scaled up in under 30 days with an average contribution of just $84, significantly below the other perceived frontrunners. We did it through a combination of grassroots digital strategy, innovative virtual events, and organic growth.
• We have received donations from over 11,000 unique donors with over 13,000 total contributions, the only NYC mayoral campaign to ever reach such a large number of donors in such a short span of time. Our fundraising to-date exemplifies the hunger and grassroots energy across New York City for a campaign and candidate who can break away from the zero-sum, negative politics of yesterday and put forward a positive, rational, progressive vision to move New York forward.
• Our campaign has signed up over 3,500 volunteers to amplify Andrew’s message to voters, with hundreds more being onboarded each weekend. In just four short weeks, we’ve experienced an overwhelming outpouring of enthusiasm and support for the Yang for New York campaign, with over 3,500 volunteers signing up to join the Yang Gang and spread Andrew’s message to New Yorkers in the streets and online. We are proud to be building an inclusive and resilient movement to get New York back on its feet.
• Already, our field team and volunteers have held over 15 in-person voter engagement events, with many more scheduled and dozens more virtual events, including multiple events self-organized directly by our volunteers. Every weekend we have an army of volunteers out engaging and registering people to vote before the deadline. We are talking with New Yorkers across all five boroughs safely and enthusiastically. Our volunteers are registering voters, providing educational resources about the City’s new ranked-choice voting system, and have already distributed over 12,000 pieces of literature to expand the reach of Andrew’s vision. We’ve only been in the race 30 days. No other campaign has anywhere near the volunteer army that Andrew does.
• We are running a digital-first campaign that leverages technology and scalable relational organizing to reach more voters in new and different ways. We know that in 2021, elections aren’t about political machines and power-brokers, they’re about meeting and engaging people where they are – especially, online. Our campaign is digitally native; volunteers are doing “Instagram banking” and  creative 1:1 engagement on other platforms, digital door-knocking, and friend banking to activate their own networks in support of Andrew. We have 600 volunteers using Reach to generate grassroots support, 800 using Slack, and 50 language specialists to make sure all of our communications reflect the linguistic diversity of the City. Already, we have sent over 90,000 text messages to New Yorkers, and we’re just getting started. Andrew’s Clubhouse appearance this weekend had over 3,000 people in it. We’ll keep innovating and reaching New Yorkers where they are to spread our message.
• Polls have been consistent since Andrew entered the race. The last public poll had Andrew at 28%, up 11% over Adams and 15% over Stringer. There was another external poll we heard about last week that showed Andrew had 30%, 13% over Adams and 20% over Stringer. That poll was in the field last week. Andrew’s name ID and favorability have gone up since he entered the race. New Yorkers have tuned out the barrage of negative campaign tactics by our opponents, and have instead been inspired by Andrew’s message of rational progressive leadership on jobs, public safety, and cash relief. We expect their negative tactics to continue and so far, they have only helped our numbers.
• We have had unprecedented success amplifying Andrew’s message across social media platforms. Our campaign launch video has been viewed more than 6 million times and our reach across Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram surpasses the reach of other campaigns. Andrew’s Twitter has reached 357 million people and had over 3 million engagements since launch, and his Instagram has had an additional 1.1 million. No other campaign has such a megaphone to bring their message directly to voters.
• New Yorkers are ready for a different kind of leader.  Voters are excited about Andrew as a different kind of leader who is focused on solutions and improving people’s lives, not traditional politics. Some are excited by the prospect of NYC making history with the first mayor of Asian American descent in a city where Asian Americans comprise 15% of the population.  Others are eager to have a mayor not beholden to special interests who simply wants to make the bureaucracies function better, and who will make a positive case for New York.

- Sasha Ahuja and Chris Coffey, Co-Campaign Managers, Yang for New York