Equal Rights Action is a new small donor committee dedicated to supporting candidates for the state legislature and statewide offices that support equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. Equal Rights Action is a powerful tool for highlighting the political contributions of the GLBT community in Colorado and rewarding those incumbents and candidates that support our issues.
“Small Donor Committees” are a special kind of political action committee under Colorado law. More and more groups are creating small donor committees to take advantage of their favorable treatment under state laws regulating political campaign contributions. Small donor committees may accept individual contributions of no more than $50 per calendar year. Unfortunately, contributions are not tax deductible, and contributions from corporations, unions or other political committees are prohibited. But small donor committees are authorized to give contributions to candidates that exceed the dollar limits that individuals or PACs may give. Just as the name suggests, small donor committees take small contributions and bundle them together into something much larger than any other entity is legally permitted to give. Small donor committees empower ordinary people to make an extraordinary impact in political fundraising.
Equal Rights Action is a non-partisan organization. It will support candidates that support the GLBT community, regardless of party affiliation. The group will be very judicious in determining which candidates to support, with a bias toward supporting only a handful of candidates each election cycle with contributions larger than other individuals or entities are permitted to give. The number of candidates and size of contributions depends in large part upon the number of small donors that make an annual gift of $50 to Equal Rights Action.
Please consider making a $50 donation to Equal Rights Action today. If you’d prefer to give $25 now and $25 later, that would also be appreciated. But by making a $50 donation to Equal Rights Action, you’ve “maxed-out” for the year and the group can’t ask you for another gift until January. $50 per year is a small price to pay for the significant impact our combined contributions can have.
There are other ways for you to support Equal Rights Action. The group is in the process of forming a board of directors and finance committee. If you would be interested in serving on the board or committee, email pat@mendezsteadman.com. Responsibilities include annual fundraising and making decisions about which candidates to support in the election year.
Please send your $50 donation to:
Equal Rights Action
c/o Pat Steadman
1370 Pennsylvania St. #400
Denver, CO 80203
