Howard Dean has knocked it out of the park with this idea.
If you've already given to the DNC you can pledge to match somebody's donation.
What's cool is you see who's pledge you matched and can also add a message to your pledge.
I did this and was match within 20 minutes. I gave $25 and was matched by somebody in Seattle. I then pledged $25 and it was matched in no time.
Our records show that you have donated this year, but hundreds of thousands of Democrats haven't.
So I'm asking you to do something special -- something no one has ever tried before.
You've probably gotten a message from an organization saying that some anonymous, wealthy donor will match your donation. But are those donors real? And if they're able to match so many donations with a single check, why don't they just give anyway? Is it just some gimmick?
We're going to try something different. We've built a unique tool that gives you the power to match someone's donation. If you choose to participate, you will have the opportunity to match the donation of someone who hasn't given yet in 2006.
You choose the amount you're willing to match, write a note to your potential donor about why winning this election is important to you, and wait. We'll find someone who hasn't given yet to take you up on your offer.
You'll receive a note with the new donor's name and hometown, and a message from the person whom you convinced to take the leap. You will have grown the Democratic Party and doubled the amount of your own contribution.
Will you make a promise now to match someone's donation?
http://www.democrats.org/pledgeI don't want to rely on your donation alone. I'm determined to grow the number of small donors to the Democratic Party so that when we win this election, it will be clear that we are accountable to the people, not the special interests.
You know that when you make a donation of any size, you own the Democratic Party. If you watched the news on Friday and saw Republican Congressman Bob Ney leaving a courtroom after pleading guilty to bribery, you saw the clear difference between how the two parties operate.
I took this job with a promise to change the way our party does business. You helped me keep that promise.
Now I'm asking you to make a promise yourself.
Make your pledge to match a new donor's contribution now:
http://www.democrats.org/pledgeWhat will your donation do?
You'll be funding the broadest get-out-the-vote program in our party's history. Our 50-state strategy deployed nearly 200 staff to the field in all 50 states over the last year and a half. They've been building the networks of volunteers and doing the heavy lifting to build our organization everywhere.
When we started in some states, the Democratic Party barely existed as an organization. Now, we're thriving everywhere thanks to the investment you've already made.
Now we're transforming this nationwide operation into an unprecedented 50-State Turnout drive that will elect Democrats up and down the ballot in every state. Our organizers have been working on the ground for months -- long before many campaigns even started.
Races that no one ever thought we could win, up and down the ballot of every state, are now in play. And it's up to you to seize the opportunity -- by growing the base of donors to fund more organizers, more canvassing materials, and more vans to drive voters to the polls. That's how we will win this election.
You can be the deciding factor in someone's decision to invest in the future of our country. They will know that every dollar they give will have double the impact. Pledge to match their donation now:
http://www.democrats.org/pledgeWhether it's organizing, communicating or fundraising, our party is about ordinary people.
You have the power to make a connection that brings someone new into the political process.
Think about the difference it will make for someone to watch the returns on Election Night knowing that they made victory happen. Imagine what it will feel like to know that a total stranger cared deeply enough about our country to ask them to be a partner in creating that change.
You can make it happen -- make your promise now:
http://www.democrats.org/pledgeWe've broken fundraising records and revolutionized the way our party is funded. We've emboldened Democrats to fight back, and we've spread the message that enough is enough -- it's time for a change.
But the next step in this transformation is in your hands.
You've stepped up before -- will you do it again?
http://www.democrats.org/pledgeThank you.
Governor Howard Dean, M.D.