The Challenge
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee wanted to tap into the growing phenomenon of online political fundraising. Governor Howard Dean's presidential campaign has exemplified this trend and famously raised $20 million online with help from a politically savvy, well-networked community of weblogs and activists. Both the Kerry and Bush 2004 campaigns also relied heavily on online fundraising to fuel their campaigns and energize their bases.

IDI’s Solution
In order to reach out to the same community of "online influentials," IDI developed and launched FromTheRoots.org - a community weblog site that provided news and commentary on 2004 Senate races, and offered visitors the chance to add comments and stories of their own.

FromTheRoots.org served as:

• an official blog site that allowed DSCC staff and Senate campaigns to post commentary and engage in dialogue with Democratic supporters
• a rapid response mechanism for Senate campaigns
• a venue to test drive messages for use in traditional fundraising and campaign advertising
• an open forum for Democratic activists to do their own opposition research and political analysis

The Results
During the nine months it was in operation, FromTheRoots.org helped win a battle for the "hearts and minds" of Democrats that had become disaffected with the party's inability to effectively oppose President Bush.  It provided an outlet for Senate leaders to speak directly to the grassroots, as well as a venue for activists to “vent.” This opened up a crucial two-way communication channel between Democratic party leaders and activists, and amplified the voices of thousands of Democrats across the country.

In addition to raising money on the site itself, we conducted outreach to leading progressive bloggers to set up their own fundraising pages, and tracked these contributions.  The results confirmed the power of online communities to direct their energies into real-world results.

The unprecedented grassroots support has left an enduring legacy on the DSCC, and it will influence the way the Democratic Party organizes in the future. This IDI campaign won a 2005 Pollie Award from the American Association of Political Consultants.

Services Provided

• Strategic Alliances
• Media Relations
• Internet Communication
• Blogger Relations