COLLECTIVE FUTURE ANNOUNCES $2 MILLION DONATION FROM MIKE BLOOMBERG TO SUPPORT NATIONWIDE BLACK VOTER REGISTRATION EFFORT

Financial gift will increase capacity of voter registration initiative, GOTV effort across key battleground states for 2020 election

NEW YORK  — The Collective is proud to announce that Mike Bloomberg has donated two million dollars to help fund the organization’s 501c4 arm Collective Future and their new voter registration initiative targeted towards Black voters in eight crucial states across the country. Collective Future will work to register 500,000 African Americans to vote through engagement with key faith-based, education, youth, and civic partners across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin in an effort to maximize Black voter turnout across the South and Midwest.

While most of the nation is heavily focused on the Presidential race, Collective Future is focused on winning up and down the ballot, particularly U.S. Senate and House races. By registering 500,000 Black Americans across these key states, Collective Future will significantly aid in expanding electoral opportunities for Black Americans in both Presidential and down-ballot races. This increased participation of Black voters has the power to transform the electorates in those states, helping more Black voters get access to the ballot and have their voices heard in November.

This investment expands on Mike Bloomberg’s previous commitment to register 500,000 voters from under-represented groups in five key swing states ahead of the general election, and now includes additional states where important races are taking shape.

“It is not an exaggeration to suggest the 2020 election cycle will be one of the most consequential in American history. The last presidential election was decided by less than 80,000 votes and there are currently over 5 million unregistered Black Americans in our eight target states,” said Quentin James, President of The Collective. “There is a critical need for Black voter engagement across the country in the 2020 election and beyond and we are deeply grateful to Mike Bloomberg for his partnership and dedication to this critical cause. His significant financial contribution will propel our work to historic levels and we are hopeful that this game-changing investment will be supported and replicated by those who embrace the need to advance the Black community.

“Voter suppression efforts across the country have been a barely disguised effort to keep Black Americans and other Democratic-leaning voters from the polls. I‘ve always believed we need to make it easier for all citizens to register and vote, not harder,” said Mike Bloomberg. “That’s why I strongly support Collective Future in their effort to register 500,000 Black Americans. These new voters could determine the November election – and the future of the country. The stakes couldn’t be higher. So while our campaign for the presidency is over, our work to get America back on track is still growing.”

This financial gift will greatly assist Collective Future in engaging the Black community and registering voters, with the goal of increased civic participation in the 2020 election cycle, in the following ways:

• Recruiting and training Black churches, civic organizations, HBCU students and interested youth to become official program partners and volunteers
• Hiring field organizers through partnerships with state-based and local Black-led grassroots organizations, with specific focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), youth organizations, Black faith groups, and civic organizations
• Providing “mini-grants” to program partners to power volunteer recruitment and retention, as well as voter registration activity
• Utilizing national media partnerships to communicate with unregistered voters
• Relying on cutting-edge digital tools and current data to analyze, verify, and track voter registration efforts

“We must defeat Donald Trump and increasing the number of Democratic voters, in particular from underrepresented groups, is going to be central to that effort,” said Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina Steve Benjamin. “Mike Bloomberg’s support for Collective Future will help us register voters in places like South Carolina and across the country, helping Democrats from the top of the ticket to down-ballot races. Mike’s focus on voter registration and increasing civic participation from Black America is core to who Mike is and has always been – before, during and after his run for president – and will help Democrats achieve success in November.”