Oakland Rising - Small dollar fundraising

Founded in 2007, Oakland Rising has grown to be one of the most impactful community organizing groups in the East Bay. Oakland Rising builds independent political power with their base of working-class BIPOC and immigrant community members across Oakland, with plans to continue their growth and deepen financial sustainability.

Overview

With a grant from Progressive Multiplier, Oakland Rising developed an integrated canvassing and digital engagement campaign to build a small-dollar donor program funded directly by the communities they serve.

By designing a comprehensive approach that included door-to-door canvassing with QR codes, email welcome series, and targeted donor conversion campaigns, Oakland Rising built a foundation for financial independence while strengthening their movement-building capacity. The project transformed their approach to fundraising and created pathways for deeper community engagement

Key Strategies & Tactics

Oakland Rising's grassroots fundraising initiative consisted of several integrated components designed to generate sustainable revenue while engaging community members:

• Canvassing Strategy: Using door-to-door canvassing, phone banking, and in-community organizing to capture contact information and solicit donations through QR codes and web links embedded in leave-behind materials

• Digital Lead Conversion: Creating a welcome series of emails designed to convert new contacts into first-time donors and build ongoing relationships with supporters

• Donor Development Program: Converting first-time donors from the last 18 months into repeat givers and monthly sustainers through targeted email appeals

• End of Year Campaign: Celebrating Oakland Rising's 18 years of community organizing work while deepening supporter commitment through monthly giving programs

Lessons Learned

Leverage Direct Community Contact

The organizing relationships built through canvassing create natural pathways to donor conversations when framed authentically

Invest in Dedicated Capacity

Revenue generation requires focused staff time, including training canvassing teams on fundraising asks and dedicated project management for small-dollar fundraising

Embrace Structured Planning

The project charter and timeline provided essential guidance for integrating fundraising into ongoing organizing campaigns

Connect Fundraising to Mission

Framing community donations as an extension of building independent political power helps overcome hesitation about asking for money

Invest in Data Systems

Clean data systems like PDI for door canvassing and Powerbase CRM for email management are essential for effective lead capture and donor engagement

Build on In-Person Connections

Face-to-face interactions during canvassing remain powerful for building the donor base and establishing trust

Impact

Through this experiment, Oakland Rising was able to integrate fundraising directly into their core organizing work, strengthening community ownership while generating financial support. Their canvassing strategy, which incorporated accessible donation technology through QR codes and clear asks in leave-behind materials, made it easy for working-class community members to contribute to the movement.

This approach not only raised funds but reinforced the organization's commitment to building power that is funded by and accountable to BIPOC and immigrant communities in Oakland. The integrated system—from initial canvass contact through welcome series to donor conversion—created a sustainable pipeline for grassroots support.

Originally motivated by the need to build financial independence from foundations that can shift priorities or pull back support, the project demonstrated that the same organizing skills that win campaigns can also build sustainable funding. By capturing leads during spring canvassing campaigns and converting them through targeted email sequences, Oakland Rising proved that community members will invest in movements they believe in when given accessible pathways to contribute.