Organizing for America (OFA) is a

community organizing Community organizing is a process where people who live in proximity to each other or share some common problem come together into an organization that acts in their shared self-interest. Unlike those who promote more-consensual community bui ...

project of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

. Initially founded after the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, the group sought to mobilize supporters in favor of Obama's legislative priorities, particularly

health care reform Health care reform is for the most part governmental policy that affects health care delivery in a given place. Health care reform typically attempts to: * Broaden the population that receives health care coverage through either public sector insur ...

. Eventually, the organization played a role in the

midterm elections Apart from general elections and by-elections, midterm election refers to a type of election where the people can elect their representatives and other subnational officeholders (e.g. governor, members of local council) in the middle of the term ...

of 2010. Later, it became the

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

arm of Obama for America. After Obama's second inauguration, it was reorganized as

Organizing for Action Organizing for Action (OFA) was a nonprofit organization and community organizing project that advocated for the agenda of former U.S. President Barack Obama. The organization was officially non-partisan, but its agenda and policies were stron ...

and returned to its previous mission of organizing around the President's agenda. It has since turned into a hub of the Democratic protest movement.

History

The formation of Organizing for America was announced by then-President-Elect Obama on January 17, 2009. The group officially began operations on the third day of the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

, January 23, 2009. On the same day, it was announced that

Mitch Stewart Mitch Stewart is an American political campaign organizer. Early life and education Stewart grew up in Vermillion, South Dakota. Stewart earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of South Dakota, where he also minored in Chemistr ...

would serve as the first Director.

Jeremy Bird Jeremy Bird is an American political strategist who has worked for the political campaigns of Barack Obama. Early life and education Bird grew up in High Ridge, Missouri, and was raised Baptist. Bird attended Wabash College, graduating with a ...

, a former Obama for America field operative, was named Deputy Director. In mid January 2013 the organization was transformed into a nonprofit group

. The president's 2012 campaign manager, Jim Messina, was announced as the group's national chairman. The organization will accept donations from individuals and corporations but not from lobbyists and political action committees. Offices will be in Washington and Chicago.

Mission

The organization's activities originally centered around political activism in favor of Obama's early legislative goals including the 2009 stimulus package and

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

plans to reform the healthcare system. Another stated goal of OFA was alleviating perceived political apathy and increasing support for the Democratic Party. In preparation for President Obama's second term, Organization for America was turned into a nonprofit group — funded in part by corporate money — to mobilize support behind the president's agenda. As a tax exempt organization it will seek to harness the energy of the president's re-election campaign for future legislative fights. The group will be separate from the

and advocate on key policy issues such as gun control and immigration, train future leaders and devote attention to local issues throughout the United States.

Organization

Organizing for America is composed of 50 different state organizations, united by a single national umbrella. The states have a high level of autonomy when it comes to deciding how to execute tasks given by the national office, but most major programs are ultimately delegated by the National directors. Under the federal tax code 501(c)(4) the group will have tax-exempt status as long as it is not primarily involved in activity that could influence an election. As a nonprofit, it can run support ads for an issue as long it is not involved in activity aimed at electing candidates for office.

Political activism

Organizing for America has provided logistical support to local community groups, including holding conference calls with volunteers, sponsoring events and house parties, using

social networking A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...

and

New Media New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...

, and providing

talking points A talking point, often used in the plural, is a pre-established message or formula used in the field of political communication, sales and commercial or advertising communication. The message is coordinated ''a priori'' to remain more or less inv ...

Major campaigns

Health care reform

On October 20, 2009, OFA hosted a national phone bank event intended to encourage elected federal officials to support Obama's healthcare proposals. A stated goal of achieving 100,000 phone calls was exceeded, with 300,000 calls ultimately made. The event was considered highly successful. On February 11, 2010, OFA launched a national campaign called "You Fight, We Fight". This program enabled people to pledge a number of hours in support of healthcare reform and President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

's domestic goals. Nevertheless, OFA members were never called upon to do volunteer work in support of including a

public option The public health insurance option, also known as the public insurance option or the public option, is a proposal to create a government-run health insurance agency that would compete with other private health insurance companies within the United ...

in the bill, despite Obama's stated preference for such a provision. After the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

and

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

voted for the

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presi ...

, which completed one piece of Obama's domestic agenda, Organizing for America enabled Americans to "co-sign with the president," creating a permanent record of the bills supporters. Those who co-signed could opt to have a certificate noting their participation sent to them for free. Over one million signatures of health care bill supporters were delivered to the president in April 2010.

Other issues

Except for some work on health care reform, the Obama administration has not made extensive use of OFA. This choice has been criticized by some veterans of the 2008 campaign, who believe that Obama has erred by being too ready to compromise with

conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

instead of mobilizing the OFA volunteer base.

References

External links

Organizing for America
— Official website
David Plouffe and Mitch Stewart announce the launch of Organizing for America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Organizing for America Democratic Party (United States) organizations Barack Obama Organizations established in 2009 2009 establishments in Washington, D.C.