when karin shedd, a videographer at yale university in new haven, conn., woke up the morning after donald trump had been elected, the lifelong democrat realized that casting ballots for liberal politicians was no longer enough. she logged onto facebook and spotted an ad from the american civil liberties union, a civil rights advocacy group, featuring a picture of mr. trump and <u+201c>see you in court<u+201d> scrawled above his head. ms. shedd had never donated to a political organization. but that morning, she set up recurring $50 contributions to the aclu as well as planned parenthood and citizens<u+2019> climate education, an environmental nonprofit. <u+201c>ideologically, i need to put my money where my mouth is,<u+201d> she said. <u+201c>i can<u+2019>t go around telling people what i think if i<u+2019>m not willing to be an active player in the game.<u+201d> liberal activist groups are making a concerted effort to funnel anger at the election<u+2019>s results into donating and volunteering. thanks to political neophytes such as ms. shedd, these groups say they have seen a huge influx of cash. the aclu said it received more than 120,000 donations in the six days after election day that added up to $8.2 million, a fundraising surge it called unprecedented in its history. emily<u+2019>s list, an organization working to elect democratic, female, pro-choice candidates, said 60% of those who have given since nov. 9 are new donors. and planned parenthood, the women<u+2019>s reproductive-rights organization, has received gifts from 128,000 donors, in what it calls the largest uptick in its history. (the group declined to say how much it raised.) in a poke at the new administration, more than 20,000 of those donors made their gifts in the name of vice president-elect mike pence, who as indiana governor enacted stringent abortion restrictions. <u+201c>i just thought it was sort of confrontational as far as donations go, which is kind of fun, but also more effective than most donations i could give,<u+201d> said doug bright, an education and food activist in chicago, who donated in mr. pence<u+2019>s name. the surge in contributions comes as progressive organizations coordinate in what they expect to be a no-holds-barred battle against mr. trump, who has pledged to deport millions of undocumented workers and restrict abortion. unlike many republicans, mr. trump has said he would support continued federal funding for planned parenthood , provided none of the money pays for abortions. leaders of the groups say the increased engagement shows little sign of slowing<u+2014>a fact they hope will help them build vast grass-roots coalitions who can mobilize in future political fights. pressure to get more involved has amped up on social media sites, including facebook, where first-time donors have taken to posting their pledges. a secret facebook group called pantsuit nation, which initially sprung up to support hillary clinton in the waning days of her campaign , has since morphed into a network of three million people who are encouraging one another to give money, donate time and even run for office. <u+201c>i<u+2019>ve got to do something with all this energy now,<u+201d> said melissa ratcliff, a pantsuit nation member and paralegal in cottage grove, wis., who plans to make phone calls on behalf of political organizations. <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t have anywhere to put it.<u+201d> she should run, a nonprofit group that works to recruit female political candidates of all parties, typically attracts 100 to 300 applicants over a monthlong recruiting period. but in the past six days, more than 2,000 women have registered with the site to begin the process of running for office. <u+201c>this is just breathtaking to me, of the ding, ding, ding constancy of women coming into the program,<u+201d> said erin loos cutraro, the group<u+2019>s co-founder and chief executive. another pantsuit nation member, bekah canfield of portland, ore., wrote on the group<u+2019>s facebook page monday that she planned to supplement her donations by putting up notes bearing inspirational quotes in public spaces. she said she has spent her last few lunch hours pasting post-its on phone booths, the backs of street signs and in retail store bathrooms in the city<u+2019>s downtown. <u+201c>i<u+2019>ve been mourning this election for days, and this is a way to express my grief in a constructive and positive way,<u+201d> ms. canfield said. write to michelle hackman at michelle.hackman@wsj.com
liberal political groups see surge in donations  - wsj
michelle hackman