Jonathan D. Lovitz #012

In this segment, we sip our drink with Jonathan D Lovitz, creator of PhillyVoting.org, on the new and inventive ways the initiative expanded voter registration during a pandemic. We cheer the return of the QR codes on menus and how sitting around a table with friends grabbing a drink sparks ideas. Finally, we discuss the future of fundraising campaigns and reassessing the value of the Gala.

 

Jonathan D. Lovitz is a nationally recognized small business and public policy advocate, community organizer, and currently serves as the Senior Vice President of the NGLCC. In his role, he serves as head of advocacy and political work and press secretary, where he has been responsible for establishing the more than twenty county, city, and state laws passed over the last four years opening up contracting and economic opportunity to minority small business owners, including veterans, those with disabilities, and LGBTQ-owned businesses.

 

Learn more:

phillyvoting.org  victoryfund.org/

www.torres.nyc sarahmcbride.com/ www.byersforkansas.com

 

Get Out The Vote

By Amanda Younger

11/09/2020

The election has been called and the nation begins to move forward in a new direction. But with the event industry disabled during a pandemic, it was an unprecedented year of thinking outside the box for canvassing, campaigning, fundraising, and registering to vote. We popped a bottle to congratulate community organizer and advocate Jonathan D Lovitz, creator of PhillyVoting.org, on an impressive voter turnout in his City of Brotherly Love. “We were sitting around and talking about how this is not a normal year and how particularly minority communities, primarily LGBTQ and black communities get their information, get their organizing, get their fire in their belly from going to… all those things where we convene, but that ain’t happening in a COVID world,” says Lovitz. 

Talking about barriers they see a solution at their table, the contact free QR code. So rather than knocking on doors or standing on the street corner with a clipboard, they simply put up the QR code signs all over the city. Lovitz continues, “Just looking at the numbers here, for a grassroots thing, created by a couple of friends sitting around having cocktails, we netted out somewhere around 4,000 clicks to our website and almost 800 clicks to the various voter registration sites.”

In an election year where tight races became full blown squeakers the voter registration campaign was a success in Philadelphia, but even the way campaigns were held in public this year, drastically changed. Lovitz says, “We don’t need to spend zillions of dollars parading people around town to kiss babies. We can make it about issues; we can make it about right and not; we can make it about connecting intimately with people and not. It was a great era for the Facebook ad…from the nonprofits…that said vote because black lives matter and your body is your choice and my marriage is none of your business and all of those things.”

It seems to have worked as a legislative body built mostly of straight white men over 65 make laws in a majority minority nation, have a new freshman class of diverse faces joining them. Lovitz states, “It’s amazing that we’re thinking at all levels of government, because the most intimate relationships with government are usually our school boards, our city councils, our state legislatures, and we are not represented in that, not nearly enough, and that’s changing and that’s incredible. People are eyeing service as a thing to do again, and that’s really incredible.”

Finally, we talk about how fundraising came in the form of virtual meet ups with Star Trek, Marvel Avengers, Cher, and so many others. Lovitz continues, “Look what Zoom and all these other platforms have done to democratize how we connect with each other…this is the future of fundraising, it makes it personal.” As those that made a living doing personal appearances to inspire and motivate, we are using the virtual platforms to reach so many more for far less money to do the same thing. The new form of fundraising will be without the black tie affair, and organizations can re-imagine the funding of movements for a true return on investment. Lovitz ends, “We’re saying, make it work in a way that makes more dollars work for more people by getting the right folks in place to use that money, to make a difference.