Group Leaders,

It’s now been more than two weeks since House Democrats passed another COVID-19 relief package -- the Heroes Act. While millions of people across the country await desperately needed assistance, the ball is now (and has been) in the Senate’s court to move this legislation forward. 

But, what is Mitch McConnell doing? Refusing to disclose when the Senate might take up this critically important legislation, and instead setting the Senate calendar to greenlight as many extremist, Trump-appointed judges as he can. Once again, Senate Republicans are showing they care far more about falling in line with Trump than actually governing in a way that helps people. We’ve got to do everything in our power to push the Senate to pass the Heroes Act now; and fight like hell to make sure we take back the Senate in the fall. 

As if this wasn’t enough, we’ve also seen some terrifying developments from Trump that further jeopardize our democracy lately -- including tweets suggesting that voting by mail is inherently unlawful. Trump knows exactly what he’s doing with these comments: because Republicans believe that when turnout goes down, they win, they work hard to make it harder, less safe and less convenient to vote. This means that advocating for policies and funding to protect safe and secure elections is a HUGE priority for us right now; and it’s going to take all of us coming together and raising our voices to protect the U.S. Postal Service, secure mail-in voting, beat Trump, and save democracy.

Read on for your top actions this week. 

Here are your top actions for the week ahead:

1. Call your Senator and demand they pass the Heroes Act.  House Democrats passed the Heroes Act as the fourth coronavirus package, and now, it’s up to the Senate to vote YES on the bill and secure urgently needed protections for vulnerable families across the country. Unsurprisingly, Majority Leader McConnell is refusing to act and putting corporate greed over the needs of working families. That’s why we need you to call your senators and demand they immediately pass the Heroes Act and oppose any amendments to water the bill down.
2. Get loud on social media to put added pressure on Senators to pass this critical legislation. We’ve put together a toolkit with sample messages, graphics, and more to help you ramp up the pressure and spread awareness about the Senate’s inaction on COVID-19 relief. Take a look at these resources and consider posting them on your group’s social media channels to help get others involved in this critical fight.
3. Watch and share the next episode of our COVID Corruption series. Last week, we launched a new Youtube series, COVID Corruption -- a weekly series where we highlight how certain people, interest groups, and public officials are attempting to cash in on the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, Indivisible’s Policy Manager for Health Care, Eli Gerber, discusses how state and federal officials have taken advantage of the pandemic to weaken our democracy. Be sure to share and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more updates on this important topic going forward.
4. Review and share our Heroes Act summary resource. Every time a new coronavirus relief bill is passed, the swirl of punditry to analyze and interpret its contents begins. We know it can be hard to navigate what’s good and bad about each bill, and that’s why we’re here to help: Indivisible’s team of policy experts has been hard at work analyzing and interpreting how this bill stacks up against the issues that matter most to Indivisibles, and they’ve laid their conclusions out in a new Heroes Act summary. Read this and share it far and wide with those in your networks to help spread the word about what this bill really means for people hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis.

Have you registered for the Rural Voices Virtual Summit yet?

Next month, Indivisible’s rural caucus is excited to be hosting a virtual Rural Voices Summit, in partnership with RuralOrganizing.org and People’s Action. The event will take place on Saturday, June 27 from 11am - 5:30pm ET/ 8am - 2:30pm PT. Rural Indivisible groups, rural organizers, and other rural activists from around the country will be offering sessions on topics like rural coalition building, rural successes and failures, the power of the rural electorate, relational organizing, and more. RSVP for this exciting opportunity to build community with other rural activists today, and be sure to pass along this information to group members, friends, or family that you think may be interested. Registration is open to anyone interested in learning more about rural organizing and committed to doing the work. 

Spring Matching Challenge: 3 days left!

There are only a few days left of the matching challenge! Through Sunday, May 31st, all of the funds your group raises through the distributed fundraising program will be matched, dollar for dollar, up to a maximum of $500 per group.

Be sure to check out the resources and guides here to get started with your fundraising.

A reminder: if you are interested in building community, sharing successes, and talking through challenges with other group leaders and treasurers within the distributed fundraising program,  join our new Facebook group!

You can reach out to fundraising@indivisble.org with any questions about the distributed fundraising program or the match

Who do you think should be Biden’s running mate?

We know that Indivisibles all across the map are engaged and following the discussion over who Biden’s VP pick should be -- and just like folks across our movement had different preferences for the Democratic nominee, folks have different preferences for the candidate for vice president. That’s why we want to hear from you! Who do you think should be Biden’s running mate? Take our survey and let us know.

You’re invited: Upcoming Digital Events

Events are listed in chronological order. Want to make sure you don’t miss any upcoming trainings or webinars? Bookmark our new trainings calendar, which will be regularly updated with all of our upcoming webinars, events, trainings, and national calls.

IndivisiText Textbanking Training 
Learn how to start texting with the IndivisiText program on our platform TextOut! We’re planning to send millions of texts before Election Day and we’re looking for volunteers who want to help. We send texts for endorsed IndivisiCandidates, to do volunteer recruitment, get out the vote actions, and more.
Saturday, May 30, 6pm ET/ 3pm PT
Tuesday, June 2, 8:30pm ET/ 5:30pm PT

GROW Grants Office Hours
Is your group interested in applying for a GROW Grant? The grants team is holding weekly office hours available for groups to come ask questions about the program. 
Thursday, June 4 at 4pm-6pm ET/ 1pm-3pm PT

Red and Rural Webinar Series Episode #3 - Transformational Conversations
Join us for the final webinar of the Red and Rural series as we learn what it means to host  transformational conversations in red and rural communities. Using elements of deep, values based canvassing, we will discuss how to have difficult conversations with our loved ones. Learn how to identify the root of their concerns grounded in empathy and compassion, while also highlighting how they can be involved in the solution. We will be joined by Emily Baird-Chrisohon, from the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition who will walk us through how we can use deep values based canvassing to have transformational conversations, changing the narrative in our rural and red communities.
Wednesday, June 10 at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT

Social Media 2.0 - Storytelling to Create a Social Media Moment
This month the Indivisible training team is teaming up with the communications team to bring you a training that’s all about the power of storytelling in building your social media brand. Come learn how to master the art of storytelling to take full advantage of the most common social media platforms. The wider the net we cast while sharing stories, the stronger our recruitment. This training will NOT cover foundational social media information (like creating accounts) and requires a basic comfort level in Facebook, twitter and Instagram.
Thursday, June 11 at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT 
Friday, June 12 at 3pm ET/ 12pm PT

Indivisible Group Leader Brainstorming Space
Our Group Leader brainstorming events are monthly spaces for Indivisible leaders to build connections with one another, share best practices and troubleshoot challenges in this moment. Our first few sessions have led to so many great conversations and we can't wait to see what comes up this time!
Tuesday, June 16 at 7pm ET/ 4pm PT

Making a Recruitment Plan
Whether you’re recruiting for an upcoming virtual event or working to increase the membership of your Indivisible Group at large, how you approach recruitment can make or break your efforts. Recruitment practices are not only crucial to us winning in November, but also crucial to all other organizing goals Groups have. In this training join the Indivisible Organizing Team and learn how to make a recruitment plan and how to have effective recruitment conversations - even in the time of COVID-19.
Wednesday, June 17 at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT
Friday, June 19 at 3pm ET/ 12pm PT

Building Inclusive Groups
Building an inclusive democracy starts at home, in our very own Indivisible Groups. Come learn what steps you can take to build an inclusive space in your local Indivisible Group. We’ll be covering what it means to organize from an anti-racist standpoint, the role of white privilege and white supremacy in team dynamics, and how to change the practices of your group for the better. In a world full of racism, exclusion, and hatred it is up to each of us to build groups that actively counter these systems to build small-scale versions of the world we are fighting for.
Monday, June 22 at 8pm ET/ 5pm PT 
Tuesday, June 23 at 3pm ET/ 12pm PT

This week’s digital highlight

Herdon-Reston Indivisible, located in Virginia, held this action last week to promote safe and fair elections.  (Want to be featured next week? Send us your digital highlights at field@indivisible.org)

In solidarity,
Indivisible Team

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