How to Win a Campaign

This week, we're featuring a recorded webinar from our Advocacy Training series. Joe dives into goal setting—why defining clear goals as a team is one of the most critical and most often skipped steps in building a successful advocacy campaign. He walks through prioritizing primary versus secondary goals, layering short-term and long-term objectives, and building in evaluation metrics from the start rather than the finish. Joe covers the practical scaffolding that holds it all together: doing your research, planning around the legislative calendar, having honest budget conversations, using MOUs with coalition partners, and keeping goals SMARTIE—strategic, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound, inclusive, and equitable.

If you're interested in learning more about TCW's Advocacy Training, check out our website, TCW Advocacy.

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In this Seven Questions episode, Martín Diego Garcia sits down with Denise Feriozzi, co-founder and executive director of Pipeline Fund, to talk about building the long-term, down-ballot infrastructure progressives have needed for years. She breaks down the gaps Pipeline Fund set out to fill and digs into the realities of this work today, from rising safety and security concerns to the case for contesting races everywhere, not just in swing states. 

Guest Info:

Denise Feriozzi, Co-founder and Executive Director, Pipeline Fund.

Sign up for The Baseline, Pipeline Fund's monthly newsletter, here.

Check out Denise's recommendations:

TV: Below Deck (Peacock/Bravo)

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In this episode, Joe sits down with Cesar Toledo, Executive Director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, to talk about what it really looks like to make local impact. Cesar shares his journey from national politics — including the Harris-Walz campaign and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund — to leading a small but mighty DC nonprofit serving homeless LGBTQ+ youth, where nearly 40% of DC's homeless youth identify as queer. He and Joe dig into how Cesar is scaling impact with limited staff, why campaign skills translate directly to nonprofit leadership, and how he refuses to let the opposition steal his joy. 

Guest Info:

Cesar Toledo, Executive Director, Wanda Alston Foundation

Connect with Cesar on Instagram (@chico_ces)

Resources:

The Wanda Alston Foundation's housing programs

Cesar's 2025 Out100 feature

Cesar's Metro Weekly cover story

LGBTQ+ Victory Institute candidate and campaign trainings

Check out Cesar's recommendations:

TV: Invincible (Amazon Prime)

Movies: George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead and the Resident Evil film franchise.

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What does it actually mean for a bank to be "socially responsible," and why should every nonprofit, campaign, and advocacy organization care? In this episode, Martín sits down with Maura Keaney, Vice President and Director of Client Engagement at Amalgamated Bank, to unpack what ethical banking looks like in practice. Maura shares how a bank can be a real partner in the progressive movement. She also gets into the practical stuff: ACH payments, fraud prevention, payment strategy, and the questions every executive director or CFO should be asking their banking partner.

Guest Info:

Maura Keaney, Vice President and Director of Client Engagement at Amalgamated Bank, America's socially responsible bank. 

Connect with Maura on LinkedIn.

Check out Maura's recommendations:

Books: Tana French and Emily St. John Mandel both have new books hitting the shelves!

TV: Slow Horses and Ted Lasso (both on Apple TV+)

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In this special 7 Questions episode, Joe sits down with Kristen Grimm, Founder and Strategist at Spitfire Strategies, for a candid conversation about what it takes to win a campaign right now. Kristen unpacks common strategic-planning mistakes: vague milestones, the "build the plane while we're flying it" approach, and the obsession with one giant "big tent" coalition. She and Joe also dig into why so many strategic plans sit on a shelf, what AI is changing about the speed of campaigns, and why the most important question in your planning meeting may be what you're for, not just what you're against.

Guest Info:

Kristen Grimm, Founder and Strategist at Spitfire Strategies. 

Connect with Kristen on LinkedIn.

Resources: 

Planning to Win — Spitfire's updated campaign planning guide and tool

Replenishing Trust — Kristen's guide on rebuilding civic trust through interactivity, not just transparency

Check out Kristen's recommendations:

Book: Don't Burn Anyone at the Stake Today by Naomi Alderman

TV: Vladimir (Netflix) and Rooster (HBO / HBO Max)

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