Emerge Massachusetts Announces $50,000 Matching Grant from Barbara Lee in Honor of 5 Year Anniversary!

Just days before President’s Day, Barbara Lee, a national leader in advancing women’s equality in American politics, announced a matching grant of up to $50,000. Your donation to Emerge Massachusetts will be matched dollar for dollar. Please give today!

As the founding strategic partner and funder bringing Emerge to Massachusetts, Lee sees the importance of building a pipeline of women ready to run for municipal and state offices across the Commonwealth.  The statistics of women in office are staggering: 17% of the U.S. Congress is made up of women and only 24% of Massachusetts state legislators are women.  Massachusetts only has one woman in our Congressional delegation and has never elected a woman to the Senate.

“Building a pipeline of women candidates in Massachusetts is key to ensuring we have diverse and representative leadership at every level of government,” said Barbara Lee “With Emerge Massachusetts, we will move the percentage of women in the Massachusetts legislature from 24% to 50%.”

In just 5 years, Emerge Massachusetts has trained 74 women in the critical skills they need to pursue public office. The women program participants complete a six month comprehensive program and develop skills in public speaking, fundraising, field campaigns, and media relations and are matched with elected official mentors to help guide them on their journeys.  Of the 74 alumnae of Emerge Massachusetts, 15 have run for office and 8 have won.  20 more women are being trained in 2012 from every corner of the state, from Greenfield to the Cape.

Your gift goes a long way towards recruiting and training the next generation of effective Democratic women leaders. Please give generously today and your gift will be matched dollar for dollar! Because of your generosity, more women will build the confidence and support they need to pursue public office.