Obama supporting group cuts staffing, fundraising
Source: ASSOCIATED PRESS
KEN THOMAS AND JOSH LEDERMAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) Organizing for Action, the advocacy group supporting President Barack Obamas agenda, is scaling back its fundraising efforts and cutting its paid staff in half as focus shifts to the approaching midterm elections, three Democratic officials said.
Formed last year from the remnants of Obamas vaunted re-election campaign, OFA raised more than $30 million in its first 15 months as it worked to build support for Obama priorities like health care, immigration and climate change. But the groups aggressive courting of big-dollar donors has troubled many Democrats who worry that OFA is siphoning sorely needed dollars from Democratic campaigns just as the party is bracing for a difficult election.
As of May 31, OFA will no longer solicit high-dollar contributions, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press. Kathy Gasperine, the groups development director and a former Obama fundraiser, told top contributors it would not be giving significant priority to seeking out new major donors.
During the remainder of 2014, we will work to strengthen our relationships we have with our national leadership, continue our robust digital organizing, and utilize our megaphone to continue to activate our network into issue advocacy, Gasperine wrote.
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Read more: http://www.salon.com/2014/05/20/obama_supporting_group_cuts_staffing_fundraising/