About a year ago I set out to create the first AI-powered co-pilot for Democratic campaigns and progressive organizations. Initially, that journey was about creating a way to better support my online fundraising team at my agency, Authentic — but once I realized how powerful a tool like this could become, I didn’t want to gatekeep it.
At a time when scams and poorly written fundraising emails run rampant in this industry and when an epidemic of burnout amongst junior staff is making it impossible to build a full and enriched bench of talent in the Democratic Party, Quiller has the opportunity to make a real and noticeable difference for campaigns up and down the ballot.
Not to mention it’s nearly impossible for local candidates to find the time or the resources to build their own grassroots fundraising program. Imagine that, the campaigns that actually need the resources most don’t have the tools at their disposal.
After nearly 20 years in Democratic digital fundraising, I’ve helped raised over a billion dollars in grassroots contributions for leaders like Vice President Kamala Harris, Governor Katie Hobbs, Senator Cory Booker, and non-profits such as the ACLU and MoveOn.org.
I’ve seen the very best of this industry: people coming together to support political candidates and causes they believe in against a wave of dark money donations from right-wing billionaires.
But I’ve also seen the worst: seniors being scammed because of bad actors, campaign and agency staffers burning out because they’re being asked to do too much, and local candidates being turned away because they can’t afford to pay digital firms like mine.
That’s why I founded Quiller, our AI-powered co-pilot designed to handle the first drafts of emails and automate repetitive tasks such as email coding.
During our closed beta testing, Quiller has shown significant promise in addressing these challenges. The tool, trained on thousands of high-quality fundraising emails and empowered with insights from industry experts, offers a custom approach to urgency and tone to match each candidate and organizations unique needs. With Quiller, I see a future where the expertise it takes to run a good online fundraising program isn't limited to those with ample time or financial resources.
I've dealt with the struggles of staring at a blank Google Doc. I've experienced the frustration of overworked junior staffers and I’ve been there too. I've had to turn away local campaigns due to lack of resources. But with Quiller, we're one step closer to alleviating these challenges.
Quiller will not only accelerate the writing and coding process, but also enhance creativity and efficiency, leading to higher open rates, fewer unsubscribes, and more campaign funds. It's a win for candidates, a win for our teams, and a win for our democracy.
I invite you to join us in this journey. We need your feedback to make this tool even better. Sign up for our beta today.
