Today the Democratic National Committee announced the recipients of the first wave of grants from the State Party Innovation Fund (SPIF) totaling nearly $1 million. These grants will ensure innovation and early organizing throughout the country to help elect Democrats up and down the ticket in 2018. SPIF is a first-of-its-kind, $10 million competitive grant program that incentivizes early organizing through state parties and supports efforts to engage African-American, Latino, Asian American/Pacific Islander, millennial, and rural communities.

The DNC will continue to work with state parties as they submit their proposals and will be announcing additional grants in the weeks to come. While the rest of Minnesota’s grant is still under review, they will receive some money during this round geared toward the upcoming special election.

In addition to SPIF, through the DNC’s Every ZIP Code Counts program, state parties have consistently been receiving $10,000 a month since October 2017, which is a 33% increase over the base funding levels from 2016 and a 100% increase over 2015, and is based on state-specific strategic plans.

This SPIF program is part of the DNC’s continued commitment to investments in early organizing and state parties. Some of the DNC’s 2017 investments included $1.5 million in Virginia to elect Ralph Northam and races up and down the ballot, helping secure major gains in the House of Delegates; nearly $1 million in Alabama to make history and elect Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate; six figures in the New Jersey Democratic Party to support Phil Murphy, Sheila Oliver, Vin Gopal, and candidates running up and down the ticket; and investments in mayoral races across the country.

“What we learned in 2017 is that when Democrats recruit great candidates, and make meaningful, early investments in organizing and community engagement, we can win anywhere,” said DNC Chair Tom Perez. “These innovation and organizing grants are proof positive that the new DNC is committed to partnering with state parties to lift Democratic candidates running in offices up and the ticket, across the country to victory in 2018, 2020, and beyond.”

“The SPIF program represents the largest investment in competitive grants ever offered by the DNC, and it demonstrates the pivotal importance the national party places on working with our states at the grassroots level to support local organizing and community engagement,” said ASDC President Ken Martin. “The DNC and ASDC believe that it’s critical to be as strategic as possible for the 2018 cycle, which means we must put together thoughtful plans of action driven by electoral goals, best practices, and a commitment to meaningful grassroots organizing. SPIF, a first-of-its-kind program, will play a key role in supporting state parties as they work to elect Democratic candidates in every ZIP code.”

The following states will begin receiving grant funding totaling nearly $1 million: