The RI Political Cooperative supports candidates and their campaigns in three ways. First, it enables a slate of like-minded candidates who support a common policy agenda and don’t take campaign contributions from corporate PACs, corporate lobbyists or the fossil fuel industry to run together – helping, supporting and learning from each other. Second, it provides comprehensive direct services to each campaign, including candidate training; campaign manager recruitment, training and oversight; campaign plan development; communications support; and developing, training and deploying a statewide volunteer force for canvassing, phone banking and all other volunteer needs. Third, to counter the power of corporate money in politics, it provides a means for participating candidates to build a statewide donor base.

As is required by state campaign finance law, the RI Political Cooperative charges campaigns for the direct services it provides.

No. PACs (political action committees) are formed to make contributions to campaigns and to make “independent expenditures” on advertising, canvassing and other activities to support campaigns. The RI Political Cooperative does neither of those things. Instead, it provides services to campaigns that pay for those services.

No. The word “cooperative” is used in the colloquial sense: a group of people – the candidates and the grassroots members – coming together behind a shared mission. The RI Political Cooperative is a non-profit corporation.