Where To Give Now | August 19, 2026
The Shrug Emoji Election 🤷🏻♀️
Philanthropic and Political Consulting
AL Advising works with progressive philanthropists to create a portfolio of civic engagement, policy, and advocacy investments including 501c3, 501c4, candidate, and related political giving.
The Shrug Emoji Election 🤷🏻♀️
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court released their decision in NRSC v. FEC, a campaign finance related decision that overruled coordinated expenditure laws between federal candidates and party committees. There are both short-term and long-term implications for yet another gutting of efforts to reign in big money in politics.
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I’ve been thinking a lot about patriotism and how we continue to work towards “a more perfect union” in this moment. We’re going to host a Fourth of July party and ask the kids to read the Declaration of Independence out loud. This line sticks with me: “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” I do not consent.
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The most frequent question I get these days is, “How are you feeling?” And my answer of late has been, “Not awesome.”
The gut punches of the last few weeks have hurt. The Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act and Southern states responded swiftly to eliminate majority-Black districts in the name of partisan (but definitely not at all racial, no sir-ree) gerrymandering. I likened this to the feelings we had after the Dobbs decision -- the highest court in the land said a huge segment of the country is less than. Sadly, it’s a feeling Black voters are all too familiar with.
Then the Virginia Supreme Court overruled the will of the voters and invalidated their new map and voters in Indiana supported Trump-backed five primary challengers to a handful of state legislators who dared to defy him on redistricting. It’s hard to rally in the face of these setbacks. I may have had a good cry over a few glasses of wine on Saturday night. But rally we must -- and we must keep the long game in perspective.
I was quoted in a recent article in The New York Times about dark money in politics. They didn’t print the beginning of my quote which is that I hate our system and hope I can eventually organize myself out of a job. You can read the whole story here: Wealthy Donors Are Hiding Political Money in Secretive Nonprofits
Democrats are in an excellent position for a blue wave in November. But blue waves do not just happen; they need to be nurtured and funded. The Democratic brand is still dismal with voters and leadership has yet to put forward a proactive agenda. But Trump’s declining poll numbers present an opportunity to reclaim power. As we saw with the primaries in Texas and North Carolina last week and with special elections since Trump 2.0, Democrats want to win and are willing to toss aside establishment candidates to do so. We need candidates who meet the moment.
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