Create the Vote 2020: Sample Email/Blog Post

Sample 1

Subject: Radical hope for a more just, equitable future

{Recipient First Name} --

Right now, we are all being called to take individual and collective action to build a more equitable, just future. [I've/We've] been asking [myself/ourselves] what role [I/we] play in increasing civic engagement and strengthening our democracy.

On June 24, MASSCreative, a statewide advocacy organization for the arts and cultural community, launched Create the Vote 2020 and invited the creative community to join the Create the Vote Steering Committee in their efforts to increase voter participation in elections through nonpartisan voter education, registration, and turnout.

Election season is a time for leaders and community members to come together to discuss the strengths and challenges of our towns and cities. It is also a time for us to openly debate our visions for our communities and think about what is possible.

Right now, many in the creative community are experiencing the impacts of violence, racism, and injustice amid the catastrophic disruptions to our creative ecosystem by COVID-19. This has left many of us feeling angry, sad, exhausted, and overwhelmed. We know that many members of the arts and culture community are struggling to reimagine the future while also trying to figure out when to reopen, restart, and begin to recover.

As [a member/members] of the creative community, [I/we] have reached a moment where going back to normal is not enough. We must have radical hope that a more just, inclusive, and representative democracy is possible, and play our role in making it possible.

The arts and culture sector needs to use the current social and economic crisis, brought on by COVID-19 and racial injustice, as a catalyst for change and take action to build a more equitable, just future.

That's why the Create the Vote 2020 Steering Committee relaunched Create the Vote 2020—MASSCreative’s nonpartisan, public education campaign—with a deeper focus on increasing civic engagement and strengthening our democracy.

Create the Vote 2020 invites us to take individual action as artists, creatives, culture workers, and arts administrators. Additionally, Create the Vote 2020 invites us to use our creativity and the platforms within our networks and organizations to take collective action. In addition to the #CreateTheVote Pledge, there's a Create the Vote Toolkit with templates to help you activate your networks, including a sample email/blog post, social media posts, and graphics. If you’re feeling nervous about engaging in elections, MASSCreative also put together this post on Nonprofits and Elections.

Let's #CreateThe Vote!

{Your Name}

Sample 2

Subject: Let's #CreateTheVote!

{Recipient First Name} --

It’s no secret that 2020 is an important election year. Not only will we vote to elect the country’s next President, but the COVID-19 pandemic, an overwhelming public response criticizing police violence committed against Black lives, and an unprecedented economic downturn weigh heavily on many of our minds. It is not enough for the creative community to bear witness to these events; we must take action and commit to building a more just, equitable future for all.

That’s why [I'm/organization's name is] joining Create the Vote 2020, a non-partisan, grassroots campaign with a focus on increasing civic engagement and strengthening our democracy. [I/We] believe in the power of the voting process to enact change within our communities and affect the policies we care deeply about, from community-based arts programs to cultural equity, and from economic relief to policing regulations & public safety.

Create the Vote will work to develop creative strategies to register people to vote, educate voters about casting ballots by mail, get people to participate in the electoral process, advocate for safer in-person elections, and turn people out to vote. Civic engagement can be one of the most effective ways the arts & culture sector can work to build more inclusive communities, and we have a duty to ensure our community members feel safe and empowered to express themselves in every way.

Create the Vote 2020 is led by a steering committee of MASSCreative, MassVOTE, and The Theater Offensive in collaboration with ArtsBoston, Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, Dunamis, Elevated Thought, Front Porch Arts Collective, Massachusetts Artists Leaders Coalition (MALC), the New England Museum Association, and StageSource. [I'm/We're] proud to join these organizations in a movement dedicated to building a more inclusive representative democracy.

Will you join [me/us] and pledge to #CreateTheVote?

Sign up to pledge, share, and take action at mass-creative.org/ctv2020. [I/We] look forward to working with you towards a radically better future for all.