Blue Future is a Democratic-aligned organizing coalition that trains left-leaning students about community organizing and campaigning for Democratic candidates. The organization hosts campaign events for various Democratic campaigns and causes. The organization is a project of center-left political action committee Youth Progressive Action Catalyst and its lobbying arm, the Progressive Leadership Initiative. During the 2020 election cycle, Blue Future contacted over 650,000 voters and recruited volunteers for 53 targeted state and federal campaigns while spending over $300,000 on youth organizing, including spending $40,000 to help democrats in the U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia. ¹

Background

Blue Future was founded in 2018 to invest in organizing college students and other young left-leaning activists to support progressive Democratic candidates. The organization cites a need for more funding for youth engagement on the left, noting that in 2018, the College Republican National Committee spent over $3 million while the College Democrats of America had a budget of just $50,000. ² The organization stresses a need for paid training and activism opportunities to entice more working-class and minority students into working for progressive candidates. ³

The organization’s unique model raises money to give directly to left-leaning student organizers in exchange for them recruiting and mobilizing student volunteers for Democratic candidates in targeted congressional races.  The groups website features testimonials praising the organization from Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). ⁴

Blue Future is a project of the Youth Progressive Action Catalyst, a federal hybrid PAC that also operates a 501(c)(4) lobbying arm called the Progressive Leadership Initiative. The Federal Election Commission filings for the Youth Progressive Action Catalyst are signed by Nicholas Guthman, the PAC’s treasurer, who is also a co-executive director of Blue Future. ^{5 6}

Guthman is currently a partner at left-leaning political consulting firm Democracy Partners. He has worked for a variety of other Democratic campaigns and left-leaning organizations such as Organizing for Action. He graduated from American University in 2017. ⁷ The other co-executive director of Blue Future is Morgan Stahr, who also went to American University and graduated in 2018. Stahr previously worked on the 2020 presidential campaign of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). ⁸

They are a member of Field Team 6, a coalition of state-level groups organizing to register Democrat voters in key swing states and districts before the 2022 midterm elections. ⁹

Activities

Much of Blue Future’s activity centers around providing stipends to left-leaning student organizers. The organization has an annual fellowship program that provides funding to members of college and high school Democratic Party clubs. ¹⁰ The organization also operates a ten-week paid training program that connects students with left-leaning organizations working on issues such as environmentalism and abortion. ¹¹

During the 2020 election cycle, the organization deployed campaign resources to key states including Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. ¹²

Blue Future’s parent organization, the Youth Progressive Catalyst PAC, raised nearly $800,000 during the 2020 election cycle, spending over $670,000. ¹³ While the organization is a federal political action committee, it only contributed just under $5,000 to federal candidates during the 2020 election cycle, and spent most of its funds on “strategy and research” and administrative expenses. ¹⁴

The group is part of Field Team 6, a coalition of lobbying and state election advocacy organizations working towards registering more Democrat voters within key swing states and counties before the 2022 Midterm Elections. ¹⁵

The group is listed as a supporting organization for “Design it for Us,” a youth-led coalition that claims to advocate in favor of stronger policy to protect children and young adults online. ^{16 17}

1. “Impact in 2020 Elections.” Blue Future. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://ourbluefuture.us/get-involved/impact-in-2020-elections/
2. “About us.” Blue Future. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://ourbluefuture.us/about-us/about-us/
3. “About us.” Blue Future. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://ourbluefuture.us/about-us/about-us/
4. “About us.” Blue Future. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://ourbluefuture.us/about-us/about-us/
5. “About us.” Blue Future. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://ourbluefuture.us/about-us/about-us/
6. “Youth Progressive Action Catalyst.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed July 7, 2021. http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/fecimg/?C00670216
7. “Nick Guthman.” LinkedIn Profile Accessed July 7, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-guthman-993744a5/
8. “Morgan Stahr.” LinkedIn Profile Accessed July 7, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/morganstahr/
9. “Mission.” FieldTeam6. Accessed April 12, 2022. https://www.fieldteam6.org/mission.
10. “2020 Student Organizers.” Blue Future. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://ourbluefuture.us/get-involved/2020-student-organizers/
11. “Spring for Progress and Change.” Blue Future. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://ourbluefuture.us/get-involved/spring-for-progress-and-change/
12. “Impact in 2020 Elections.” Blue Future. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://ourbluefuture.us/get-involved/impact-in-2020-elections/
13. “Youth Progressive Action Catalyst: Expenditures.” Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/youth-progressive-action-catalyst/C00670216/expenditures/2020
14. “Youth Progressive Action Catalyst: Expenditures.” Center for Responsive Politics. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/youth-progressive-action-catalyst/C00670216/expenditures/2020
15. “Mission.” FieldTeam6. Accessed April 12, 2022. https://www.fieldteam6.org/mission.
16. “About.” Design It For Us, Accessed October 10, 2023. https://designitforus.org/about/
17. “Design It For Us.” Action Network, Accessed October 10, 2023. https://actionnetwork.org/groups/design-it-for-us