Zinc Collective

Zinc Collective is a political organization that links tech and data analytics professionals with the intention of maintaining Democratic majorities. The collective is split into two pieces, DigiDems and Blue Leadership Collaborative (BLC). DigiDems pays for tech professionals to work in Democratic campaigns and BLC works to create a campaign workforce, which is primarily people of color, women, and LGBT individuals. 1 2

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At-A-Glance

Type: Organization, Other
Issue Areas: Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism), Labor Policy, LGBT Policy

Contents

    History

    Zinc Collective was founded in 2018 by the co-founder of LinkedIn, Allen Blue, with the creation of DigiDems. The collective expanded in 2019 with the creation of the Blue Leadership Collaborative. The Zinc Collective was created with the goal of “building programs that recruit, develop and retain high-potential talent, and that address technology gaps to drive persistent Democratic majorities.” 3 4

    Programs

    DigiDems

    DigiDems was created by Allen Blue in 2018 to connect the Democratic Party with experienced tech employees. It focuses on ballot proofing, best practices for political technology vendors, and text messaging campaigns. These employees are skilled in data analytics, organizing, and cyber security. DigiDems recruited Silicon Valley workers, with 80% of the employees from its 2020 campaign never having worked on a political campaign before 2020. 5 It also covered all or most of the tech professional salaries to help democratic politicians afford their services. It helps individual campaigns and state Democratic committees such as the Florida Democratic Party, Texas Democratic Party, and Virginia Democratic Party in 2020. 6

    DigiDems is partnered with the Democracy Alliance donor collective associated with left-of-center advocacy and supportive of the Democratic Party. 7 DigiDems also partnered with the 2020 Biden–Harris presidential campaign. DigiDems is also partnered with the Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC associated with Senate Democratic leadership that received $7 million from George Soros in the 2020 campaign. 8

    Blue Leadership Collaborative

    The Blue Leadership Collective (BLC) is a management training program for individuals trying to work for Democratic campaigns. BLC focuses on creating groups that involve people of color, women, and LGBT people. Its 2023 group is made up of 63% people of color, 56% women, and 38% LGBT individuals. 9

    The group has received much support from Democrats, most notably former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) who said, “BLC’s support of culturally competent managers will help us maintain and create majorities at the federal and state level for years to come.” 2

    Campaign Donations

    During the 2022 election Zinc Collective associates donated over $750,000 to Democratic campaigns. With the $450,000 coming from the House Majority PAC and $250,000 coming from the Senate Majority PAC. 10 In the same election cycle the DigiDems PAC raised over $3 million. Of that, over $2 million was given to DigiDems LLC, and $138,928 was donated to federal election candidates. 11 12 The Blue Leadership Collaborative raised far less money with its total coming in just over $60,000. Of that $60,000 just under $50,000 was donated to the DigiDems PAC. 13

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    References

    1. “Our Story.” Zinc Collective. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://zinccollective.com/our-story.
    2. “Home.” Blue Leadership Collaborative, April 24, 2023. https://www.blueleadership.com/.
    3. “Zinc Collective.” Zinc Collective. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://zinccollective.com/.
    4. Seitz-Wald, Alex. “Democrats Push a Matchmaking Service for Tech Workers and Campaigns.” NBCNews.com, February 14, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/democrats-push-matchmaking-service-tech-workers-campaigns-rcna15922.
    5. “Our Work.” DigiDems, August 13, 2021. https://digidems.com/our-work/.
    6. “Our Work.” DigiDems, August 13, 2021. https://digidems.com/our-work/#campaigns.
    7. Edsall, Thomas B. “Opinion: Are Liberals Fundraising Hypocrites?” The New York Times. September 30, 2015. Accessed June 21, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/opinion/are-liberals-fundraising-hypocrites.html?_r=0
    8. Severns, Maggie. “Soros pumps more than $28 million into Democratic groups for 2020.” Politico. April 10, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/10/soros-pumps-28-million-democratic-groups-2020-179367
    9. “State Manager Program.” Blue Leadership Collaborative, April 24, 2023. https://www.blueleadership.com/2023-state-managers/.
    10. “Zinc Collective Profile: Summary.” OpenSecrets. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/zinc-collective/summary?id=D000073962.
    11. “Digidems Pac Pac Expenditures.” OpenSecrets. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/digidems-pac/C00679191/expenditures/2022.
    12. “Digidems PAC PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates.” OpenSecrets. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/digidems-pac/C00679191/candidate-recipients/2022.
    13. “Blue Leadership Collaborative PAC Expenditures.” OpenSecrets. Accessed August 23, 2023. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/blue-leadership-collaborative/C00704072/expenditures/2020.