Who We Are

In the past, progressive candidates for state and local office were trained, recruited and supported by a constellation of organizations, from national training organizations to state parties and caucuses, with little to no coordination amongst them. This resulted in over 70% of races being uncontested, and even worse, a class of elected officials that fundamentally do not reflect their communities. At the same time, there are dozens of organizations doing the critical, long-term work of identifying great leaders, training them, and helping them to run and win. But who – and where – are these leaders? And if the people and organizations who are recruiting candidates for targeted seats can’t find them, how will we ever truly build a bench of leaders that reflect their communities?

Pipeline was created with the goal of changing these statistics. Today, we are a robust coalition of over 100 organizations dedicated to ensuring our next generation of leaders is fully supported to run for office; wage effective campaigns; and, once in office, advance progressive policies that address the urgent needs of all Americans.

To make progress toward this vision, The Pipeline Fund:

1. Convenes and connects pipeline organizations with one another. Recognizing that no single organization can build the pipeline alone, we provide regular opportunities for organizations to come together and strategize, ensuring that diverse leaders are recruited and supported in more places.
2. Provides in-kind access to pipeline-specific data and tools. We provide a set of data and tools to over 50 state and national pipeline organizations so that they can match their lists of trainees and other prospective candidates to offices they can run for; identify areas where elected officials are not reflective of their communities; and collaborate with partners in real time to recruit and support the best leaders.
3. Strengthens state-based organizations to recruit, train, and support skilled and diverse leaders in key states. Our network of state pipeline hubs play a vital role in ensuring that year-over-year, cycle-over-cycle, we are building and maintaining a more diverse pool of trained potential candidates and staff.