Sponsorship

Build the infrastructure before the early-state spotlight arrives.

Virginia is entering an extraordinary two-cycle political moment.

In 2027, Virginians will elect all 100 members of the House of Delegates, all 40 members of the State Senate, and candidates for approximately 1,400 local offices across the Commonwealth. Those campaigns will need candidates, campaign managers, organizers, fundraisers, communications professionals, data staff, and trained volunteer leaders.

Months later, Virginia will become one of the Democratic Party's six early presidential primary states in 2028.

Virginia Builds the Bench is designed to connect those two moments.

See sponsorship levels Talk with us

The program

One statewide pipeline

Between December 2026 and June 2027, Build the Bench VA and its partners plan to hold up to 14 full-day regional trainings across Virginia, including at least one event in every congressional district.

Build the Bench VAStatewide program leadership and down-ballot candidate recruitment and training
We the People for EducationSchool board candidate recruitment and development
Virginia's C4 table and participating C4 partnersCivic engagement, organizing infrastructure, and opportunities for charitable and C4-aligned support
Network NoVAActivist and grassroots leadership training
Additional partnersParty, caucus, training, and talent-placement partners

Activists and organizers

Developing community leaders with practical organizing, volunteer-management, relational-engagement, and field skills.

Down-ballot candidates

Preparing prospective candidates for school boards, boards of supervisors, city and town councils, constitutional offices, and other non-legislative offices, with school board recruitment supported in partnership with We the People for Education.

Campaign staff

Preparing emerging professionals for jobs in field, campaign management, fundraising, communications, data, and campaign operations.

1Recruit
2Train
3Connect
4Hire & Deploy
5Retain

Trainees emerging from the program will be connected to legislative, local, coordinated, and eventually presidential campaigns seeking Virginia-based talent.

By the time presidential campaigns begin substantially scaling their Virginia operations, our goal is for them to encounter something that often does not exist in an early state: a visible, trained pool of campaign professionals and organizers who already know the communities they are being hired to organize.

Why sponsor

An investment that stays

For institutional funders, the program is an investment in durable statewide civic and campaign infrastructure.

For political organizations and vendors, it is an opportunity to put training, tools, and expertise directly into the hands of the next generation of Virginia practitioners.

And for 2028 presidential primary campaigns, sponsorship offers something particularly valuable: an opportunity to invest in Virginia before the presidential race fully arrives, and to build relationships with the people who will ultimately power campaigns across the Commonwealth.

Presidential campaign sponsors can participate without any endorsement or exclusivity arrangement.

Subject to mutually agreed terms and applicable campaign-finance requirements, sponsorship opportunities may include:

Dedicated campaign presence at sponsored training events
Opportunities for campaign staff to participate in networking and program activities
Direct exposure to emerging Virginia organizers and campaign professionals
Recruiting opportunities from the program's trained staff pipeline
Opt-in communications with participants who affirmatively choose to hear from sponsors
Recognition as an early investor in Virginia's political talent and organizing infrastructure

Hire Virginia first.

Before importing staff to fill Virginia-based organizing and campaign roles, we are asking presidential campaigns to actively recruit and interview qualified Virginians emerging from this program and the broader Virginia political ecosystem.

Local hires arrive with relationships, geographic knowledge, community credibility, and institutional context that an outside operative must spend months developing.

It is good campaign practice. It keeps political investment in the Commonwealth. And at a moment of significant workforce disruption, it creates a powerful public story about national campaigns investing in the people and communities they are asking to organize.

Flexible

Ways to support the work

Direct political support

Sponsors may contribute directly to Build the Bench VA, a Virginia political action committee, to support candidate recruitment, political training, statewide program management, and other permissible program activities.

C4-aligned support

Funders that prefer to invest through a 501(c)(4) structure may support participating Virginia C4 partners for eligible portions of the work, including civic engagement, organizing capacity, activist development, community leadership, and other activities appropriate to those entities.

Where appropriate, the partnership will work with funders to identify the entity and funding structure that best matches both the donor's requirements and the intended program activities.

The goal is one coordinated statewide program with multiple compliant pathways for investment, not parallel programs competing for support.

Pick your level

Sponsorship levels

One available

Early State Anchor

$150,000

The signature institutional partner in building Virginia's statewide training and talent infrastructure. The Early State Anchor helps underwrite the full 14-stop Platinum program and is recognized as the initiative's principal statewide sponsor.

Potential benefits include:

Premier recognition across the statewide program
Prominent placement on the program website and statewide materials
Recognition at all 14 training events
Opportunity to contribute relevant curriculum or training expertise
Statewide event participation opportunities
Engagement with all three training tracks, where appropriate
Recognition in program reporting and post-program communications

Become a Early State Anchor

For 2028 campaigns

Presidential Early State Partner

$100,000

A statewide investment in the people and infrastructure campaigns will rely on when the presidential primary reaches Virginia, helping ensure Virginia enters the primary with a deeper pool of trained organizers and political professionals.

Potential benefits include:

Statewide sponsor recognition
Dedicated presence at multiple regional trainings
Opportunities to send staff to events throughout the Commonwealth
Structured access to recruiting opportunities involving program graduates
Participation in relevant networking and social events
Opt-in participant engagement at sponsored events
Recognition as a major investor in Virginia-based political talent

No endorsement, exclusivity, or political alignment by Build the Bench VA or program partners is implied by sponsorship.

Become a Presidential Early State Partner

Commonwealth Partner

$50,000

Support the statewide program while underwriting a significant portion of regional delivery.

Potential benefits include:

Statewide sponsor recognition
Recognition and participation at up to three regional trainings
Opportunities to provide relevant speakers, trainers, or subject-matter expertise
Engagement with participants at supported events
Recognition on the program website and statewide materials

Appropriate for political organizations, institutional donors, labor organizations, aligned PACs, C4 organizations, firms, and other supporters interested in building long-term Virginia political capacity.

Become a Commonwealth Partner

Early State Builder

$25,000

Help bring the complete Virginia Builds the Bench experience to a region. A $25,000 sponsorship approximately underwrites the direct delivery of one full regional training, including three simultaneous tracks and the evening community-building event.

Potential benefits include:

Recognition associated with one regional training
Event participation opportunities
Sponsor visibility at the supported event
Opportunity to engage with participants and local political leaders
Website recognition

Become a Early State Builder

Barnstorm Partner

$10,000

Support the people, materials, travel, and community-building that make a statewide program possible.

Helps fund:

Training materials and participant resources
Food and event accessibility
Trainer travel
Technology and AV
Community social events
Regional recruitment and outreach

Recognized on the program website and appropriate statewide sponsor materials.

Become a Barnstorm Partner

Bench Builder

$5,000

Help remove barriers to participation and expand access to high-quality political training throughout Virginia, covering participant materials, rural travel support, accessibility needs, meals, and other costs that let Virginians from every part of the Commonwealth participate.

Become a Bench Builder

Grassroots

Ground Crew

Under $5,000

The grassroots level. Small-dollar gifts from a lot of supporters are what build a statewide program — this tier is for people who want in without writing a five-figure check.

Give what works for you. Every gift helps bring the tour to a community near you.

Join the ground crew

The goal

The statewide plan

14 regional training events

At least one in every Virginia congressional district, with additional stops where geography and community differences require greater access.

Up to 1,680 training participations

120 seats per event across three tracks.

Three complete tracks at every stop

Activists. Down-ballot candidates. Campaign staff.

A professional statewide operation

Including full-time project management, curriculum development, regional recruitment, event delivery, participant follow-up, and talent connection.

Platinum

$550,000

14 regional trainings

Gold

$505,000

12 regional trainings

Silver

$480,000

11 regional trainings, one in every congressional district

Our goal is not to reduce program quality as funding changes. The number of regional stops scales; the quality of training, professional management, and statewide talent infrastructure does not.

Afterward

What Virginia keeps

More Virginians prepared to run for local office
A deeper pipeline of prospective school board candidates through partnership with We the People for Education
More organizers equipped to lead in their own communities
More campaign professionals ready to work in the 2027 elections
Stronger C4 organizing and civic-engagement capacity across the Commonwealth
A stronger connection between emerging talent and campaigns that need staff
A Virginia-based workforce prepared for the 2028 presidential primary
Relationships and professional experience that remain in the Commonwealth after campaigns leave

National campaigns will bring extraordinary attention, people, and resources to Virginia. Virginia Builds the Bench is an opportunity to make sure that attention leaves something behind.

Let's talk

Become a sponsor

To discuss sponsorship, regional underwriting, training partnerships, the appropriate contribution vehicle, or presidential campaign participation, contact Build the Bench VA. Funders may support the initiative through Build the Bench VA or, where appropriate, through participating C4 partner organizations.

hello@buildthebenchva.org

Funding and disclosure note

Virginia Builds the Bench is a collaborative initiative involving organizations with different legal and tax structures.

Contributions made directly to Build the Bench VA, a Virginia political action committee, are subject to applicable Virginia campaign-finance requirements and public disclosure.

Support directed through participating 501(c)(4) partner organizations will be governed by the legal, tax, disclosure, and programmatic requirements applicable to those entities and may be restricted to eligible activities.

Sponsorship recognition, campaign participation, participant information sharing, and other benefits will be structured in accordance with applicable state and federal law. Participant contact information will not be provided to sponsors without appropriate participant consent.