Broadcasting live from The States Forum Convening in New York City, Patti Vasquez is joined by Melissa Walker, principal strategist, Giving Circles, at The States Project.

In the conversation Walker explained how giving circles can help regular people influence state legislative outcomes by pooling resources.  Here are a few key points from the conversation: 
- Walker described giving circles as groups of people who combine donations and focus them on state legislative races through The States Project.
- State legislatures shape education, health care, environmental policy, civil rights, voting rights, reproductive rights, and climate policy.
- Her first circle helped close campaign funding gaps for nine Virginia state legislative candidates in 2017. "They all won their seats," she told WCPT, "and the balance of power got so close to flipping in Richmond, just one seat away, that the next year Virginia expanded Medicaid, and 400,000 people got health care who hadn't had it before."
- The program now includes 214 giving circles, and The States Project participated in 59 races decided by fewer than a thousand votes in 2024.
- Circles can include a few friends, a larger mailing list, co-workers, neighbors, or family members.
- They are intended as recurring annual work rather than an activity limited to election years.

Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/driving-it-home).

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