Hartford, CT – Today the Democratic National Committee announced Connecticut as a recipient of a grant from the State Party Innovation Fund (SPIF), a first-of-its-kind, competitive grant program that incentivizes early organizing through state parties and supports efforts to engage local communities. The Connecticut Democratic Party will receive $50,000, which will be used to modernize the state party’s training and organizing efforts including implementing a historic training program that will support Democratic candidates, local party officials, and campaigns, helping elect Democrats up and down the ticket in 2018.

“Democrats in Connecticut know we need to start training our great Democratic candidates and organizing on the ground now so we can deliver the results the state deserves in 2018. What we learned in 2017 is that when Democrats recruit great candidates, and make meaningful, early investments in organizing and community engagement, we can win anywhere,” said DNC Chair Tom Perez. “The DNC is proud to partner with the Connecticut Democratic Party through this grant, which will amplify training and organizing programs across the state. These innovation and organizing grants are part of the new DNC’s commitment to partnering with state parties to lift Democratic candidates running in offices up and the ticket, across the country to victory in 2018, 2020, and beyond.”

“The SPIF program represents the largest investment in competitive grants ever offered by the DNC, and it demonstrates the pivotal importance the national party places on working with our states at the grassroots level to support local organizing and community engagement,” said Connecticut Democratic Party Chair Nick Balletto. “The Democratic Party believes that it’s critical to be as strategic as possible for the 2018 cycle, which means we must put together thoughtful plans of action driven by electoral goals, best practices, and a commitment to meaningful grassroots organizing. Last week, Connecticut Democrats flipped the 120^th House district from red to blue after 44 years of Republican control, on top of the 22 municipalities we flipped in 2017. Momentum is on our side, and we must continue to energize our grassroots base. Thanks to Tom Perez’s leadership, these grants will play a key role in supporting state parties as they work to elect Democratic candidates in every ZIP code.”

Some of the DNC’s 2017 investments included $1.5 million in Virginia to elect Ralph Northam and candidates up and down the ballot; nearly $1 million in Alabama to make history and elect Doug Jones to the U.S. Senate; six figures in the New Jersey Democratic Party to support Phil Murphy, Sheila Oliver, Vin Gopal, and candidates running up and down the ticket; and investments in mayoral races across the country.

In addition to SPIF, through the DNC’s Every ZIP Code Counts program, state parties have consistently been receiving $10,000 a month since October 2017, which is a 33% increase over the base funding levels from 2016 and a 100% increase over 2015, and is based on state-specific strategic plans.