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Dubbed "for45" -
for Clinton as the 45th president of the United States - the
group will offer associate level membership for as low as $250,
according to an invitation seen by Reuters for an April 25
Philadelphia event.
"We will have an opportunity to fundraise and host low-dollar
events, speaking to what we are passionate about and why we
support her," said Akilah Ensley, a 32-year-old Clinton
supporter planning to join the group. "It's important that we
engage."
The group held its "kick-off" conference call on Thursday,
featuring the Clinton campaign's finance director, Dennis Cheng,
other campaign officials, and actress Lena Dunham, according to
an invitation to the call.
The group includes two other tiers, according to an information
sheet seen by Reuters - a "member" level with minimum
fundraising of $2,500 and an "advisor" level for raising at
least $10,000.
The Clinton and Sanders campaigns did not respond to requests
for comment.
The formation of the group underscores the challenge facing the
former secretary of state in winning over the young people who
have helped power Sanders' run. Younger voters are a critical
voting block and source of financing should she win the
Democratic nomination for the Nov. 8 presidential election.
Clinton has a commanding delegate lead over Sanders, the U.S.
senator from Vermont, and checked his momentum by winning New
York's primary earlier this week.
But she has struggled to attract younger voters. While she won
New York on Tuesday by 16 points, Sanders took 65 percent of
Democratic voters aged 18 to 29, according to exit polls
conducted by Edison Research and published in the New York
Times. Younger voters have also turned out more heavily for
Sanders in other states.
Sanders so often boasts about his average donation level of $27
that rally crowds now shout the number out along with him.
Steve Schale, a Democratic strategist in Florida who is not
affiliated with the Clinton campaign, said for45 was a "smart
way" to begin courting Sanders' supporters. He compared it with
the "Gen44" group of young voters that supported President
Barack Obama.
"Anything that spurs people to get involved financially, it just
builds more ownership in the campaign," he said.
(Reporting by Luciana Lopez; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and
Peter Cooney)
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