I've been thinking about what we could do in the way of off-year grassroots fundraising that would help build support for progressive candidates when the next election comes around. Here's one idea:
Identify current progressive officeholders who are working on underfunded but potentially successful local projects. Get some money together here on dKos that we could use to make those projects succeed. Then write letters to the editors of local papers extolling those successes, and how they were accomplished with little taxpayer funding.
Then when elections come up, these officeholders would have a portfolio of local successes they could use in their campaign ads, as well as years of built-up name recognition.