Like many I was very disappointed in the lack of actual gay people in the No on Prop 8 campaign ads. I have attended town hall meetings in the Sacramento area and the Bay Area and this theme keeps coming up over and over again... where were the gay families? I have also heard from the dKos community and others that they wanted to donate money to the fight for marriage equality but felt burned by the No on Prop 8 campaign, which never thanked its donors, and the other more established organizations. So I was very excited to find the "get to know us first" organization.
So quoting from their website:
In the wake of California’s passage of Proposition 8, a group of gay and lesbian families are taking to the airwaves, with five 30-second Public Service Announcements (PSAs) that are airing on daytime and prime time television throughout the state.
They ran in urban and rural markets on broadcast and cable channels during the Presidential Inauguration and will continue through the spring. Their purpose is to capture the hearts and minds of people who do not understand why marriage is so important to us.
Our message:
Marriage promotes families.
Support marriage equality
Get to know us first.
There goal is to run these ads in locations that voted heavily for Prop 8. I think this is a brilliant idea. The campaign is over and now we are building a movement. Showing people what gay families look like, teaching the public that gay families have the same concerns and values as straight families, is going to go a long way in alleviating the unfounded fears and worries of many. Best of all I can see directly what my donation is being used for.
Because we have partnered with POWER UP, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, every dollar you contribute is tax deductible AND goes exclusively to buy media time. There is no overhead (paperclips, staff, gala events, reimbursed mileage, etc.) This a $0 budget project... everyone donated their time and talents and POWER UP produced these ads FOR FREE!
I don't work for this group and until today I had never heard of them. I have been giving my time to heading up the faith-based outreach of Equality Action Now. A Sacramento area based grass-roots organization that sprung up on Nov. 5th. But I think these ads are awesome and would love to see them on the air waves. I thought many of you might feel the same way.
Below is there breakdown down of what your donation buys you...
Your contribution will make an immediate impact on our airing schedule. You’d be surprised what your money can do!
•$55 will run five (5) ads during The Closer on TNT (cable) in the Yuma-El Centro DMA (ca. 45,000 cable subscribers).
•$175 will run one (1) ad during Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC (broadcast) in the Chico-Redding DMA (ca. 95,000 cable subscribers).
•$250 will run five (5) ads during Good Morning America on ABC (Broadcast) in Bakersfield (ca. 130,000 cable subscribers).
•$500 will run one (1) Spanish-language ad on the evening news, Noticiero Univision on Univision (broadcast) in the Los Angeles DMA (ca. 3,290,000 cable subscribers).
•$1,000 will run one (1) ad during Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC (broadcast) in the Fresno-Visalia DMA (ca. 265,000 cable subscribers).
•$3,500 will run 25 ads across a week during Hannity & Colmes on Fox News (cable) in Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto (ca. 575,000 cable subscribers).
•$10,000 will run one ad during Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on ABC (broadcast) in multiple counties, reaching 2.4 million Californians.