Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Campaign for America's Future do? What is your mission statement?

The Campaign for America's Future (CAF) is a center for ideas and action that works to build an enduring majority for progressive change. The Campaign advances a progressive economic agenda and a vision of the future that works for the many, not simply the few. The Campaign is leading the fight for America's priorities – against privatization of Social Security, for investment in energy independence, good jobs and a sustainable economy, for an ethical and accountable Congress and for high quality public education.

What issues do you work on? Why aren't you working on a particular issue?

Campaign for America's Future works on a broad array of issues, primarily focusing on the kitchen-table concerns of America's families. Our critical priorities are featured under the "Our Work" list at the top of every page on this website.

How can I join the Campaign for America's Future?

You can participate in our grassroots campaigns and receive occasional "action alerts" by clicking here to join our email list. You can also join the OurFuture Community to help publish, refine, and promote the key messages of our progressive movement.

Does the Campaign For America's Future accept contributions?

Yes. Without financial support from individual progressives, we at Campaign for America's Future can't do our part to strengthen our progressive movement. Click here to make a donation through our secure online system.

You can also contribute by mail. Please make out your check to "Campaign for America's Future" and send it to:

Campaign for America's Future
1825 K Street, NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20006

How is Campaign for America's Future funded?

Campaign for America's Future is financed through the donations of various organizations, foundations and individual supporters.

Who else do you work with to advance a progressive agenda?

To maximize the strength of the progressive movement, Campaign for America's Future regularly convenes organizers and activists to help forge powerful coalitions. Here are just a few examples.

Our annual Take Back America conference is the nation's premier progressive gathering, attracting thousands to develop solutions, hone strategies, and fortify our movement. Along with Americans United for Change and USAction, we brought together nearly 40 organizations to create the Change America Now (CAN) coalition, which promotes legislation providing economic security to all families. We work with the Economic Policy Institute and Center for American Progress Action Fund to host the biweekly Tuesday Group, where congressional aides, union strategists, scholars, pollsters and advocates share insight on progressive messaging and public opinion so we can elevate the national debate.

What's the difference between the Campaign for America's Future and the Institute for America's Future? Are they 501(c)3 or 501(c)4 organizations?

The Campaign for America's Future is a 501(c)(4) non-partisan, non-profit organization. Donations are not tax-deductible. The Institute for America's Future is a 501(c)(3) non-partisan, non-profit organization. Donations are tax-deductible. IAF is a center of research and education. IAF develops policy ideas, educational materials and outreach programs to help shape a progressive agenda primarily addressing the kitchen-table concerns faced by working families.

As a key strategy center for the progressive movement, CAF takes the information and analysis done by IAF and spearheads a compelling progressive agenda, coordinates progressive voices throughout the country, and incubates national campaigns to bring about lasting change.

How can I participate in the OurFuture Community - in particular the Campaign for America's Future blog?

Click here to register and receive full access to participate in the OurFuture Community - including the ability to publish valuable information on our site, post comments on our blog, and interact with the thousands of other progressive thinkers and activists who make up this community.

What is your policy on hyperlinks and republishing web content?

Please feel free to link to any item of interest on our site. In addition, please feel free to republish any and all content owned by the Campaign For America's Future by following the associated guidelines in our Terms of Use. Although we frequently link to external websites within the context of our daily web publishing, we do not maintain a stand-alone section of links to other organizations on our site.

I sent a "reply" to your news releases from "manager@ourfuture.org" and got a note back that was an "auto response." What happened to my first reply?

We have set up an auto response for the e-mail address that we send mail from to cut down on unsolicited junk mail and spam. The auto response directs people to our online feedback form which helps us filter out non-mission related messages, and route messages to the staffers best suited to respond to them.

I signed up for your mailing list but I haven't received any of your e-mails yet. Why is this?

Make sure you're able to receive e-mail from the e-mail address manager@ourfuture.org. If necessary, add manager@ourfuture.org to your e-mail white list or e-mail address book. If you are subscribed, you should be able to log in and edit your profile. Please attempt to do so here. If you are unable to login, please sign up again here.

When I filled out my personal information and clicked "submit" (or "send"), it wouldn't go through. What can I do to join up?

Please try again! This could have happened for any number of reasons, including high traffic on the Internet during the time of day you tried to sign up. Most often it has something to do with incomplete address information. If the problem persists, contact us through our Online Feedback Form so that we can manually enter you into our database.

How can I unsubscribe?

You can unsubscribe from all, or individual, Campaign for America's Future mailing lists by going to our unsubscribe page. There should be a link to this page at the end of every email sent by Campaign for America's Future.

My password doesn't work – I can't login to the subscription management system. How can I change my password/retrieve a lost password?

Go to the subscription management login page here, and enter your e-mail address in the box labeled "First time logging in?" The system will automatically e-mail you a new password at the e-mail address you entered. Once you have received your password, you will need go back to the subscription management page and log in to make changes to your account.

I am already in your database. How do I sign up for other e-mail lists your organization publishes?

You can subscribe to additional lists by logging into your subscription management page, login and subscribe to additional email lists. You may also reenter your information in our signup page, and select whichever subscriptions you wish to add (but de-selecting a subscription from this screen will not unsubscribe you from that list if you are already subscribed).

Why do you ask for my full contact information?

We ask you to provide a prefix, full name and full mailing address for proper use with our Web Action tool. A full mailing address is required to correctly match you with your correct Congressional district. Also, we don't want to send you any more email than is absolutely necessary, and by matching your email address to a street address, we can send emails that are relevant to your geographic location.

I would like to sign up for your e-mail list but I do not want my information to be given to third parties.

Our privacy policy clearly states that the personal information you provide us is stored in a secure location and is accessible only by designated staff. We will not disclose the information we collect to others except to send it, along with your message, to targeted government or corporate officials for action. We won't sell your information for any reason without your permission.

Why do I have to choose a prefix? I'd prefer not to sign up for something that requires me to give a prefix.

Congressional offices require prefixes from all individuals contacting them by e-mail or fax. We require supporters to select a prefix so that information will be stored in our database for when supporters contact their Congressional Representatives through our Web Action tool.

Every time I try to join through the form on your website, it says that my email address is already in your records. I have not joined before, but would like to.

It is possible your e-mail address was entered into our database after you participated in an online action through our Web Action Tool. If you would like to verify or change your subscription information, you can log in to view the status of your account. To log in, go to the online Profile Editor at http://ga3.org/caf/smp.tcl. If you have forgotten or lost your password, or if you have not set a password yet, enter your e-mail address in the box labeled "First time using the online profile editor? Lost your password?" and a new password will be automatically sent to you at the address you entered.

I am having problems clicking on web addresses in the Campaign for America's Future email. What is the problem?

Certain e-mail clients respond differently to our e-mailing software than others. If you are experiencing problems accessing a link in a Campaign for America's Future e-mail message, copy and paste the link address into your browser window to access the page. We'll always place a URL in our e-mails to make sure that everyone can take our actions, regardless of your e-mail system.

I click on the action link in your e-mail and there is a problem (page error/page doesn't load, etc.).

Try copying the link into your browser window and hitting enter. Sometimes our web action pages have so many supporters coming to them at the same time that the pages temporarily can't handle the load of visitors.

It says I only have to enter my e-mail address, but I couldn't take the action.

If you know you have entered all of your contact information (Full name, mailing address and e-mail address) into our system before—when you signed up for our mailing list before—you only have to fill in your e-mail address to take action through our Web Action tool. Otherwise, you need to provide all of the required fields to successfully complete the action.

I tried to sign and send a letter to my decision-maker, but it kept asking me for contact info that is already in your system.

If you believe you've already provide all of your contact information to us, please check your Profile to make sure you've given us a complete set of information.

I don't own a fax machine. How can I send a fax to my member of Congress?

Our Web Action tool is designed to automatically generate faxes and send them to decision-makers. You don't need to own a fax machine to send a fax through this tool!

Your website couldn't verify my contact information.

Do not use P.O. Box #'s if at all possible—your physical address is always optimal. Try to leave out as much punctuation as possible from your address. For example. If you usually write your address as "648 Hampton Crt., Apt. 34-B" try "648 Hampton Court Apt 34 B" instead.

If you're having trouble with your address, try going to http://www.usps.com and entering your address there. If the post office is able to locate your address and give you your "Zip Code +4," use it.

I would like to add personal comments to the letters you send that are to be forwarded to public officials. Will my edited version still be sent?

For the vast majority of our web actions, the tool enables supporters to edit the message to suit their needs. The letter text we present is actually just suggested text, and we encourage you to change it however you see fit. Your version will be sent when you click "Send My Letter" and take action.

I have already sent my letter to [the public official], and filled in the blanks with email addresses of my friends and family. I would like to send that letter to more people I know, so they can take action, also. But I don't want to send another letter in my name to [the public official]. Can you help?

Our Tell-A-Friend system allows supporters to spread the news about our Web Actions to their friends. Many of our Web Actions are set up with a Tell-A-Friend that is specifically used with that Action. Check the automatic e-mail you received from our system after you took action—that will most likely contain a link to the Tell-A-Friend page, where you can go and send a customized message to your friends encouraging them to take action, too!

I have friends who would also like to take part in your actions, but they do not have email. How can they help support your work

Encourage your friends to contact their elected officials and voice their opinions about the issues being targeted in our Web Actions. If they have access to a computes and the Internet, please tell them to visit www.ourfuture.org and take action through our online Action Center.

Your website doesn't show my correct Representative. Your website says I don't have a representative. Or, you do not have my correct congressional district listed.

If you get any of these error messages, please update your information in our database so that our system displays your correct Representative. Visit your subscription management page and log in to our system to make sure your mailing address is filled out completely and is up to date.

What should I do if I received a response from my Congressional representative telling me I need to contact him/her using his/her office's web form?

Our Web Action tool is already configured to automatically deliver your messages through Congressional office web forms. They will receive your message.