Are you in need of a side gig to earn some extra money? I got a deal for you. Colorado Neighbor Network is hiring. Just one catch: you’d be talking to your “neighbors” about progressive causes and Democrat candidates, and getting paid with left-wing dark money. If you can stomach the politics, it’s pretty good pay for part-time work that isn’t too taxing.
The Network calls it being a “community mobilizer,” and–according to their website–the job consists of reaching out to your network of friends and neighbors to “talk about voting and elections.” When I took the training, they tossed out numbers like $250+ per month just to talk to people in your social circle, record a video with your story, post content on social media, or check your social circle against a list of voters.
According to the Network’s site, this is a great job for teachers, among others (including the unemployed), so I bet I’m a shoo-in for the position. All the more so since I am indeed “…excited to spread information about the importance of voting with the community.”
Rise of the ‘influencer’
As the word “influencer” firmly embeds itself in our lexicon, I’m noticing an expansion of its definition: more and more so-called influencers are entering politics instead of using their social media status to sell essential oils, cosmetics or workout programs.
For example, Colorado Public Radio’s (CPR) Ryan Warner, arguably an influencer in his own right, recently profiled a party that the Front Range Passenger Rail District (FRPRD) marketing people put on. Mr. Warner referred to the people in attendance as “transit advocates,” but, as someone on the email list for FRPRD , I couldn’t help but wonder whether these were actually influencers lured by the promise of train-related merchandise and behind the scenes access. This is an impression bolstered by the pictures of train-related t-shirts and key chains on display in Mr. Warner’s article, not to mention the kind of access to FRPRD big wigs that in the past would’ve been reserved solely for someone who holds a position at CPR akin to Mr. Warner.
In the email pitches that came to my inbox, these were all things offered to those choosing to become “CoCo Conductors,” influencers working on behalf of the rail project.
Besides being a great job for teachers, the other thing that caught my eye about the Colorado Neighbor Network’s program was that it used to be something done mostly by volunteers. Eager beavers willing to get out there to talk to people about the importance of voting, help them register, and/or advocate on behalf of an issue of candidate used to be something where your only compensation was the warm and snuggly feeling you got from doing good.
Now, if the Network is a bellwether, it’s moving in the same direction as your garden variety influencer. It’s paid advertising using social connections.
The murky money trail
And if money is flowing to people to talk to their social networks about progressive politics, where’s that cash coming from?
Colorado Neighbor Network, per their website, is funded by the Organizing Empowerment Project. The Project’s Influence Watch page shows them to be an effort started in 2011 during a Wisconsin recall election. Since that time, they’ve gone nationwide, switching over to a 501(c )(4) nonprofit political organization. And boy have they grown, boasting a combined total of $15 million in revenue in 2024 alone.
Their funding comes by way of donations through ActBlue, grants from left-wing dark money heavyweights like The Tides Center and The Hopewell Fund, as well as the Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (a national organization representing public employee unions).
Such dark money donations account for the vast bulk of their revenue, but interestingly about 6% comes from “services rendered.”
Some of the Organizing Empowerment Project’s income (and thus also that of the Colorado Neighbor Network’s) comes in the form of them consulting on how to use “relational organizing” (their term for using social networks on a small scale) to having people go out and do the relating and organizing on your behalf.
When I took the training, they mentioned working to support Phil Weiser’s bid for governor, Senator John Hickenlooper’s bid for re-election, as well as targeting two undisclosed Colorado congressional races.
Even if you’d never heard the term “relational organizing” prior to now, I’m betting you’re in familiar territory. How many times have we seen outside progressive dark money funneled into Colorado in order to drive our politics. Outside of the novelty of how that money is spent this time around, this story is as old as the Democrat Blueprint. Welcome to Colorado.
The creepy part
So far so good. If you can stomach being a paid shill, if you’re none too fussy as to who’s paying, you’re in for an easy payday. As the training progressed, however, things got a little creepy. It was mentioned over and over that they want their influencers to record what their friends say, to report on issues that concern them, to bring back all the pertinent nuggets out of your conversation as relates to politics and policy. I’m not sure if this is common in the paid political influencer game, but the Network sure wants information flowing both ways. They’ll pay you to pump your friends for information.
I bailed out when the training got to where I’d have had to commit and sign up. Just as well I left when I did. I didn’t align politically with them, and it was made abundantly clear all through the training that conservatives weren’t welcome. Why the Network chose to have such bland talk on their webpage about voting and registering people only to later turn around and show themselves as a progressive movement funded by leftist organizations was never very clear. Perhaps the idea was to draw in as many people as possible and then sort the wheat from the chaff.
I could tell before signing off that there were plenty of Coloradans in the training that seemed quite enthusiastic. Whether this was due to their politics aligning with the job or a willingness to stomach the requirements for the sake of money is anyone’s guess. Whatever the motivation, they were eager to get out there and relate for money.
I think that if this proves successful, if the people paying figure they got their money’s worth, we can see more of this in the future. If that’s the case, be aware: if a friend with a large social media presence suddenly veers into politics, you might be helping them line their pocket with some out-of-state progressive dark money.
Cory Gaines teaches college physics and is a regular contributor to Complete Colorado. He lives in Sterling on Colorado’s Eastern Plains. He also writes at the Colorado Accountability Project substack.
