Forward Montana Foundation Registers 10,000 People To Vote

A little group from Montana just did something big.

Forward Montana Foundation is a grassroots, youth led organization that works to get young people civically engaged.

Hannah Reagan

We do crazy things like take bus loads of young people to other cities to knock doors, dress up in crazy costumes, have impromptu dance parties, and devote our lives to furthering democracy in Montana.

We believe strongly that the best way to get young people involved in politics is to get a ballot in their hands. So, we make sure they're registered.

Hannah Reagan

In the state of Montana, thousands of young people are eligible to vote, but the process can be confusing and time consuming. Forward Montana Foundation makes it easy, sending volunteers out on the ground asking one thing, "Are you registered to vote at your current address?"

The thing that sets us apart? Pink Bunnies and massive goals!

Kayje Booker

We aim high and we do it in style.

Forward Montana Foundation began the 2014 election cycle with a big dream: 10,000 people registered to vote.

Hannah Reagan

And so our epic journey began...

In January alone, we registered 500 people.

Forward Montana Foundation

Montana winters are cold, but we believe that even if only 10 people stop through out the day, our fingers did not freeze in vain.

We bundled up and hit the concrete. We even bought a bunny suit!

We stayed out until 7:30 pm in the freezing cold on January 31st just to register this guy.

Hannah Reagan

He was stoked.

As the school semester came to an end Forward Montana staffed up. Holding strong to the belief that we are creating Montana's next generation of leaders, instead of hiring out, we promoted from within.

Hannah Reagan

... and these were the ladies they chose.

Summer came fast. It was hot, busy, full of awesome interns and TONS of voter registration.

Hannah Reagan

We flooded events with Pink Bunnies, week after week. We made tons of friends, helped a lot of people, we missed some goals and exceeded others.

Before long, we had voter registration coming out of our ears!

... by the thousands.

It wasn't all easy. There were times goals weren't being reached, or we heard about voting for the "shadow government."

Snapchat

And there were weeks just full of rain.

As the fall semester inched closer, we began the Campus Tour.

Hannah Reagan

There are 23 campuses through out Montana and in five weeks multiple FMT organizers visited 11 of them.

With over 2,000 miles of travel split between four vehicles, a rental car can really begin to feel like home.

We started to go a little crazy....

Hannah Reagan

10k is a LOT.

But similar to the rapid beginning of our journey, the gap between our current total and goal began to shrink.

Hannah Reagan

Voter registration was coming in from all over; campus tour, weekly events, friends stopping into the office, and canvasses.

And then there was National Voter Registration Day.

Kayje Booker, Kiah Abbey

A national holiday that began as small celebration has now exploded across the country. Thousands of organizations come together for one day, with one purpose- voter registration.

And then we were 61 away...

Hannah Reagan

We're were counting down fast! We had bunnies at the University of Montana, Montana State University, and Great Falls College.

Kiah Abbey

"Volunteers, worth a lot, not for sale."

And then this guy said yes!!

Debi Lombardi

One more voter in The Electric City!

Ten thousand!

Kayje Booker

Feelings.

Via flickr.com

It's been a long time coming. Ten thousand isn't something Forward Montana Foundation could have done alone. We are a team.

Shannon Corsi

And damn, we sure do have fun.

Ten thousand thanks to our interns.

Kayje Booker

Ten thousand thanks to our staff.

Robert Peraino

Ten million thanks to our volunteers.

Hannah Reagan

And a huge round of applause for the 10,000 people who registered to vote!

Forward Montana Foundation

We registered friends, strangers, ourselves, grandparents, elected officials, and so many more.

Who knows what is next?! We hear 2016 is going to be big.

Mary