The Hill’s Blog Briefing Room » Obama Supporters Launch Viral, Grassroots Dinners


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September 30, 2008

Obama Supporters Launch Viral, Grassroots Dinners

@ 4:41 pm by Hill Staff

A new viral campaign launched by Barack Obama supporters seeks to raise money for their candidate, all while enjoying some good food and friends at the same time.

"Hungry for Obama" is a new campaign launched by four San Francisco-area roommates in which fans of the Illinois Democrat can hold dinner parties that double as fundraisers for Obama's presidential campaign.

In the past 13 days since the project was launched, nine dinner parties have generated almost $10,000 in donations to the Obama campaign, according to cofounder Louis Eisenberg. And now, as the idea has gained more traction, over 30 more dinner parties have been scheduled across the country, mostly centered in major cities.

"We had a sense that we'd been complacent in not supporting Obama as much as we could," Eisenberg said. "It occurred to us that people enjoy having dinner parties, while taking advantage of a viral component of the campaign."

Each dinner has a minimum donation of $20 and a suggested donation of $100, which has brought in roughly $1,000 per dinner. And while Eisenberg said he doesn't expect those numbers to last, he's hoping that the idea catches on, raising tens of thousands, if not more for Obama.

Hungry for Obama has not had any formal contact with the campaign–at least yet–Eisenberg said. "I think there have been a few friends that have contacted them on our behalf," he explained, "but we're hopeful that, sometime soon, they might be willing to give us some exposure."

-Michael O'Brien

Archived under: Campaigns, News, Presidential Campaigns

2 Comments »

The Hill welcomes comment from anyone and will almost always post it whether it is favorable or critical, as long as it is substantive and advances debate.

Hi Michael,

Thanks very much for the writeup! Just want to make sure people had the link to our website: http://www.hungryforobama.com.

Comment by Louis Eisenberg — September 30, 2008 @ 5:29 pm
This is amazing! What a great idea! I can't believe Obama's supporters are so smart and on the cutting edge of campaign fundraising technology that they thought up FUNDRAISING DINNERS! What a concept! I hope McCain can keep up with the new trend of "viral, grassroots dinners"! Ain't Obama COOL?

Comment by COIndy — October 1, 2008 @ 8:47 am

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September 30, 2008

Obama Supporters Launch Viral, Grassroots Dinners

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