First Lady Michelle Obama announces Organization for Action, a non-profit organization that will build on the volunteer network and infrastructure of President Obama's campaign apparatus to continue to support the president's policy objectives, including raising the debt ceiling, gun control and immigration reform during the course of his second term.
January 18, 2013

First Lady Michelle Obama announces Organization for Action, a non-profit organization that will build on the volunteer network and infrastructure of President Obama's campaign apparatus to continue to support the president's policy objectives, including raising the debt ceiling, gun control and immigration reform during the course of his second term:

"If we want to finish what we started and truly make that change we believe in, we can't stop now. And that's why today I'm proud that our friends and supports are launching Organizing for Action, the next phase of our movement for change. Supporters like you will be the heart of this organization, because for the past six years you've done something so much bigger than elect a president: you've given an ordinary people a place in our democrat process again."

Organizing for Action's mission, the first lady said, is "to build on the work we've already done by training and empowering the next generation of leaders and supporting the grassroots organizing that you want to do on the issues that matter most to your communities and our country."

Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina will be national chairman of the new OFA, but the first lady said the group's mission and activities will be shaped by its membership:

"In terms of the specifics of what this organization is going to look like, a lot of that will be up to you," she said. "It will be determined by your energy and ideas and feedback because, after all, this is your movement. And going forward, it can be whatever you want to give it."

The new OFA will be separate from the Democratic National Committee and it will be structured as a 501(c)4. That will allow it to accept unlimited contributions,but Buzzfeed reports that the donations will all be reported.

Organizing for Action will be a central topic of discussion on Sunday as 4,000 former campaign staff and volunteers gather in Washington for an "Obama Campaign Legacy Conference." The conference will be available online for those who want to watch from home.

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