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Melissa Walker 🇺🇸

@melissacwalker

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writer, mom, vassar girl, tarheel at ❤️, head of giving circles at @statesprojectus, it starts in the states. Latest book: WHY CAN’T I BE YOU
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Did you hear that?👂

TSP is @bravoandy’s go-to when it comes to making change and improving lives across the country.

Why?

Because like our own @melissacwalker said, state legislatures are where the power is. Click the link in our bio to learn more and help fuel the fight for governing power. by @melissacwalker

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6 months ago

Links in our link tree in bio. The States Project targets the strategic state legislative seats across the country to win governing power for majorities that will improve lives.

@statesprojectus @melissacwalker by @melissacwalker

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13 hours ago

State lawmakers can:

💰 Lower the cost of your groceries and utilities
📚 Fund public schools
🩺 Protect your freedom to make your own healthcare decisions

And YOU can build governing power for state lawmakers who are ready to deliver real policies that improve real lives.

Because here’s what almost nobody knows: it is often cheaper to flip an entire state legislature than to win one congressional seat.

Ready to work with us in the states? Tap the link in our bio to get started. by @melissacwalker

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2 months ago

You heard @melissacwalker, State Leg Summer School is in session! 📝

State legislatures are stepping up to solve the issues that impact our everyday lives most. But they can only do so when they have governing power.

Join us all summer to learn more about how state lawmakers can keep our water clean, our electricity bills in check, and how you can help ensure lawmakers who are improving lives have the power they need to keep doing so. by @melissacwalker

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3 months ago

@melissacwalker tells us why building power in state legislatures — like in her home state of North Carolina — gives her hope.

Spoiler: It’s because that power gives lawmakers the opportunity to actually deliver for their constituents. by @melissacwalker

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3 months ago

"I once had someone in a gathering sarcastically asked me a giving circle, 'what's that, like a knitting circle? like a sewing circle?' And I said 'yeah if sewing circles had knives that could strategically target power because that's what we're doing here.'

And I think that there is something around the idea that soft power is not as meaningful as hard power. I think our world values hard power and hard skills versus soft skills.

But I'm going to say something: Our giving circles and everyone I've met who's involved in collective giving has said hard skills and soft skills. Soft skills are what move the world They are absolutely the human skills that we have from working together and bringing our folks together. That is what's going to outlast AI and all the things that are coming are human relationships."
Those with soft skills move the world! We couldn't agree more with Melissa Walker from The States Project who discussed the power of giving circles at our annual 2026 We Give Summit.

This was from our session titled, "Transforming Collective Giving Into Collective Action." Access all recordings NOW from We Give Summit 2026: an annual, virtual convening that brings 1,000+ changemakers from around the world to strengthen collective giving. Check it out at the link in our bio. by @melissacwalker

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3 months ago

Ever feel completely helpless scroll-reading national news? 📱

Here’s the truth: you aren’t powerless, you’re just looking at the wrong map. 🗺️

On the latest episode of #ProfessionalJealousy, Anomaly's Chief Innovation Officer @natashajakubowski sits down with @statesprojectus co-founder Daniel Squadron and Head of Giving Circles @melissacwalker. They reveal why the ultimate hack for American democracy lives in state capitols—where races are won by a handful of votes and your dollar has 10x the impact.

Stop being an observer to the news cycle. Hit the link in our bio to learn how to turn your network into a real movement. ⚡

#TheStatesProject #Grassroots #CommunityOrganizing #Storytelling #PodcastLife #SocialImpact by @melissacwalker

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3 months ago

If you’re wondering whether Giving Circles can actually make a difference, hear more from @melissacwalker in @professional_jealousy about the impact they had in helping flip an entire chamber in Pennsylvania.

With strategic focus, your network of friends, and the willingness to chip in dollars, you can do the same. Tap the link in our bio to learn more about how TSP can help you start your own Giving Circle! by @melissacwalker

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4 months ago

Island adventures by @melissacwalker

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4 months ago

If you’ve been swinging between despair and tuning out completely… come do something with us instead.

Tomorrow Tuesday at 5:30pm PT, we’re getting our Generations: A States Project Giving Circle going again for the 2026 midterms.

Joined by Melissa Walker from @statesprojectus (past podcast guest, ongoing source of strategic hope), we’ll walk through the current landscape and how we’ll focus our fundraising together.

State legislatures decide voting rights, reproductive freedom, climate, public education. They’ve always drawn our election maps and determined voting access. But with the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Louisiana v Callais gutting the Voting Rights Act, they can now do it without the federal guardrails that protected fair representation.

These races are won on the margins and that means that our giving has outsized impact. DM me for the Zoom link to learn more. Across generations, in community, is how we get through this! by @melissacwalker

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4 months ago

63 votes. that’s all it took to shift power in Pennsylvania and get kids free lunch at school 🥪

Giving Circles have been quietly changing the balance of power in state legislatures for a decade and we are so glad we finally got to sit down with one of the women behind it all.

hear the full conversation in our newest “Sis, Let’s Talk” episode over on Seester Seester. linked in our bios 🔗

#GivingCircle #StatesProject #StateLegislature #SisLetsTalk #SeesterSeester by @melissacwalker

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5 months ago

The game hasn’t changed. The fight isn’t lost.

@melissacwalker shares how protecting our democracy still starts — and ends — with the states. by @melissacwalker

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5 months ago