KAPOW STARTED WITH A SIMPLE QUESTION:
KAPOW emerged from Kat Abughazaleh’s 2026 congressional campaign, a people-powered effort that finished second in a 17-person Democratic primary against well-funded, establishment-backed candidates.
Instead of following a traditional politico playbook, the campaign integrated a mutual aid hub and community space directly into its organizing model from day 1. Electoral work became community work, and community work became electoral power.
WHAT IF WE COULD CHANGE POLITICS FOR GOOD?
AFTER ELECTION DAY, THE CAMPAIGN ENDED.
THE WORK DIDN’T.
What started as Kat Abughazaleh’s campaign office is now KAPOW HQ in Rogers Park, still active and expanding its mutual aid and event programming every day.
KAPOW was created to scale this model of mutual aid organizing beyond a single race, helping campaigns engage people through service and community, rebuild trust in political participation, and support neighbors in the process.
We’ve kept the mutual aid hub open, hosting events nearly every day to stay connected to the community we built. Now we’re working with candidates across the country to keep testing and refining this approach.
THE KAPOW METHOD
Sure, Kat didn’t win.
But we proved a different kind of politics can.
KAPOW organizes civic engagement and mutual aid into local campaigns by redirecting the immense amount of campaign money, time, and resources to:
Meet real material needs of constituents through turning traditional campaign initiatives into donation drives, mutual aid programs, community events, and shared organizing spaces
Engage people who have been left out of traditional politics, including many who have never volunteered, donated, or participated in a campaign before
Increase voter turnout by showing people what politics can do for their communities, not just telling them to vote
Build political power and community relationships that have proven to outlive Election Day
But we can’t build this alone.
We’re building a scalable model for campaigns everywhere, where elections generate lasting community power, not just requests for support.
Donate today to help us scale KAPOW nationwide.