I’m writing this to Democrats, progressives, and everyone who is devastated by Trump’s victory. There are many things we have to do now, but here are three of them:

First: We need to connect. We lost, and it hurts. Grieve. Breathe. Connect with like-minded people. Two days after the election I called and wrote those dear to me to say: Now, more than ever! Our work in the world takes on new meaning and urgency in the face of the neo-fascist state in waiting. This is not a luxury, but a necessity; authoritarianism thrives when people who care are disconnected.

Second: We need to block Trump’s agenda. Many of us will be at new levels of risk, including women, immigrants, poor and working-class people, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ people. We will need to protest, pass state policy, and pressure vulnerable members of Congress.

Third: We need to win the 2026 midterms. We took back the U.S. House in 2018 and effectively blocked the worst of what would have been an unchecked Trump administration. We can do it again — if we don’t give up and commit for the long term. This is what we are called to do, for the sake of everyone and everything we love.

The full 2024 post-mortem will take time, but we do know this: If we want to block Trump, win in 2026, and win durable governing majorities long-term, we need to invest in year-round organizing — not just billion-dollar candidate campaigns that rise up every four years and then disappear.

Fortunately, there are hundreds of locally rooted community groups pushing for policy change and organizing key Democratic constituencies year-round, on the ground, in the very states that will be pivotal in 2026 and 2028. Unfortunately, they were deeply underfunded in the 2024 elections, and they risk slashed budgets heading into 2025.

The most effective place I’ve found to support these groups is the Movement Voter Project, which raises funds from all over the country and invests in the groups working in the places and races that matter most, both now and for the long term. Learn more about MVP at movement.vote.

And that’s just one way to do something to keep marching toward progress together.

Those of us with the privilege and ability must rise to meet this moment by building the most effective, strategic, and compelling pro-democracy movement the world has ever seen. Let us surprise ourselves with our courage, creativity, and humor. And then let’s surprise the country by mounting a comeback for the ages.

Kevin O’Keefe lives in Brattleboro, Vermont.