Mike Connery over at FutureMajority.com had a great article yesterday (cross-posted at The Nation) about how youth organizations are being forced to do more with less this election cycle.

Mike’s points are spot-on, based on what I have been hearing from donors and other youth groups. They either think Obama is going to turn out young people already so they don’t need to fund it or they still don’t believe young people will vote (the old, “we tried that last time” argument is one I still hear and correcting the myth that young people did not turn out in 2004 is a personal quest). Youth organizations are frustrated because we know how much more we could be doing, if only we had the resources – and we’re all competing with each other for what’s out there.

There are great lessons to be learned from 1992. In 1992, Bill Clinton won on the heels of the youth vote and then never talked to young voters again. He didn’t address the issues they cared about (beyond general economic stewardship) and he didn’t court their vote in 1996. It doesn’t take a genius to then guess that young people didn’t turn out in 1996 – they didn’t. And not only did we lose those young 1992 voters in 1996, we lost them, period.

This is my fear about this election. There is huge potential to capitalize on enthusiasm among young voters for Obama in this election. But there’s also an even greater danger of a cult of personality movement. The downsides are obvious if we lose – young people may become disillusioned altogether and weaker youth organizations, who could not maximize their potential in the Year of the Youth Vote, won’t have the capacity to re-energize them for issue advocacy work and future elections. But, if we win, Obama will then have to carry the mantle while also nurturing competing interests (and if you think young people’s power at the ballot box is still weak relative to older generations, our power of persuasion – organized by us, for us – is nearly non-existent). He will also inevitably disappoint all or some of his supporters, as no one’s star can shine that bright forever (even his).

Young voters will have to hold Obama, and others elected on our heels, accountable. But how can we do that in an only Obama-led movement? How can we try to move an agenda that may be at odds with the Administration’s priorities? How can we win primary challenges or have more young people run for office against older, safer, more seemingly reliable incumbents?

YDA’s goal is to create a generation of young, Democratic voters. Other youth organizations, both partisan and non-partisan alike, share a similar goal of engaging our generation like never before for a lifetime of civic engagement. To truly be a movement, we have to be more than a one cycle or one candidate electoral strategy. Critical to the long-term success of YDA and other youth organizations is the funding necessary to help organizations grow and funding that doesn’t fall prey to campaign cycles fads is crucial as well.

There are some natural obstacles we face on this front, such as: new or newly revitalized organizations without a long track record or a long donor history; high turnover in membership, leadership, and staff; less funding available within our own peer group (most young people don’t have tons to give away). Some key donors who “get it” have been investing in this movement for years but now, as the Young Voter Revolution is in full effect, more donors — those with big pockets and those with small — have to step up so youth organizations can reach our full potential.

You can donate to YDA here: www.yda.org/donate