Aether Academy

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The Aether Academy is designed to grow alongside the platform.

As new features are introduced and existing workflows evolve, the Academy will continue expanding with updated guides, best practices, and operational resources to help your campaign get the most out of Aether.

If you ever have a quick question, don't forget to visit the Frequently Asked Questions section for fast answers to common topics.

We're Here to Help

Running a campaign is challenging, and we believe your software should be backed by a team that's invested in your success.

If you have questions, ideas, or feedback, Team Aether would love to hear from you. Whether you've found an opportunity to improve Aether, have a feature you'd like to see, or simply need assistance getting the most out of the platform, we're always happy to help.

Your feedback plays an important role in shaping Aether's future, and many of the improvements made to the platform come directly from the campaigns that use it every day.

One Shared Operating Picture

This creates a campaign where information moves naturally between departments instead of becoming trapped inside them.

• A finance director can understand how fundraising affects field operations.
• A field director can see how volunteer activity impacts campaign priorities.
• Leadership gains a single operational picture instead of trying to combine reports from five different systems.

One Connected Organization

Finance, Field, Outreach, Digital, and Print operate independently while remaining connected to the same operational picture.

• Finance can conduct donor call time while Field builds walking lists.
• Print can prepare literature before volunteers reach the doors.
• Digital contributes campaign activity without operating in isolation.
• Leadership sees one campaign operating together instead of combining reports from multiple systems.

Honest Abe

Because every department operates from the same foundation, Honest Abe can interpret information across the entire campaign rather than within isolated departments. Abe identifies operational pressure, highlights dependencies, and helps leadership understand what matters most next.

Everything Is a Loop

1. Information enters the system.
2. It is interpreted.
3. It is organized.
4. Work is assigned.
5. Teams execute.
6. Results are measured.
7. The process begins again.

One Campaign, Not Five Departments

Departments remain specialized. The campaign remains unified. Finance, Field, Outreach, Digital, Print, and Leadership all contribute to a single operational picture instead of operating in isolation.

Technology Should Support People

Technology should remove friction, simplify coordination, and help campaign staff spend less time managing software and more time accomplishing meaningful work. Honest Abe, execution loops, contextual interfaces, and cross-department visibility all exist to help campaigns make better decisions and execute with greater confidence.

Built Around Campaign Strategy

Rather than answering questions like a chatbot, Abe continuously evaluates how the campaign is operating and helps ensure the right work reaches the right people at the right time. Its purpose is not conversation. Its purpose is execution.

As campaign priorities shift throughout the election cycle, Honest Abe adapts its interpretation so recommendations reflect where the campaign is today—not where it was months ago.

Finding Opportunities Hidden in the Data

Honest Abe connects imported contacts, voter files, contribution history, department activity, and campaign metrics to surface relationships that might otherwise go unnoticed. The campaign remains in control—Abe simply helps make valuable opportunities easier to discover.

Human Judgment Always Comes First

Campaign professionals remain responsible for setting priorities and making strategic decisions. Honest Abe provides operational awareness, not automated campaign strategy.

Cross-Domain Intelligence

Because every department operates inside the same Campaign Operating System, Aether surfaces operational relationships that traditional reporting tools often miss.

• Print production affecting upcoming field operations.
• Volunteer capacity influencing outreach efforts.
• Campaign activity contributing to fundraising momentum.

The Overview Dashboard

The Overview Dashboard provides leadership with a unified view of campaign health through summary cards and campaign-wide analytics spanning Finance, Field, Outreach, Digital, and Print.

One Task at a Time

Rather than presenting hundreds of records, lists, and competing priorities, Focus Mode narrows attention to the work immediately in front of the user.

• One donor.
• One voter.
• One conversation.
• One task.

Focused at Every Level

Every department has its own Focus Mode experience, while campaign leadership receives a version built around coordination, prioritization, delegation, and organizational execution.

Guided, Not Controlled

Campaign professionals remain in control. Focus Mode guides work, removes the friction of deciding what comes next, and allows staff to spend more time executing meaningful work.

Connected to the Entire Campaign

Every completed task immediately strengthens the campaign's operational picture. Dashboards update, analytics evolve, Honest Abe gains additional context, and leadership gains greater visibility.

Search and Manage Contacts

Quickly search existing contacts, review information, update records, and add new contacts from fundraisers, parades, community events, or wherever valuable information is collected.

Finance, Outreach, and Field

Assigned Finance, Outreach, and Field lists are organized for rapid execution, allowing campaign staff to record dispositions, notes, and activity while moving efficiently from one conversation to the next.

Organized for Call Time

Donor lists can be built around fundraising goals, giving history, campaign priorities, or custom criteria. Focus Mode then guides finance staff through donor outreach one conversation at a time.

Understanding the Entire Donor Journey

Contribution history, pledge tracking, running notes, previous interactions, contact information, and campaign activity are brought together into a single donor profile so every conversation begins with context.

Intelligence That Supports Fundraising

Finance dashboards provide fundraising analytics, pledge trends, operational intelligence, and department-specific observations from Honest Abe while maintaining visibility into how fundraising connects with the rest of the campaign.

Built for Compliance

Contribution records are collected as part of everyday workflow. Before export, Aether validates required reporting information and converts missing data into actionable Focus Mode tasks instead of producing incomplete exports.

Built to Work Alongside Your Campaign

Whether your organization emphasizes call time, events, major donors, digital fundraising, or community outreach, Aether adapts to your fundraising strategy rather than forcing a single workflow.

Every Conversation Matters

Supporters, volunteers, yard sign requests, and voter issues all become part of the campaign's shared operational knowledge, helping every department better understand the communities they serve.

Built for the Real World

Whether knocking doors or attending community events, Aether Mobile allows campaign staff to search contacts, work assigned lists, record conversations, and update voter information directly from the field.

Intelligence That Improves Every Pass

Every round of canvassing creates new information. Honest Abe and the Campaign Operating System transform those insights into better lists, improved strategy, and stronger execution on every future pass.

Organized Around Momentum

Lists can be built around volunteer recruitment, event follow-up, supporter engagement, community outreach, or any campaign objective. Focus Mode then guides staff through each interaction one conversation at a time.

Built Around Relationships

Running notes, previous interactions, contact history, and campaign activity remain connected to every contact, allowing conversations to continue where they last ended instead of starting over.

Intelligence That Keeps Campaigns Moving

The Outreach Dashboard monitors engagement, follow-up progress, and operational health while Honest Abe highlights relationships and opportunities that deserve additional attention.

Organized Around Execution

Great digital campaigns aren't built one post at a time. They're built through planning, coordination, and consistent execution.

The Digital department gives campaign teams a centralized place to organize upcoming work, manage content schedules, assign responsibilities, and track deliverables from creation through completion.

Whether preparing graphics for an endorsement, coordinating a fundraising campaign, planning Election Day messaging, or organizing content around an upcoming event, Digital teams can manage their workload alongside every other department in the campaign.

Intelligence Beyond Individual Platforms

Every digital platform provides analytics: likes, views, comments, reach, engagement, website traffic, and advertising performance.

The challenge isn't finding data. It's understanding what that data means for the campaign.

Rather than asking campaign staff to jump between multiple dashboards, Aether brings those insights together into one operational view. Campaign leadership can better understand how digital efforts contribute to fundraising, volunteer engagement, voter outreach, and overall campaign performance, while Honest Abe helps identify meaningful trends and emerging opportunities.

Connected to the Entire Campaign

Digital doesn't exist in isolation. A successful fundraising appeal may generate increased online engagement. A field event may drive website traffic. An endorsement may increase volunteer interest. An important announcement may influence fundraising, field operations, and outreach simultaneously.

Because the Digital department operates alongside Finance, Field, Outreach, Print, and campaign leadership, those connections become visible.

Organized Around Execution

Every print project moves through planning, design, review, approval, production, delivery, and distribution. Focus Mode keeps every step visible and moving toward completion.

Planning Beyond Today

Production timelines, expected deliveries, and inventory forecasts help campaign leadership identify risks early and coordinate upcoming events with confidence.

Connected to the Entire Campaign

Print works alongside Finance, Field, Outreach, Digital, and Leadership. Requests, approvals, inventory, and project progress become part of one shared operational picture instead of isolated production work.

Intelligence That Keeps Campaigns Ready

The Print Dashboard and Honest Abe monitor inventory, production timelines, delivery schedules, and resource readiness so campaigns can prepare for what's coming next rather than simply reacting.

Building Smarter Contact Records

With supported integrations, Aether enriches contact records by associating publicly available FEC contribution history directly with contact profiles, giving campaign teams immediate context without manual research.

Organizing Campaign Work

Lists transform contacts into actionable work for fundraising, volunteer recruitment, canvassing, outreach, events, follow-up, and countless other campaign objectives, allowing every department to execute from the same foundation.

Protecting Data Quality

Every contact is validated using the phone number as its unique identifier. Duplicate records are prevented before they're created, helping maintain one complete history for every individual.

Finding Information Quickly

Powerful search allows campaign staff to locate contacts by name, phone number, address, and other identifying information, ensuring every department can quickly access the information relevant to their work.

Built for Collaboration

Because contacts belong to the campaign—not individual departments—every team contributes to a richer understanding of each relationship, improving collaboration and reducing duplicate work across the organization.

One Campaign. Shared Objectives.

Because every department works from the same contact database, lists become shared campaign assets rather than isolated departmental projects. Each interaction strengthens the campaign's shared understanding of every relationship.

Designed to Adapt

Campaign priorities change as Election Day approaches. Teams can create new lists, refine existing ones, and reorganize priorities as circumstances evolve without losing momentum.

Getting Started Faster

When contacts are imported, Honest Abe can recommend which department a list best supports, helping reduce setup time while leaving every decision in the hands of campaign staff.

Smarter Prioritization

Honest Abe highlights contacts that may deserve additional attention based on campaign activity, fundraising history, engagement, and operational signals, helping teams focus their efforts where they may have the greatest impact.

Building Institutional Knowledge

Every completed list leaves the campaign stronger. Contacts become more complete, relationships become clearer, campaign history grows richer, and future lists become more informed.

Analytics Imports

Campaigns that prefer manual reporting can upload CSV exports from supported platforms, allowing Digital and Print analytics to be imported directly into Aether while keeping reporting current.

Google Workspace Integration

Aether is built around Google Workspace. Campaigns can connect a shared Google Workspace account to access Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive directly within Aether.

We recommend using a dedicated campaign email such as info@yourcampaign.com or team@yourcampaign.com so authorized team members share the same inbox, documents, and calendar as a single source of truth.

Emails sent through Aether remain visible within Aether, allowing authorized staff to review conversations, maintain continuity, and keep communication organized.

We intentionally focused on Google Workspace because it's affordable, widely adopted by campaigns, and provides a reliable foundation for campaign operations.

Built to Grow

The Tools section will continue evolving alongside Aether. As campaigns identify new opportunities to improve communication and collaboration, additional capabilities may be introduced to further simplify day-to-day campaign operations.

Our goal isn't to integrate every productivity platform on the market. It's to provide the tools campaigns use every day in a way that's simple, reliable, and keeps teams working together.

Director-Level Access

Because integrations affect the entire campaign, access to the Integrations Hub is limited to Organization Administrators, Campaign Managers, and Department Directors.

This ensures campaign-wide services are managed by trusted leadership while allowing General Users to remain focused on day-to-day execution.

The Integrations Hub can be accessed directly from the Tools section of Aether.

Our Initial Focus

Every integration we build is intended to strengthen Aether as the Campaign Operating System. Our launch roadmap focuses on connecting the systems campaign teams interact with most frequently, bringing fundraising activity, digital engagement, and operational workflows into one shared operational picture.

By establishing that foundation first, campaigns can immediately reduce manual work, improve visibility across departments, and begin experiencing the benefits of a connected Campaign Operating System from day one. As Aether grows, so will the ecosystem around it.

Supporting Field Operations

Aether already supports field work through its shared contact data, lists, mobile execution workflows, dispositions, running notes, and Google Routes integration. These capabilities help campaign teams move from planning to real-world execution while keeping activity connected to the rest of the campaign.

Field technology is a broad ecosystem, and we don't consider that work finished. We will continue bringing additional supporting integrations to life where they meaningfully reduce duplicate work, improve field execution, or strengthen the campaign's shared operational picture.

Built with Purpose

Not every integration belongs inside a Campaign Operating System. Every integration is selected because it helps campaigns reduce duplicate work, improve visibility, enrich campaign data, or strengthen operational awareness. Our roadmap includes fundraising platforms such as ActBlue and WinRed, productivity tools like Google Workspace, campaign website integrations, and analytics from platforms including Meta, X, TikTok, and YouTube. Wherever practical, Aether leverages open APIs so campaigns can continue using the tools they already trust while working from one connected operational picture.

Growing Alongside Campaigns

The list of supported integrations will continue to grow over time as campaigns evolve and new technologies emerge. Our goal isn't to replace every tool campaigns already trust. It's to bring those tools together into one place where campaign teams can operate with greater clarity, focus, and confidence.

Built Around Your Organization

Certain parts of Aether automatically adapt based on your organization's configuration. Integration recommendations are context-aware, ensuring Democratic campaigns aren't presented with Republican fundraising platforms, and Republican campaigns aren't presented with Democratic ones.

The interface also adjusts to reflect your organization, using blue for Democratic organizations, red for Republican organizations, or Aether's default navy theme. As Aether continues to grow, we look forward to expanding personalization options with additional themes and organization preferences.

Flexible Roles and Departments

Campaigns aren't always organized the same way.

Some staff wear multiple hats.

A Finance Director may also oversee Outreach.

A Field Director may assist with Digital.

Campaign leadership often spans several departments at once.

Because of that, Aether allows Organization Administrators to assign multiple roles and multiple departments to individual users, ensuring every team member has access to the areas they need while supporting the way real campaigns operate.

Those assignments also help shape each user's experience within Aether. The roles and departments assigned to a user determine what they can access, the tools available to them, and the actions they're permitted to perform—helping every team member stay focused on their responsibilities while maintaining an organized and secure campaign environment.

We'll explore roles and permissions in greater detail in the next section.

Administrative Access

Organization Administrators and Campaign Managers have full visibility across the Campaign Operating System.

They can view every department, monitor campaign activity, manage users, and oversee campaign operations from a complete organizational perspective.

This level of access helps leadership understand how every department is performing while ensuring they can support the campaign wherever needed.

General Users

General Users receive a streamlined experience centered around their assigned department.

Rather than exposing every tool and administrative function, Aether presents the features, workflows, and information most relevant to their day-to-day responsibilities.

General Users also have access to the Overview Dashboard, providing high-level visibility into campaign progress while keeping their primary focus on executing the work assigned to them.

Focus Through Simplicity

The goal of roles and permissions isn't simply controlling access.

It's helping every member of the campaign stay in their operating lane.

When every user sees the right information, has the right tools, and focuses on the responsibilities assigned to them, the entire campaign becomes more organized, more efficient, and easier to manage.

Security Through Organization

Good security isn’t only about technology.

It’s also about making sure the right people have access to the right information.

Aether’s role and permission system helps campaigns organize access based on responsibility, allowing team members to focus on their work while reducing unnecessary exposure to information outside their role.

Strong organization is an important part of strong security.

Your Data Remains Yours

Aether exists to help campaigns organize, understand, and execute—not to claim ownership of the information entrusted to the platform. Campaign leadership can use Full Data Export in Tools to retain a copy of campaign-owned operational data.

Following cancellation or completion of yearly usage, Aether may retain campaign data for up to 60 days. Campaigns should export their full data set before that grace period expires.

Campaigns that want to preserve their Aether data between campaign cycles may keep their data stored in Aether for $5 per month until the next campaign rather than allowing the post-subscription retention period to expire.

Built on Respect

Privacy is about more than policies.

It’s about treating campaign information with the same level of respect we’d expect for our own.

Every feature we build considers how information is accessed, who should be able to see it, and how organizations maintain control over their own data.

When You Need More Than an Answer

Sometimes a simple answer isn’t enough.

Some topics deserve additional explanation, real-world examples, or a deeper understanding of why Aether works the way it does.

That’s exactly why we created the Aether Academy.

While the FAQ provides quick answers, the Academy provides the context behind those answers—explaining not only how to use Aether, but also the campaign operations and philosophies that shaped it.

Together, they help campaigns move from simply using the platform to fully understanding it.