Ready for Hillary has no official ties to Clinton. But they've become a campaign-in-waiting for the former secretary of state, amassing a list of 3 million supporters. The organization plans to begin shutting down as soon as Clinton formally announces—if she decides to run, of course. It will make its list of backers available to her campaign, giving Clinton the type of infrastructure any candidate would covet. “We will be at or beyond on Day One of the Clinton campaign, if and when it comes, where we ended up last time,” Jerry Crawford, an Iowa lawyer who's advised Clinton's 2008 presidential campaigns, told reporters at a Ready for Hillary donor summit in New York last month.

In a sign that Ready for Hillary doesn't anticipate closing its doors in the immediate future, organizers took out a $1 million loan—which they plan to repay by March—to expand its direct mail operation, according to the documents. Letters touting its work on behalf of Clinton are being sent to every zip code in the country, according to a strategist involved with the operation, and the investment has doubled their number of donors who give an average of $10 more than those online.

Typically, the mail pieces include a pledge card, photo of Clinton being sworn in as secretary of state, and a solicitation letter from Craig Smith, a long-time Clinton confidant and adviser to Ready for Hillary. "In 2012, Republicans saw that an early, strong organization helped re-elect President Obama. They ignored it then, but I’m sure they won’t make that foolish mistake again," writes Smith. "I believe we owe it to Hillary to show her we’ve got her back."

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