The Yes campaign for marriage equality is desperately trying to raise funds so it can escalate its campaigning through what is expected to be the most important weekend of the postal survey process.

All ballots are expected to be in mailboxes by September 25, meaning the Yes campaign’s “get out the vote” strategy is reaching a crucial stage. The campaign is encouraging people to post their ballots as soon as as they arrive to ensure the envelopes don’t find their way to the bottom of a pile to be forgotten about.

Independent experts estimate the Yes campaign has so far been outspent five-to-one by the No campaign, which has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on prime-time TV ads. Polling released over the weekend showed a six per cent drop in support for marriage equality.

Australian Marriage Equality co-chair Alex Greenwich acknowledges that the Yes campaign is so far being outspent, but wants to make up for that with a strong “ground game” of door knocking and phone calls.

“This weekend we’re knocking on tens of thousands of doors and making calls across Australia, but we need to make sure our positive message isn’t being drowned out by the negativity of the No campaign,” he told Junkee.

Help us get our Bachelor ad on TV screens and devices all across the country. The more we raise, the more we reach: https://t.co/QpQ3ikKqZA pic.twitter.com/peQaLNiyju

— AU Marriage Equality (@AMEquality) September 20, 2017

“Polling indicates that the Yes campaign remains in front at this stage, but there are still millions of surveys to be returned,” Greenwich said.

“We already know 9 percent of people have voted and about two thirds have said they voted Yes. For us, that’s evidence that our get out the vote campaign is working. But that indicates we still have 91 percent to go, and that means knocking on more doors, making more phone calls, printing more flyers and paying for more TV ads.”

The “Yes” Campaign Needs Money

The Yes campaign has started a crowdfunding campaign to try to raise enough funds to put its popular TV ad, which aired during last week’s Bachelor finale, back on air.

“We had such a positive response to The Bachelor ad and we want to get it out there more,” Greenwich said.

The No campaign has tried to claim the mantle of “David” in a David and Goliath battle, but with the backing of the wealthy Catholic and Anglican churches, Greenwich said the Yes campaign has always been behind the 8-ball on fundraising.

“This was not a campaign that people wanted to be doing, or that people wanted to be fundraising for,” Greenwich said. “What we need from Yes supporters is any donation they can offer to help us ensure that more doors get knocked on and more ads get run.”

“We need people to do everything they can. Knock on doors, volunteer for phone calls, and talk to their friends and family members about why marriage equality is so important.”

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You can donate to the Yes campaign’s crowdfunding drive here.