1. Building Your Activist
Base
Paid for by Democracy for America,
www.democracyforamerica.com, and not
authorized by any candidate or
candidate’s committee.
2. People Powered
Campaigns
Volunteers give a campaign life
Campaigns activate people who can help build the
progressive movement
Think about the first campaign you ever
volunteered on.
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3. What’s Your
Motivation?
Why do people volunteer?
Personal connection (R)
Inspiring candidate (Id)
Inspiring opponent (Av)
Particular issue or interest (Ax)
Sound familiar?
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4. What’s Your
Motivation?
Another way to think about it:
• Community
• Opportunity
• Policy
• Social
Which are you?
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5. Where to look?
Super Dem Activists
- Early touch to the D “base”
- Party org’s: county, local Dem club
- Vol. requirement for voting privileges?
Allied groups and organizations
- Labor unions
- Campus groups
- Issue groups (LGBT, Immigration, Environmental, etc.)
- Where in your community?
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6. What kind of people?
People with a vested interest:
- Relatives
- Donors
People who are:
- Busy
- Already volunteer elsewhere
- (food banks, local clubs, scouts)
- Social/have good social networks
“give a busy person a task…”
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7. Tactics: How to ask
More personal = more effective & more time consuming
- Face to face, over the phone
Less personal = less effective & less time consuming
- Email, social media, flyering
Target super-volunteers early
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