Campus Organizing Final

Campus Organizing

September 23th, 2009Questions?

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Tonight ’s Trainers

Shawn WalterIN Young Dems & Obama Organizer

David Golemboski

NETWORKBryan Hageny

DFA, Deputy Training Director

Jessica SerrantePower Shift & Greenpeace Organizer

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Fitting the Pieces Together

Five Components of a

Campaign/Action• Goals• Strategy• Tactics• Timelines• Benchmarks


Polit ical Organizing

Issue Advocacy Organizing

Social Justice Organizing

Campus Organizing

Myths of Campus Organizing

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• Students Don’t Care

• Students Don’t Vote

• Students Are Not an Efficient Use of a Campaign's/Organization’s Resources (People, Time and Money)

• There is Less Interest in Progressive Organizing at Community Colleges, Tech Schools, and Religious Institutions

Challenges of Campus Organizing

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• Attention Span of Students

• Organization & Membership Attrition

• Passing the Baton

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Political Organizing on Campus

GOAL: To mobilize X number of volunteer hours, register Y number of new voters in the district, and turnout Z number of votes.

STRATEGY:Determine student’s individual motivations for participation. Leverage student’s institutional relationships. Utilize student’s social networks and other forms of communication.


Recruitment & Voter Registration

First Impressions…• Move in day, student org. fairs,

classroom storms.o Requires considerable

resources o The resource paradox? o Your job is to use personal

interaction to find campus leaders


Then student club and Greek outreach• Less about finding leaders than delegating to existing ones• An effective delegation is one done with minimal

expenditure of resources (people, time, $)

Getting Out the College Vote

Visibility• Not only materials, but also

personal interaction

Cost/Benefit of Voter Shuttles• Know your campus…only if your

voters face obstacles


The Fruit of your Labor•GOTV is a barometer of a properly delegated campaign

•If done correctly you will enjoy this period•Composure is key

Issue Advocacy & Movement Building

GOALTo recruit, develop, and deploy X students, facilitating a formidable and sustainable organization, in order contribute to a larger parent movement. Collectively movements leverage to their resources to achieve measurable policy improvements.

SRATEGYDetermine student’s individual motivations for participation. Leverage student’s institutional relationships. Utilize social student’s social networks and other forms of communication.


Fundraising: Making Tough Choices• Seek institutional donations• Know the players in your community• Set tangible fundraising goals for

individuals



Remember Why You Recruit!• Treat recruitment as a campaign itself• Set clear goals, strategies, tactics, timelines, and benchmarks

Recruitment tactics• Phone banking, class raps, flyering, tabling• The tennis ball tactic...

Have a clear message• Ask yourself “why people should get involved?”

Follow Up/Reactivation• Evaluate the experience to gain institutional knowledge

o What we did well, what needs improvement• Develop an email list• Most importantly continue to ask for time, $, talent


Delegation/Team Building• Good Leaders create more leaders

not more followers-delegate!• Delegate by realm: Transportation,

Housing, Food, and Fundraising• Set regular debriefs with your

volunteers to assess their progress


Social Justice Organizing

GOALExpose socioeconomic and political injustices, and make clear the connection between the lives of the privileged and the disadvantaged. Facilitate means by which students can work to change concrete realities through achievable means, in service of a vision of a more just and equitable world.

STRATEGYDetermine student’s individual motivations for participation. Leverage student’s institutional relationships. Utilize ]student’s social networks and other forms of communication.


Strengths of “Whole Person” Organizing• Promotes long-term and deep engagement• Offers reward for participants• Goes to the “core” of movement building: building a more

progressive society

Challenges of “Whole Person” Organizing• Attracts fewer persons• Requires greater resources (people, time, and $)• Requires community infrastructure


What is "Whole Person" Organizing

Values-Based Messaging• Attracts passionate individuals• Attracts the passionate, but not necessarily many• Effective values-based messaging aligns your movement

with a credible moral position


Social Justice on Campus

Personal Encounters• Makes need concrete• Keeps focus on those suffering• Creates an emotional connection

Questions?

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Email:[email protected]

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Twitter: #DFA

Shawn…• http://www.yda.org/

Jessica…• http://www.vpirg.org/vy • http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/nuclear

David…• http://www.networklobby.org/resources/index.html


Ways to Get Involved on Your Campus

http://www.yda.org/

http://www.vpirg.org/vy

http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/nuclear

http://www.networklobby.org/resources/index.html

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Campus Organizing Final

Self Improvement

Transcript of Campus Organizing Final