OUR MISSION

Wellstone Action is a national center for training and leadership development in the progressive movement. Founded in January 2003, Wellstone Action's mission is to honor the legacy of Paul and Sheila Wellstone by training, educating, mobilizing and organizing a vast network of progressive individuals and organizations to engage in their tradition of politics.

For the past six years, Wellstone Action has worked to turn the tide away from conservatives and give tens of thousands of progressives the skills to win elections and advance an agenda of change. Now, with the election of President Barack Obama and the mobilization of millions of Americans to become engaged in politics for the first time, Wellstone Action and the progressive movement have incredible opportunities to not only tap into the energy of those volunteers and voters, but build on the skills and experience to develop thousands of candidates, campaign workers, and issue campaign organizers.

OUR VISION FOR PROGRESSIVE CHANGE

OVER 300 ALUMNI WON ELECTED OFFICEWellstone Action alumni have been elected to public office all over the country, from school board to state legislature to the United States Congress. The majority of our alumni are first-time candidates and many campaigns have been run by our alums.

21,711 PEOPLE TRAINED IN ALL 50 STATESCentral to our mission is the idea that a critical mass of trained, skilled candidates and organizers is needed to reach a tipping point for the progressive movement. We develop leaders to scale while maintaining high-quality, expert-led trainings.

112 NATIONAL AND LOCAL PARTNER ORGANIZATIONSWe provide in-depth training and capacity building in partnership with dozens of progressive organizations and coalitions across the country.

Training, leader development, and capacity building is a key component of advancing the progressive movement. We work with organizations and individuals that are running aggressive campaigns to elect candidates, pass policy reforms that improve people’s lives, or are running for office themselves. The progressive movement needs all three of these elements of change to be effective and led by skilled and trained organizers.

By giving people the skills for effective political action whether they are running for office, working on electoral campaigns large and small, or making change on issues, Wellstone Action plays a critical role in equipping the progressive movement with the expertise required to make change and develops a critical mass of trained and experienced progressive leaders.

TRAINING FOR THE PROGRESSIVE MOVEMENT

TRAINING

Electing progressive candidates to office

Mobilizing and organizing to change public policies

Elected leaders championing a progressive policy agenda

OUR PROGRAMS

Camp WellstoneWellstone Action's signature 3-day training program provides hands-on, practical training in effective political action for citizen activists, campaign workers, and people interested in running for office. Camp Wellstone is exactly what is needed in 2009 to provide training and ongoing skill development for the thousands of volunteers that were energized by the Obama campaign. Camp Wellstone can be scaled up or down to meet the needs in a community and can travel anywhere in the U.S.

Advanced Campaign Management and Candidate SchoolThis intensive, in-depth training is designed for individuals with past electoral experience who want to take their political organizing skills to the next level and candidates who are currently running for office. Our trainers teach the fundamentals of winning campaigns, building the skills of a new generation of campaign managers and developing leaders and professionals for long-term involvement in the progressive movement.

Wellstone Action Labor ProgramCustomized to meet the needs of individual unions, this program partners with progressive labor organizations around the country to help build capacity, leadership, and infrastructure in the labor community. Wellstone Action works directly with unions to tailor each training to specific needs. We combine this customized curriculum with a general approach to organizing, based on Paul Wellstone's model of effective grassroots organizing.

Wellstone Action Movement Building ProjectWellstone Action's new Movement Building Project is designed to empower change-oriented nonprofit organizations to effectively pivot their voter engagement efforts into strong policy development, issue advocacy, and candidate accountability. An outgrowth of our Voter Engagement Schools and customized trainings, MBP partners with nonprofits to design tailored training programs that train to their particular goals and work plans, helping them build long-term power and increase their impact.

Campus Camp WellstoneCampus Camp Wellstone trains students to run energized, community building, winning campaigns. CCW focuses on campus and community organizing and young voter engagement, and welcomes both seasoned activists and those who are new to progressive activism. CCW offers concrete skills, including campaign planning, coalition building, and message development, as well as how to recruit and retain volunteers and develop leaders.

Camp Sheila WellstoneCamp Sheila Wellstone addresses the specific needs of survivors and advocates working to end domestic and sexual violence. Camp Sheila Wellstone provides domestic and sexual violence movement leaders with skills in strategic planning, organizing, communications, and political advocacy.

Native American Leadership ProgramThe Native American Leadership Program is designed to strengthen Native American leadership and civic engagement. NALP provides leadership and skills training, culturally-specific curricula, highly-skilled Native American trainers, and technical support for the creation of community action plans, and creates a pipeline of Native leaders who are ready to step into key leadership positions in their communities.

Wellstone Action!T/651-645-3939 F/651-645-58582446 University Ave West suite 170 St. Paul, MN 55114www.wellstone.org

MEETING THE NEED FOR BOTH BREADTH AND DEPTHWellstone Action training programs operate based on a model that is flexible and responsive to current needs and demand in the progressive movement.

We are capable of providing both long-term, in-depth capacity building for organizations and broad, large-scale trainings for campaigns or mobilizations.

Our programs can adapt and tailor curriculum based on the needs of our partners and their current point in the

cycle of advocacy and elections. We provide tra in ing for a l l ski l l and experience levels and have trainers with decades of experience in campaigns and e lect ions, issue advocacy, labor

organizing, and voter engagement. Wellstone Action brings all our trainings directly to the organizations and communities we partner with.

21,711 people trained since 2003 in 289 trainings in 110

cities and towns across the country.

OUR IMPACT

MEASURING OUR SUCCESSWellstone Action puts a high premium on evaluating and measuring the success of

our training programs and leadership development work. Through participant evaluations, surveys, and ongoing contact with our alumni we are able to track how many of our alumni are running

for office, how many win their elections, how many are taking leadership positions

within organizations or campaigns, and how many are involved in electoral cycles or issue advocacy.

In addition, each training is rigorously evaluated by participants, with trainers using this feedback to improve our offerings and curriculum. Our trainings are consistently given very high ratings of

satisfaction.