Campus Organizing
September 23th, 2009Questions?
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DFA ChairJim Dean
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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
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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
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.
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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
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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
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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.
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Fundraising: Making Tough Choices• Seek institutional donations• Know the players in your community• Set tangible fundraising goals for
individuals
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Issue Advocacy & Movement Building
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
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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
Issue Advocacy & Movement Building
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.
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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
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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
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Social Justice on Campus
Personal Encounters• Makes need concrete• Keeps focus on those suffering• Creates an emotional connection
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
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Ways to Get Involved on Your Campus
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