This is a solo episode where I share some frameworks and ways of thinking about volunteer recruitment that will help you in your recruitment efforts to increase your capacity through building a team. These frameworks can be applied to various different organizing efforts though they are rooted in my experience on political issue based campaigns.
SHOW NOTES
Key terms, notes, links, and downloadable PDFs below.
Data & Trackers (Spreadsheets/software) – Be sure to check out the action tracker excel sheet I’ve included for you below as a starting point to track your actions. The template I’ve provided below has three identical tabs so you can track different regions but you can use it however you like. I typically will build out a dashboard that all tabs feed into so that you can see the top lines of your data everyday, down the road at some point we’ll do a “google sheets for organizers” training where we can dig deep into some fun spreadsheet building skills. Also note there is a lot of great software out there now too, I find I always build out these trackers for myself even in the presence of tools like the VAN (Voter Activation Network, though you may also hear it referred to as “State Voices,” “America Votes,” and “Every Action,”) because I can get the exact data I want, in a format I prefer, quickly. Note, if you don’t have excel, you can upload it to google sheets and make it your own. Track that data!! Let me know if its of any interest and we can do an organizer software overview as well of some of the different vendors out there that organizers are utilizing.
5,50,500 – This is a framework from the National LGBTQ Taskforce to help you think about the growth capacity and commitment levels of your volunteer team.
IPVR – In Person Volunteer Recruitment – Going out and finding public places with high density foot traffic of folks that are likely your supporters to build your universe (list/membership) and expand your circle of supporters.
PAST – Proximity (how close is the venue to your action/office?), Accessibility (is it public space, can you canvas there?), Size (how many vols/staff do you need to maximize the opportunity?), and Target (are the folks that will be there likely supporters?). The key criteria you want to take into consideration when you are deciding what events to IPVR. See below for a flyer to download that has PAST spelled out for your office.
Universe – In an organizing context, can be one of two things. In a recruitment or membership building context, your “universe” is the entirety of your list. Your universe could be as small as 10 folks and as large as millions. The key is that they are all folks you have contact information for so that you can reach out to them for asks for your cause; be that volunteer recruitment, donations, requests for letters to the editor, patch through calls to legislators, voting reminders, et cetra. When you are talking about universe in a political campaign and you are talking about your field strategy, your universe becomes your list of registered voters and how you narrow down to your targets. Let’s say you are organizing in the state of Maine and you have access to the voter file. Your starting point will be close to a million folks, last I looked it was just shy of a million folks, 996 thousand and change. You’ll want to narrow that, and be more efficient through targeting based on geography, districts, demographic information, political party, et cetra. Depending on what issue your working on and where within the state you’re working, you can (and should) narrow your universe, which is good. That means you can take a more targeted approach which will be more effective. Typically, on the membership side, the bigger your universe the better, and on the advocacy/voter side, the more narrow and targeted your universe, the better.
Files to download
