Grassroots

How to Be an Awesome Grassroots Organizer | Grassroots Organizing

Apr 19, 2018 by The Campaign Workshop

Learn How to be a Next Level Grassroots Organizer. 

The 2018 election cycle is here! Everyone has a renewed spirit of social justice and resistance.  Lots of activists are looking for ways to get involved in the new wave of change. Are you thinking about becoming a grassroots organizer?

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Digital Tool Talk: 7 Questions with VoterCircle

Nov 27, 2017 by Elena Veatch

VoterCircle: A Grassroots Digital Tool for Friend-to-Friend Campaign Outreach

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Habits Can Make or Break Your Grassroots Organization

Oct 23, 2017 by Elena Veatch

Routines in Your Grassroots Organization Can Lead to Success or Disaster.

A good habit can be the ingredient for success in running your personal life and your grassroots organization.

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Volunteer Recruitment That Rocks | Grassroots Campaigns

Sep 04, 2017 by Joe Fuld

Rock Solid Volunteer Recruitment Tactics to Grow your Grassroots

Volunteer recruitment is never easy. It usually starts like this:

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Grassroots Strategies: Relationships Matter

Jun 19, 2017 by Joe Fuld

Grassroots Strategies Work when You Focus on the Relationship

There are many grassroots strategies out in the world, but not all of them work.  So when it comes to grassroots, what actually works? The most effective strategies are built around personal relationships with legislators. When organizations build real relationships between their members and elected officials, their engagement lasts longer and their phone calls get returned.

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15 Grassroots Actions to Fight Trump’s Agenda

Jun 08, 2017 by Joe Fuld

Top 15 Grassroots Actions to resist in the coming months and years.

It's important to be focused on growing grassroots actions for the upcoming years as we move past the Trump presidency.

None of these tips are earth shattering, but good grassroots actions are defined by day in-and-out action that lasts for the long term.

1. Set aside time to talk with your family members and friends who did not vote, or voted the other way.

2. On a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, call, email, Facebook message, and tweet your member of Congress.

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3 Ways ActionSprout Can Bolster Your Grassroots Strategy

May 11, 2017 by Elena Veatch

Cultivate a Grassroots Strategy That Turns Passion Into Action.

Progressives across the country are fired up and ready to resist Trump’s agenda – but does your campaign have a strong grassroots strategy to turn your supporters’ passion into action?

A robust supporter base is crucial to a successful grassroots strategy, but it takes time and effort to build an email list and keep those who opt in engaged. Luckily, tools like ActionSprout are making it easier than ever to accomplish both tasks – below are three ways the tool can help.

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Campaign Volunteers | Get The Most From Your Grassroots

Feb 24, 2017 by Ben Holse

Get Those Grassroots Campaign Volunteers to Work!

Once you get campaign volunteers into the office, it’s imperative that you push them to make as much voter contact as possible. Below are a few tips on how to get your campaign volunteers to work as hard as they can for as long as they can:

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Grassroots Campaigns: a Political Memory

Jul 06, 2016 by Joe Fuld

How I Learned Grassroots Campaigns from the Master

Every Fourth of July, I think about my former boss, Congressman Jim Jontz. Jim taught me the importance of grassroots campaigns - real conversations, and knocking on doors. Jim was a congressman from Indiana’s 5th district and a progressive legend. In his first campaign, he won a state representative seat by 4 votes. He went on to win a state senate seat by less than 100 hundred votes and three congressional elections by less than four thousand votes total. He was my mentor and teacher in the world of grassroots campaigns.

I, along with many future campaign operatives, got my start in politics by doing field work for Jim Jontz in a rural Indiana district. There, I spent six months of my life organizing volunteers and knocking on doors and got a great apprenticeship in how to run grassroots campaigns.

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Engaging Your Campaign Supporter List

Mar 03, 2014 by Ben Holse

Building a Campaign Supporter List: Keep Your Campaign Supporters Engaged!

Your organization has developed a strong campaign supporter list. That’s great news! Now let’s make sure we keep your campaign supporters involved with your campaign or cause. Email is undoubtedly one effective method of communicating with your campaign supporters. There are, however, a variety of other ways to engage with your campaign supporter list as well. Here are a few suggestions:

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Tips to Mitigate Volunteer Flake Rate in Your Grassroots Campaign

Oct 17, 2013 by Ben Holse

Stop Grassroots Volunteers From Bailing

 Running a grassroots campaign is hard. There are always going to be grassroots volunteers who sign up for shifts and do not show up. That’s why when organizing an event, you can generally assume a 50% flake rate (percentage of grassroots volunteers who do not show up for their shift).  More often than not, however, with the right coaxing, you can get a volunteer, who would have otherwise failed, to turn out for their shift. Below are a few suggestions to help you to mitigate your flake rate.

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Canvassing Rural Areas

Sep 16, 2013 by Ben Holse

Canvassing Rural Areas: Door to Door Isn't the Same Everywhere

Canvassing rural areas present a unique set of challenges. While you want to canvass as many homes in these areas as you can, as grassroots canvassing is the most effective method of volunteer voter contact, you also want to do so in a way that makes sense for both you and your canvassers. Below are a couple of suggestions for overcoming the challenges of rural canvassing:

1) Open up your specs as wide as you can when pulling a list for sparsely populated areas in order to create the densest turfs possible.

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