county party organizing
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Building a Better County Party
April 22nd, 2009Questions? [email protected]
AIM: DFA Night School Paid for by Democracy for America, www.democracyforamerica.com,
and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s
committee.
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DFA Chair
Jim Dean
Questions? [email protected] 2
Tonight’s Trainers
Matt BlizekNight School Host
Democracy for America
Jennifer Coken
Former Chair, Denver County Democratic Party
Questions? [email protected] 3
The Democratic Party has existed since 1792 and is the longest continuing political organization in history
Training OverviewRecruitment & Development
Fundraising
Precinct Work
Planning & Goal Setting
Your County Democratic Party:• Builds infrastructure for national
campaigns• Anyone can get involved and
make a difference• Has more direct affect on your
life than national politics
All Politics are Local
Questions? [email protected] 4
Recruitment & Outreach(especially new voters & activists)
Effective Recruitment Tactics
Be Proud & Be Visible!Phone calls
Email & Online
Tip for Next Time:Build good relationships with state & national campaigns to
get volunteer & supporter data after an election
Questions? [email protected] 5
Recruitment EventsForums
TrainingsPotlucks
Building a ‘Leadership Rich’ Organization
Setting the ‘tone’ from the top
Delegate! - Create roles/jobs/positions for activists- Don’t assign tasks; Offer Responsibility!- Set expectations and learn from failures
People want training - Give it to them!
Run better meetings - Sample Meeting Agenda & tips
Got Questions? [email protected] 6
County Party FundraisingDifferent from candidate fundraising
Create a budget & set quarterly goals
Tactics for County Party Fundraising- Chair call time- Recurring donor programs- Events (large & small)- Direct Mail- Email
Questions? [email protected] 8
Precinct Organizing and Building Community
Recruit and train neighborhood captainsSee Fall 2007 Night School for tips on Precinct Organizing
Organize Social & Civic activities• Softball games against other local groups• Drinking Liberally chapters• Adopt a park or highway• Other volunteer actions
Questions? [email protected] 9
Planning & Goal Setting
Write an annual county party plan
Set specific & quantifiable goals
Track metrics to determine progress
Write it down!
Questions? [email protected] 10
Metrics to Track• New volunteers• New leaders• Precinct Captains• Money raised• Email list size• Candidates recruited
Homework
1. Attend your next County Democratic Party
meeting
2. Volunteer as a precinct captain or offer to
help organize a recruiting event
3. Help write a 2009 Plan for your county party
Email us at for feedback at
Questions? [email protected] 12
Next Month on DFA Night School
Citizen Lobbying:
Health Care & other prioritiesTuesday, May 26th - 8:30pm EDT
www.democracyforamerica.com/citizenlobbying
Join DFA Night School for an hour long training featuring Governor Howard Dean M.D. along with other special guests on how to approach and lobby your elected officials on health care and other important issues.
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Got a suggestion for a Night School topic you would like addressed in 2009? Email us at: [email protected]
2009 ScheduleClick on location to RSVP!
April 25-26 Memphis, TN July 11-12 Chicago, IL
May 15-16 Lafayette, IN July 11-12 Wichita, KS
May 30-31 Beaumont, CA July 18-19Birmingham, AL
June 5-6 Charlotte, NC July 5-26 Phoenix, AZ
June 5-6 Newark, NJ Sept 12-13 Jacksonville, FL
June 13-14 Shreveport, LA Sept 19-20 Lincoln, NE
June 27-28 Redding, CA Oct 3-4 Columbia, MO
Got Questions? [email protected] 14
More 2009 trainings to be announced soon…
Thank you for listening!
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