Difference between revisions of "2012trainingmanual chap2"

Revision as of 17:41, 11 January 2012

OTHER GROW WIKI DOCUMENTS: http://wiki.cagreens.org/index.php/Grassroots_Organizing_Working_Group

CHAPTER 2: FIRST STEPS

1. Set your local voter registration goal.

The General Assembly of the Green Party of California agreed to a goal of registering 100,000 new Greens in 2012.

Below are suggested goals for your county. If you live in an area that is especially progressive, feel free to increase your goal.

2. Calculate the number of tabling hours you need to reach your goal.

A volunteer tabler can get 4 to 7 registrations per hour; pick a number in this range and make your initial calculations. In a few weeks, update all your calculations using your actual average number of registrants per hour.

3. Calculate the number of tabling shifts (one person) you need to reach your goal, then the number of tabling-teams (two people) you will need altogether.

A tabling shift comes out to about 2.5 hours of actual "asking time". It's best to send volunteers out in 2-person teams, so divide your single-person tabling shifts estimate by 2 to get the number of tabling- teams you will need.

4. Calculate the number of tabling-teams you need to average per weekend from now to the end of the year, to end up with your total needed tabling-team.

5. Calculate the number of volunteers you need for each weekend Your goal will be to sign up at least this many for each tabling weekend.

6. Calculate how many core volunteers you need.

Core volunteers are highly dedicated registration-getters who will go out often.

Figure you'll need 4 core volunteers for every 100 (single person) tabling shifts you need (or for every 50 tabling teams).

Here's the logic: Applying the 80/20 rule, you can figure that 80% of your tabling shifts will be covered by 20% of your volunteers. Figure, too, that a core volunteer will probably do a shift on two-thirds of the weekends you send people out. For every 100 shifts, 80 will be done by core volunteers. If you have 30 weekends, a core volunteer will work approximately 20 shifts. So you will need 4 core volunteers for every 100 shifts it will take to reach your goal. You can also figure that the remaining 20 shifts will probably be covered by about 15 volunteers who will do 1 or 2 shifts each.

7. Figure out your tabling schedule.

Start early on Saturdays, with a 10:00 a.m. orientation. Send people out to locations by 10:30. Tabling teams should arrive at headquarters between 2:30 and 3:00 for debriefing.

If your calculations require more than 5 tabling-teams per weekend, you may want to schedule an orientation for Sunday starting around 11:00.

If you find yourself needing more than 10 tabling-teams per weekend, you may want to schedule a second time-slot for Saturday; a 1:30 orientation would be good. But if your operation is getting that big, consider dividing the county up geographically and having someone else run a separate operation.

8. Get blank voter registration cards from the voter registrar's office at the county building. Sign them out under the name of the Green Party of your county.

9. Contact Marnie Glickman at the Green Party of California help identifying and communicating with potential Green Party volunteers in your area.

Marnie can be reached by email at marnie@cagreens.org or by phone at 415.259.7121.

She will help you create and distribute email invitations to Greens in your area. She will also give you lists of phone numbers for potential Green Party volunteers.

If you have computer skills, she may be able to train you to use our Green Party of CA online database to organize volunteers in your area online.

If you don’t have computer skills, don’t worry, she will help you organize your work using paper and email.

10. Select a date for your voter registration orientation and action.

11. Work with Marnie to write and send an email invitation at least two weeks beforehand.

12. Follow up your postcard with a phone call a few days later. Figure that perhaps 3% of your invitees will actually show up for the orientation.

13. Choose your tabling locations.

Major grocery stores, farmer’s markets and other high- traffic areas are prime spots.

Look in the yellow pages; call all the local supermarkets and get the names and addresses of their regional managers.

Send each regional manager a letter stating your intention to send trained volunteers to do voter registration at their markets (list the locations) on weekends. This is merely a courtesy; you have a constitutional right to register voters at these places.

Put a copy of the relevant letter in with the materials sent to each tabling location; if a store manager tries to chase your volunteers away, it's handy for your volunteers to be able to drop the boss's name.

14. Find and equip ironing boards.

How many tabling teams will you send out at once? Get this many ironing boards plus a couple extras.

Equip each ironing board with:

(a) At least 6 clipboards; rubberband 20 registration forms and some literature to each clipboard. (b) A coffee can (bolt it to the table) decorated to say "Donations to help build the Green Party". (c) A nice, big, easily-readable sign saying "Register to Vote - Green Party". Hang the sign from the front of the ironing board. (d) A bungie cord, or rocks, to hold down your literature. (e) 7 or 8 pens that work. (f) A volunteer sign-up sheet. Most volunteers will register (and be coded as volunteers on their registration forms); but some non-citizens, folks under 18, and an occasional felon who is not eligible to vote may wish to volunteer. They should sign up on this sheet.