Organizing for Cause

reedmiller17@gmail.com
 Overview of What We’ll Do
 Part 1: Campaign Basics
 Who is this guy? What has he worked
on?
 Quick! We need to launch a campaign!
 Power and Oppression
 Campaign planning logic
 Things you need for a good campaign
 10 minute break!


 Reed’s Activist Background
 In high school…
› At school: Environment, GSA, Amnesty
Int’l
› Around town: Anti-war, “RYAN”
 In undergrad…
› Students Against Sweatshops
› Feminist groups
› Climate Action
 Since then…
› Greenpeace “Stop Global Warming”
› Buffalo Prison Abuse Project
 POWER and OPPRESSION
 Who has power in society?
 How can people who don’t have power
get power?
 Your campaign will hopefully empower
people
 Anti-Oppression Work
› Even within your campaign, oppressive
things might happen
› Get anti-oppression training to talk about
it
› Caucuses: Groups of oppressed people
get a chance to discuss things together
 Campaign Planning Logic
 Goals
› What do we hope to accomplish by our
campaign efforts?
 Strategies
› The bigger plan of how to achieve goal
 Tactics
› Actions to take as part of the strategy
 Campaign Planning Logic
 Example: Buffalo Prisoner Abuse Project
 Goal
› Increase the quality of life of prisoners
› Reinstate Community Board
 Strategies
› Media and Visibility
› Change County Legislature policy
 Tactics
› Weekly televised protests
› Presence at County Legislature meetings
›
 Strategies
 Media
› Reaches a wide audience, can make
“targets” uncomfortable to be on the
news
› If your story isn’t interesting, they won’t
come
 Visibility
› Take it to the streets! (Or the cafeteria!)
› Hang a banner on the bridge!
› Make a YouTube video go viral!
 Messages from the People
› Petitions, postcards, lobby visits
 SMART Tactics
 Strategic
› It’s gotta fit with your strategy…
 Measurable
› How will you know if your hard work
worked?
 Actionable
› We’ve had climbing training, so we can
scale the wall
 Realistic
› Can you really afford a hot air balloon?
 Timely
› Have to promote the candidate before the
election…
 GROW Chart
 Goals
 Strategies
 Tactics
 Audience
› Who are you trying to appeal to?
 Allies
› Who will work with you?
 Enemies
› Who will work against you
 Targets
› Who is the person(s) that can make the
change
 Target: Power Mapping
 Who & what matters to this target?
 How do you have access to this target?

Power in their position Who is influential

Target

Personal Life Financially

 Campaign Timeline
 Work backwards!
› When will you accomplish your goal?
› What are the things you need to do
before then?
 Escalate pressure!
› Ask the principal for a meeting in writing
before you stage a sit-in demanding
one
› Arrests are a big deal, should be last
resort
 Things that make a good
campaign
 Passion
› It’s going to take work, gotta be into it
 Recruit
› Power in numbers, and more work can get
done
 Teamwork and Ownership
› Nobody likes the campaign know-it-all/hog
› Delegate tasks!
 Good meetings
 Follow-Through!
› Do what you said you would
 Messaging
 Recruitment
 In person!
› People are going to come to a first
meeting if they’ve met you before
› Called to remind them
 Online
› Emails, facebook notifications
 Events
› Go to related events and get sign-ups
 Fliers
› Impersonal, but can be effective
 Teamwork and Ownership
 Invite others to take part
› If you are the president, and you always
will be the president, and you only like
your ideas, why would anyone keep
coming?
 Delegating tasks is SO important
› Even just attendance-taker, have a role
› Ask people what they are interested in,
don’t assume
 Build leaders
› Encourage people to take on more
leadership
› Do leadership training, promote people
 Good Meetings
 Facilitation
› Get training in meeting facilitation
 Agendas, “stack”, digressions, men don’t hog the
discussion!
› Don’t let meetings drag on and on…
 Ground rules
› Step up/Step back, Oops and Ouch etc
 Consensus vs Majority
› Consensus: all opinions heard, all agree
Thumbs up/down, spirit fingers
› Majority: enough of us agree, too bad for the
rest
 Follow Through
 Dowhat you can, but don’t take on too
much
› Missing an important step can slow it all
down
 At the end of a meeting
› Go over list of “action steps”/tasks
 At the beginning of a meeting
› Review list, check-in on who has done
what
 Messaging
 What’s the message that will motivate
people to join your cause?
 Tailor your message to your audience:
› Scientists vs Everyone else
› Students vs. Grandparents
› Volunteers vs Targets
 One-liners and short-stories
› Eg. Protect the Heritage of the
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge --
For Our Families, For Our Future.
›