Summer Volunteer Management for Political Campaigns

Goal Setting: Charting Your Course to Victory

Begin with the end in mind. Set clear, achievable goals that will keep your campaign on track and maximize your impact.

Obviously you want to recruit as many volunteers as you can, but at some point you're going to have to pivot your tactics from volunteer recruitment to voter contact, and you need to know if you have the team to do it. You'll need to know how many volunteers you need to reach every voter in your target universes.

Start by calculating the voters in your target universes, divide by the number of voters your volunteers can reach per hour, and consider that you'll need to do several passes through the district to ensure you contact everyone.

How many weeks are left before election day? How many voters do you need to contact? How many volunteers will you have at your disposal at each stage of the campaign? The answer to all of these questions will inform your campaign's individual timeline.

The Six Month Field Plan

A campaign is a hectic sprint towards election day. Without a clearly defined roadmap, it is easy to get off track. Pressure comes in from nearly every angle, as every volunteer has their idea of how the campaign should be conducted and will probably tell you about it.

With a well outlined, easy-to-understand plan, you can help those would-be nay-sayers to buy in. Nothing in this document is secret, so sharing it reveals only that your campaign is professional and that your plan is sound. In addition, because the document spells out how hundreds of hours of volunteer time equate to victory, it can be used as a motivator for staff and volunteers should you fall behind.

Dwight D. Eisenhower is known to have said that "Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable," which is as accurate to elections as it is to military campaigns. Campaigns are hectic, and something significant will undoubtedly develop that causes you to stray from your plan. When it does, remember that planning is an iterative process that continues throughout the life of a campaign. Change what you need to change, refocus your efforts, and rewrite your plan to accommodate the new reality.

District Overview

The example district below is about 1/5th the size of a congressional district, or about as large as a state senate district in many states. Adjust the details to meet the specifics of your campaign and add or remove any events, holidays, or trainings as you see fit.

Republicans have a 2,000 vote advantage, but an active Democrat campaign could overcome that by taking a larger share of swing voters, a well-organized GOTV push, or registering new Democrat-aligned voters. This will be close.

In a standard campaign strategy, we begin by contacting the 13,000 Republicans with the highest likelihood to vote and asking them to volunteer. Then, with our new recruits, we engage in training and exercises to ensure all members of our organization are familiar with our chosen outreach software, our outreach plan and how they fit into it, and the best tactics for outreach to unidentified voters.

Then, to identify the 6,000 swing voters, we will make calls to and knock on the doors of the voters most likely to be persuadable and ask them for their support. Figuring out who people are likely to vote for is hard without talking to them, so we must cast a relatively wide net. This list will include 15,000 Soft Reps, Soft Dems, known Independents, and New Voters. If available, and if time is tight, we will use modeling to narrow down our list.

Finally, we will contact every known Republican and encourage them to vote via the method that makes them most comfortable and ensures their vote is most likely to be counted. This will focus on the 9,000 supporters and Republicans who have a low likelihood to vote, such as those who only vote in presidential elections, those who seldom vote, and new voters.

Voter Contact Targets

Each phone pass should average 1 in 10 connections. Volunteers average 50 to 70 call attempts per hour, depending on the auto-dialer. Each door pass should average 1 in 3 connections. Volunteers average 15 to 25 door attempts per hour, depending on the district's density.

Month-by-Month Schedule

Key Activities by Phase

Phase 1 runs from now through May. The priorities are recruiting staff, identifying volunteer captains, signing up for parades and festivals, following up with petition signers, and opening a campaign office. You'll also want to order campaign materials now so you have them ready when doors open. One useful tactic at this stage: whenever the campaign has a productive conversation with a voter, send a postcard reminding them of what was discussed and pointing them toward their next interaction with the campaign.

Phase 2 runs June through September. Summer makes it easier to find interns, and those who do well can be offered staff positions in the fall as an incentive. Once the first pass of phone calls is finished in mid-June, you'll begin knocking doors. Once or twice each month, host a Super Saturday to push all your volunteers to come and stretch your field capabilities to their limits. It's a good exercise for the team, helps you earn media, and lets you show strength. Keep recruiting too: invite supporters to non-volunteer events like meet-the-candidate nights or town halls, and as they show interest, invite them into more engaging activities.

Phase 3 is GOTV. Pull a list of unidentified voters who have a history of voting early or by mail and call through persuading them to vote for your candidate until all have voted or election day comes. Then pull your low-propensity supporters and call through reminding them to vote, over and over, until election day. Organize volunteers outside your most important polling places on election day to pass out literature.

Volunteer Recruitment: Laying the Foundation for Success

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and a little volunteer recruitment now saves a lot of paid voter outreach down the line.

Set up a system to capture new volunteer interest

How will you contact new volunteer prospects once you have them? Create a Google Sheet now to put their info into. Ask yourself what kind of questions you'll need to know when you have someone face-to-face. Things like what kind of tasks they'd like to do, what region they live in, and what issue or demographic specific groups will come in handy when trying to get the most out of them.

Create a volunteer sign-up form

For every question you've decided upon above, add an area for volunteers to fill in this information when they sign up in person or online.

Plan attendance at local summer events

Fairs, festivals, and parades are a terrible place to meet voters from your target universes, but it's a great way to reach potential volunteers. Make a list of all the events in and near your district throughout the summer, look them up online or call the organization, and find out what you need to do to be included. If you're on a smaller campaign, volunteering yourself to help the state or local party is an easy and free way to get involved.

Develop a pitch for recruiting volunteers at events

Practice makes perfect. You and your staffers will need to perfect your pitch to new volunteer prospects. Explain in 10 seconds or less why they'll want to be a part of your campaign. Remember that volunteers have a lot of options when it comes to how they spend their time. Make sure your pitch is worth it. Practice this pitch over and over until you can recite it in your sleep.

Volunteer Management: Setting Your Team Up for Success

This section covers how to organize and communicate with your volunteer force throughout the campaign season.

Choose a volunteer tracking system

Don't be one of those campaigns who keeps everything on paper. Paper gets lost, drinks can spill on it, and it's hard to share information with the whole team. Excel, Google Sheets, or a project management software like Trello, Smartsheets, or Asana are all good choices. Take the time now and check out your options. See what works for you, and make sure your whole campaign team is comfortable with it.

Set up communication channels

The flow of communication must be two-way, allowing for real-time feedback. Team members on the ground are your eyes and ears, offering immediate insight into voter responses. In this way, you can adapt your plans as the situation on the ground changes, allowing for real-time response to unexpected events.

Establish a mentorship program for new volunteers

Campaigns are like their own world. Things are done differently here as compared to other nonprofits that use volunteers, and it's certainly different from the private sector. The best way I've found to help people get acclimated to how things work, and improve volunteer retention, is with a mentorship program. Pair an experienced volunteer with a newbie, and assign a paid staffer to help supervise. This trinity helps keep everyone motivated, engaged, and on track.

Training and Development: Building a Skilled and Motivated Team

Untrained volunteers burn out faster and almost always produce poor-quality data. Here's how to build a training program that sticks.

Schedule a large training event with an outside organization

I love the Leadership Institute. They have a training program ready to go for most phases of the campaign, so if possible I like to bring them in to train my volunteers once every few months. Their schedule fills up though, so you might have to look to other local organizations. Regardless, a large event like this is a great one-two punch for volunteer recruitment and training.

Plan regular smaller training sessions led by staff

A large event is a great way to bring the whole team together, but it's important to also provide your volunteers with one-on-one and small group training sessions on a more regular basis. Train your paid staff and interns to be able to train their volunteers on their own and you'll unlock the ability to grow exponentially.

Develop training materials for different volunteer roles

One of the best ways to make sure all the training sessions your campaign provides are as effective as possible is by standardizing the materials. Make a handout now while you have the time. If you're looking for some good ideas, check out the Campaign Managers Toolbox guide on Field Tactics and Organizing.

Create a feedback system for continuous improvement

Mentorship programs, regular team meetings, or group chats are a great way to keep a continuous line of communication open between you and the volunteers in the field. Regardless how you implement it, your volunteers must feel like their voices are heard.

Continuing Engagement: Cultivating a Thriving Community

Here are some strategies to keep your volunteers recognized and motivated throughout the campaign.

Plan regular volunteer recognition activities

After a day of door knocking, you might be too tired to want to do small talk. But consider that your volunteers are here for you. They need to feel a sense of community, and going to a nearby bar for some pizza and a beer is a great way to build that up easily. Going further, you should plan social events on a regular basis. If you want to have these events do double duty, encourage your volunteers to bring friends and family members, so you can try to recruit them.

Set up social media channels for volunteer engagement

You should make sure there is a dedicated online space for volunteers to share their success stories, chit-chat, and share memes or funny stories. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!

Create a newsletter to keep volunteers informed and motivated

You're likely already harvesting photos and stories for your campaign social media, but that's aimed at the outside world. You should create a newsletter or similar that's aimed at your own team. Use it to recognize volunteers who have gone above and beyond, showcase those who recently got a promotion, or share motivational stories.