Friend-to-friend organizing party!
Friend-to-friend outreach is the most effective turnout tactic available today.
Brainstorm: what’s your social map?
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Draw your own!
3 categories:
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People who are apathetic about this election -- who you may need to persuade. | People highly likely to to take the Pledge to Vote and Take the Streets | People likely to take the Pledge to Vote and Take the Streets |
Recruiting Outside your Social Circle
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When it comes to recruitment, many of us think of people just as individuals. We imagine there is a scattering of people out there from whom to recruit (left).
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The reality is different. Most people are not attracted to groups as individual entities. Ask around, and you’ll find that very few people get involved in a cause because they receive a flyer, get sent an email, see a poster, or see a Facebook post. Most people join a group or get involved because someone they know personally invited them. That’s because society is better understood as clusters of “social circles” (right side).
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Some ways to recruit outside of your social circle:
● Show up at the events and meetings of people outside your circle—it’s a great chance to meet others, see how they work, and find out where their values overlap with your campaign
● Stop doing the tactics you’ve been doing and try new ones that might appeal to different audiences—if your tactics are only marches and it’s not working, then it’s time to change tactics. Ritualizing our actions makes us predictable and boring. People want to join interesting groups with fresh ideas.
● Notice when other groups reach out toward your movement, and follow up with them. For example, new groups spoke out on climate change following the Pope’s encyclical or reports from the health community about the devastating effects of climate change. We could follow up with Catholic churches and health advocates who are signaling they want to be involved.
● Do lots of one-on-ones with leaders from other movements and groups. Meet with different people, not to recruit them, but to learn from them. What are their values? What interests them? What strategies work to recruit people like them? (Read more about one-on-ones.)
● Design an online petition or action that speaks to broad values and gets a new set of people engaged. Then follow-up with some one-on-one outreach to people on that list (read more about creating online media).
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3 categories:
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People who are apathetic about this election -- who you may need to persuade. | People highly likely to to take the Pledge to Vote and Take the Streets | People likely to take the Pledge to Vote and Take the Streets |
What Empower can do: | What Empower can’t do: |
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If you don’t fill out the survey questions, it didn’t happen!
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getempower.com/Sunrise-OXY
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Texting Tips
There are five major parts to a one-on-one:
Example text/DM:
“Hey [name]! {Your name} here! Have time to chat? I wanted to know if you were registered to vote? If not, I can help out with that.
Drop this link: https://vote.gov/.
Or...
Already registered?
Awesome! Will you be voting this November? I am part of the Sunrise Movement and we’re asking you to vote for Green New Deal candidates this election AND to strike for a Green New Deal after the election. Are you down?
Drop this link to get them to pledge:
https://smvmt.org/occidental-college-ptv
Let’s do the work!
Reach out the way that makes the most sense, using your own words.
How did it go?
Next steps:
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Class Announcements
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Prioritize large classes
Email professors you’re taking classes with, or not!
Write: “Hi Professor, my name is _____ and I am a ___ year here at [SCHOOL]. I am a student volunteer with the Sunrise Movement on campus, and am invested in making sure that all the students at [SCHOOL] are active participants in our democracy! I was wondering if I could make a very quick and important two minute announcement to your class about the upcoming election, what’s at stake for our generation, and opportunities to get more politically active.
Please let me know if you’d be willing to accommodate this. I look forward to hearing from you!
Best,
[Your Name]”
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If they say “no”:
“I understand if this is too partisan for you, could I just make a short announcement on the importance of voting, when the voter registration deadline is, where they can register to vote, and when the polls open? I will not speak about the candidate I’m supporting or the campaign.”
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Your Class Announcement
Say: “Hello everyone my name is _________ and I am ___ year at Oxy with the Sunrise Movement, a movement here on campus to stop the climate crisis, enact racial and economic equality through a Green New Deal. I want to let you all know how important this election is for students and what it means for all of us.”
[Include a personal testimony]
I.e. “I’m pledging to vote at the ballot box this November, and take action after the election because I am scared about the future of our planet. I grew up in Northern California, where wildfires and mudslides have destroyed the homes, and taken the lives, of hundreds of people in my community.”
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Ask:
ASK #1: COVID-19, the recession, and the uprisings for Black lives have thrown the old rules out the window. Historic change is coming. The question is: will the forces of fear and hate bring us into a darker version of the past, or will our generation rise up and light the way forward?
The answer is up to us. The change we need will be impossible if our generation doesn’t vote in this election. And we know voting alone is nowhere near enough. We need a generational uprising that makes it clear to those in power that we won’t back down until our ideas are the law of the land.
So I want to ask everyone on this call: Will you pledge to join our generation as we vote and take to the streets to win a society that works for all of us? [PAUSE]
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Ask (cont’d):
Pledge to vote RIGHT NOW with this link: https://smvmt.org/occidental-college-ptv
DROP IN CHAT
I’ll give you some time to fill out this pledge, it’s super fast. [WAIT]
�“This is a historic election -- and by continuing to organize after the election, we can start making the Green New Deal the law of the land.”
If you’re interested in joining us, our instagram is @sunriseoxy, our email is sunrise@oxy.edu Sign up here: https://forms.gle/YsTQob8HPR2ZAuGZ9
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