Why Volunteers Matter

Reasons to engage volunteers in your campaign

If you’re still not convinced about involving volunteers in your campaign, here are a few reasons why you should.

Those who decide to get involved in a campaign do so because they want to, not because they need to. Therefore, it’s because they believe in the ideas championed by their candidate. It’s much more than a territorial outreach arm; it’s the organic contact the candidate has daily with a segment of her electorate and her best gauge for how to proceed. It’s more than a group you can talk to; it’s a group for you to listen to. This exchange is essential to keep the desire to participate alive throughout the process. Furthermore, the daily interaction between the candidate and volunteers strengthens the entire movement, expanding interpersonal networks and bringing new perspectives.

People bring power and value to campaigns through vision, collaboration, data, and agility.

“Outstanding campaigns do more than simply tell a story. They value the unique potential of each individual to achieve something greater than they could have imagined on their own, building collective power in the process.”

You can continue reading about people power in The Anatomy of People-Powered Campaigns, by Mob Lab.

Ideas

More people mean more ideas, ensuring your campaign is constantly improving.

Listen

Volunteers are also your voters. Listen to them to improve your campaign strategy, including what they think about your message, narrative and discourse.

Help People Fall in Love with Politics

Take advantage of the opportunity to bring people closer to politics so they can understand how it works. With some luck, these people will become permanently involved in political life, helping to strengthen democracy.

Network

More people talking about the candidate within their own networks expands the campaign’s network of contacts and voters’ reach.

Now that you understand the importance of involving volunteers in your campaign and have decided to recruit them, it is important to take into account the basic principles of volunteering.

Believe in Volunteers

Being convinced that volunteers are a fundamental part of your campaign’s success and reach means that you will value them and, therefore, dedicate time to the activities necessary for proper recruitment and management.

Commit to Volunteers

Volunteering is a two-way street. Your commitment, responsibility, and professionalism toward volunteers will ensure the relationship is reciprocal.

Create a Structured Program

What will the volunteer do? How will they do it? What support tools will they have?

Being able to answer these questions is essential to getting started and to preventing volunteers from becoming discouraged due to uncertainty about how to contribute or from feeling unhelpful or undervalued.

Share Your Dream

Volunteers support you because they believe in you. It is your job to keep that inspiration alive. Always explain why you want to be elected and what causes you stand for. This will attract more volunteers who share your ideals and help maintain motivation among those who are already involved.