There are a lot of ways to help!
Email [email protected]
STEP 1:
- Sign up for the email list and/or to volunteer on our website. You can opt out of emails and there's no commitment required, but this is the best way to get looped in so you can help out when you can.
- Join the STAR Voting Slack Workspace to find action items and get connected! (The join link will be sent to you when you sign up.)
- Join the STAR Voting Discussion Group on Facebook and follow STAR Voting and Equal Vote on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
STEP 2:
Show up for meetings, trainings, canvassing, and other events. Our Events are the best way to stay up to date. Please RSVP, share, and invite your friends.
STEP 3:
Find your niche and volunteer. This is a growing organization with short and long term goals and projects. We have volunteer options for everyone regardless of availability, location, or skill set. If you're ready to level up and volunteer joining the Slack is the best way to get looped in.
Opportunities include: Canvassing, Outreach, Press, Promotion, Voter Education, Fundraising, Event Planning, Graphic Design, Volunteer Coordination, Tech, Writing, Web design, and Leadership.
Check out the Activist Toolkit for all the materials you could need.
If you don't see any upcoming events in your area it might be time to start a chapter! You're also welcome to come to local chapter meetings in other areas. Whether or not you're local you can still help.
THE SCOOP: Teamwork makes the dream work!
CANVASSING: Going out with a clipboard, signing people up, getting donations and telling people about STAR Voting! You can canvass on the street or at farmers markets, go door to door, or go to events or meetings.
Canvassing for signatures is the #1 most valuable thing you can do! For new canvassers we have a buddy system where you can go out with an experienced team member, learn the ropes and build confidence. Get everything you need by coming out to a training or meet-up.
OUTREACH: Writing letters or going in-person to reach out to organizations and individuals we'd like to get involved. Organizing presentations to communities and stakeholders.
The most effective outreach is in your own network. Do you go to meetings for other groups and organizations already? Do you know leaders in your community, in business, in activism, or in politics? Do you have groups or individuals you follow and respect? We are working to grow the Equal Vote Coalition, earn endorsements for STAR Voting, give presentations at events and meetings, and make sure that local leaders are included and invited to get involved.
Once our team has made initial contact it's up to our volunteers to follow up, show that this is important to people, and build lasting alliances.
We have great speakers that can come present. Set up a conversation or make an introduction. Schedule a presentation, or offer to help get them set using STAR Voting for their own decision making with the bettervoting.com election app.
PRESS: Help get us featured in the press! Help get our content published. Help write op-eds and articles. Help us film or record promotional materials.
We have tons of great articles for every audience. Short or long, accessible or technical, general or focused we have great content that should get submitted to newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. We also have videos and other media that can be shared. We have radio ready spokespeople. We also welcome and encourage you to write or create new content as inspiration strikes. We have some great videos already but we have more in the works that you could help with.
PROMOTION: Help spread the word about our events and activity on platforms like Nextdoor, on social media, and through other avenues.
Nextdoor is probably the most powerful promotional tool out there right now for local happenings and news but you can only share to your neighborhood. We need a point person doing promotion in each neighborhood. Facebook is another powerful tool and we have accounts for other social media too. Most neighborhoods and many organizations have newsletters or press releases. Let's get our content featured! Tons of community gathering places have bulletin boards, let's post our flyers around town.
EDUCATION: STAR Voting is on the ballot and we need at least 51% of registered voters to know what this is and why we need it. Currently many people don't even understand that our voting system is the root of the problem. Education is the key!
Education underlies most of the other focus areas on this list but it's critical that it gets its own time in the limelight. People generally need to hear about something 7 times before they remember it but if they use it for themselves it sticks much faster Let's get this issue in front of the people. We can host community forums, visit classrooms, do live demos, get groups and organizations to use STAR Voting, and offer up the bettervoting.com app for their own meetings and elections.
FUNDRAISING: Organizing a campaign and team is a full time job. Running a campaign takes money and we need your help to raise it.
Share our fundraising links and videos. Host a cocktail party, "coffee" or a social. Phone bank or write letters asking for donations of money, food or drinks for events, or items we can auction off. Go canvassing door to door. Organize a fundraiser event. Make or buy something we can sell on our website or when we're tabling, t-shirts, hats, star shaped sunglasses, you name it.
EVENT PLANNING: Plan and schedule events. Organize details. Make and update events on facebook and the website. Call, text, and message people to remind them and rally them. Update the google calendar.
From canvassing opportunities, to live music events, to meetings, to potlucks, to fundraisers, we have tons of events on the table. Getting them planned, organized and promoted is a lot of work but when you see everyone's smiling faces engaged and involved it's also super rewarding.
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Posters, event flyers, t-shirt designs, postcards, website and social media content, banners, and murals!
A picture is worth a thousand words. If you have artistic or graphic design skills there's always more to do. Whether you are a seasoned pro with all the programs or an amateur with Google Docs or Paint we have a job for you!
VOLUNTEER COORDINATION: Keeping the email list up to date. Checking in with volunteer canvassers. Checking in with sub-committee members. Helping connect volunteers with others around carpooling or teaming up. Getting new volunteers trained and oriented so they feel effective. Making sure people feel appreciated and recognized for their work.
Recruiting and keeping volunteers engaged is all about making it welcoming, making it fun, and making it effective. Volunteer coordination is about building community and giving people the tools they need to be successful.
TECH: Web design, the bettervoting.com election calculator app, STAR Voting on other online tools, Democracy Hackathon, working on simulations and testing.
A lot of our members have tech skills and a love of design and innovation have infused this project since its inception. If you have tech skills we can use them!
To contribute code to the bettervoting.com website and software development project contact project coordinator Mike and then collaborate on github!
Mike Franze <[email protected]>
LEADERSHIP: Each topic listed above could easily grow into a subcommittee of its own. Many projects and events also require teamwork and a point person to keep the project on track.
If you are willing to take on leadership responsibilities for projects, big or small, there are opportunities available. Our current structure for subcommittees is to have a 2 person lead team. If you take on something you will have support and the help of a more experience team member as well. There are also specific tasks that can be delegated. We need point people for Twitter and Instagram. We need point people for each political group, party, and various community organizations. If you go to meetings for a group already you can be our ambassador. We also need a point person for each event we host.
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