online organizing 101

A Brief Introduction

to Online Organizing

by

Garlin Gilchrist II

Organizing As We *Knew* It

Paper and pen

Phones and spreadsheets

Reliance on press to generate energy and attention

Lost files, MIA volunteers, drive-by data collection

“Internet team” was stuck in a basement fixing printers

Big Changes in 2004

Political campaigns (i.e. Dean and

Kerry) and large nonprofits (i.e.

MoveOn, Greenpeace, etc.) made

better use of the web

General public more aware of the

internet (online shopping, online

banking, etc.)

Even Bigger Changes in 2008

Millions of dollars from

small-dollar donors

Creativity in fundraising,

mobile outreach, and

communications

Integration of online

organizing into every

corner of a campaign

What Does it Cost to

Not Participate?

Who could you be

engaging?

Who are you

currently missing?

Online Organizing...Now

Integrated into all corners

Complements and improves:

☐ Fundraising

☐ Communications

☐ Voter contact

☐ Field plans

☐ Volunteer programs/capacity

Must still have an offline connection

Organizing Fundraising

Web Presence

Communications

Message or Video

Credit: Larry Huynh, Blackrock Associates

Old Media Ecosystem

Message or Video

• Email supporters

• Blog outreach

• Live-blogging

• Online Google ads

• Social networking

Credit: Larry Huynh, Blackrock Associates

New Media Ecosystem

Message or Video

• Email supporters

• Blog outreach

• Live-blogging

• Online Google ads

• Social networking

Viral

Allies email their own

supporters

Blogs build more buzz & deepen story

Media increases coverage

Credit: Larry Huynh, Blackrock Associates

Results of New Media Ecosystem

Why do people respond to the web?

Story

Timeliness

Sense of urgency

Connect with others

Meaningful action

Website Basics

Clean and clear design

Guide users

Up-to-date, dynamic content

Highlight stories on site

Emphasize user experience

Put organization’s emphasis front and center

Test, test, test

Your Campaign site MUST have:

Email signup form

Big red donate button

Contact form

Bio

News & Events

Issue/policy statements

Press page

Email Basics

Make sure you have something to say

Keep an email calendar

Invest in a blast email tool

Create an inviting landing page for email visitors

Peer-to-peer viral tools

Focus on organic email list growth

Test, test, test

Online Fundraising Basics

Same principles as offline fundraising

Be creative

Make it simple

Be consistent with messaging

Be ready

Be secure

Organizational Culture

New media ecosystem means a new

organizational ecosystem

New organizing needs collaboration

IT staff are not online organizing staff

Be ready to show results – quantitative and

qualitative

So Where Do You Start?

Map out your current online presence

Take stock of your goals

What can you do, vs. what should you do?

What tools do you need vs. what tools do

you want?

Think about existing connections – national arm

of your org or local networking opportunities

Train staff vs. hire consultant?

If you hired someone, where would that

person fit into your organization?

Scour job banks for “norms” in salary and

responsibilities

Next Steps

o You are not Barack Obama.

o Most campaigns stop before starting

o Campaigns “go viral”0.01% of the time

o Be OK with failing

o Find parallels betweentraditional organizing andnew organizing

o Success is a slow slog –there is no silver bullet

Keep in mind before

starting:

What are you going to do tomorrow?

Contact Garlin:

garlin@garlin.org

(425) 244-5423

twitter.com/garlin

New Organizing Institute

www.neworganizing.com