Eleanor Finch
Field organizing is a critical component of campaign strategy, regardless of the level of office being sought. It involves directly contacting voters through canvassing, phone calls, and local events to educate and mobilize them towards the campaign's goals. Field departments are typically organized by geography, with field directors overseeing regional field directors and local offices. Field organizers, who are often the lowest-paid staff, train and manage volunteers, focusing on specific geographical areas to build relationships with voters and encourage political participation. The field is also responsible for local distribution, event management, and liaising with local influentials. While field work is essential, it is just one part of a comprehensive campaign plan that includes other departments like communications, fundraising, and scheduling.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Importance | Field organizing is critical for political campaigns at every level, bringing a human approach to campaigning and encouraging voters to become politically active. |
| Field Organizers' Salary | The national average salary for a Field Organizer is $55,741 per year, while the national average salary for a Field Director is $56,384 per year. The average yearly salary for a Field Organizer in the US is approximately $34,648. |
| Field Organizers' Duties | Field organizers train, recruit, and manage volunteers for grassroots efforts to persuade, identify, and mobilize targeted voters. They also assist the Deputy Director and report to the Field Director. |
| Field Directors' Duties | Field directors lead and organize the campaign at the grassroots level, creating a field plan that outlines tasks to achieve goals for persuasion and voter identification. |
| Communication | Field staffers are the primary liaison between the campaign and local influentials, such as community leaders and activists. |
| Field Tools | NGP VAN's mobile canvassing application, MiniVAN, is a crucial field tool for political campaigns, enabling efficient data management and canvassing. Other tools include Virtual Phone Banks and VPB Connect for targeted messaging and outreach. |
| Geographical Considerations | Field departments are organized by geography, with regional field directors overseeing local offices. Towns with a high population of young people may be more responsive to texting initiatives, while rural areas may be better suited for phone calls. |
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What You'll Learn
- Field organizing: the human approach to campaigning
- Field tools: NGP VAN's MiniVAN canvassing app
- Field staff: the primary liaisons between the campaign and local influentials
- Field operations: logistics, human resources, and people operations
- Field organizers: training, recruiting, and managing volunteers
Field organizing: the human approach to campaigning
Field organizing is an essential part of any political campaign, bringing a human touch to the process of engaging voters. It is a critical component of grassroots organizing and voter outreach, and it involves directly contacting voters through one-on-one conversations with dedicated volunteers. These conversations aim to educate and mobilize voters towards the campaign's goals, fostering political activism.
Field organizers are the primary liaisons between the campaign and local influentials, such as community leaders and activists. They are responsible for training, recruiting, and managing volunteers, as well as focusing on specific geographical areas. The field department handles the "on-the-ground" organizing, which includes canvassing, phone calls, and building local events. They also distribute campaign materials like lawn signs and buttons, and run local "storefront" campaign offices.
The tactics used for communicating with targeted voters depend on various factors, including budget, geography, and demographics. For example, rural areas may be challenging to canvass, so phone calls or texting initiatives could be more effective. In contrast, towns with a high population of young people may prefer texting over traditional phone banking. Understanding the target audience and utilizing a multichannel approach increases the chances of connecting with voters.
Field organizing is a crucial component of any campaign strategy, and it often provides the most job opportunities for those seeking to enter the political campaign field. It is a grassroots effort that relies on human connections and data-driven insights to guide resource allocation for targeted voter outreach. By combining the human approach with precise data, field organizers can effectively engage voters and contribute to the success of a political campaign.
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Field tools: NGP VAN's MiniVAN canvassing app
Field tools are an essential part of any political campaign strategy, and one of the most important tools in this category is NGP VAN's MiniVAN canvassing app. MiniVAN is a mobile canvassing application that allows political campaigns and organizations to conduct door-to-door canvassing using smartphones or tablets. It is the leading canvassing app in the Democratic and progressive political space, helping candidates and causes power their traditional or distributed canvassing operations and win elections across the country.
MiniVAN offers several benefits over traditional paper-based canvassing methods. Firstly, it eliminates the need for bulky paper lists, making it more convenient and environmentally friendly. The app provides canvassers with a list of houses to visit, along with their location, saving them time and effort in navigating from door to door. Additionally, MiniVAN integrates with NGP VAN's leading organizing software, VAN, allowing users to export canvassing lists from VAN onto their mobile devices. This enables canvassers to enter data directly into their devices as they interact with people on their list, streamlining the data collection process.
Another advantage of MiniVAN is its ability to provide adaptable scripts to volunteers. These scripts guide conversations with voters based on their responses to different questions, making interactions more effective and tailored to individual needs. The app also includes an "optimize my route" feature, which helps canvassers cover addresses efficiently, although some users have reported issues with the accuracy of the map feature. Nevertheless, MiniVAN offers significant improvements in terms of convenience, data management, and efficiency compared to traditional canvassing methods.
The MiniVAN Manager feature provides campaign managers with real-time data and statistics on their canvassers' performance, including location, progress, and effectiveness. This allows for better coordination and control of the canvassing operation, enabling managers to identify high-performing individuals and areas for improvement. Overall, MiniVAN has revolutionized the field of political canvassing by providing a digital, data-driven approach that enhances the efficiency and impact of campaigns.
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Field staff: the primary liaisons between the campaign and local influentials
Field staff, including field organizers and field managers, are the primary liaisons between a political campaign and local influentials. They are responsible for directly contacting voters, educating them about the campaign's goals, and mobilizing them toward the campaign's objectives. This involves canvassing, phone calls, and building local events to engage with the public and explain the candidate's ideas.
Field organizers are tasked with running local "storefront" campaign offices, organizing phone banks, and staging locations for canvasses and other campaign events. They train, recruit, and manage volunteers in grassroots efforts to persuade, identify, and mobilize targeted voters. Field organizers often focus on specific geographical areas and report to the field director, who leads and creates the field plan for the campaign.
The field department is generally organized by geography, with a statewide field director overseeing regional field directors who manage several local offices. Field directors create a field plan that outlines the tasks required to achieve goals for persuasion, voter identification, and voter turnout. They supervise the field organizers and ensure the campaign's message and strategies are effectively implemented at the grassroots level.
Field staff are crucial in fostering relationships with local influentials, such as interest group leaders and prominent community activists. They also handle the local distribution of campaign materials like lawn signs, bumper stickers, and buttons. The role of field staff is essential in connecting the campaign to the local community and ensuring that the campaign's message resonates with the local electorate.
Field positions are often the most numerous and available jobs in a political campaign, and they provide an excellent opportunity to engage in policy-related work and gain valuable experience in campaigning and grassroots organizing.
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Field operations: logistics, human resources, and people operations
Field operations are an integral part of any political campaign, encompassing logistics, human resources, and people operations. The field department is responsible for the "on-the-ground" organizing that facilitates direct contact with voters through canvassing, phone calls, and local events. This department is typically structured with an overall director who oversees regional directors managing several local offices. Field organizers, who are paid workers, engage in full-time direct voter contact and assist the deputy director. They are responsible for training, recruiting, and managing volunteers to persuade, identify, and mobilize targeted voters.
Field operations also involve running local "storefront" campaign offices, organizing phone banks, and managing staging locations for canvasses and other campaign events. Field staffers act as liaisons between the campaign and local influentials, such as community leaders and activists, and handle the local distribution of promotional materials like lawn signs and stickers. They also provide valuable information to campaign headquarters about the communities they work in.
The success of field operations relies on effective communication and relationship-building with voters. This includes understanding the demographics of the target audience and utilizing appropriate communication channels, such as phone calls or texting initiatives, to reach them effectively. Field operations also depend on precise data to guide resource allocation and targeted voter outreach.
In terms of human resources and people operations, the field department is responsible for managing the large team of interns, volunteers, and employees that comprise a political campaign. This includes tasks such as running payroll, ensuring data entry, and addressing envelopes. Additionally, field organizers may be involved in opposition research, learning as much as possible about opposing candidates.
Overall, field operations play a critical role in the success of a political campaign, requiring strong organizational skills, effective communication strategies, and the ability to build relationships with voters and local influentials.
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Field organizers: training, recruiting, and managing volunteers
Field organizers are an integral part of any political campaign, and their role is often the most numerous and available job in campaigns. They are the primary liaison between the campaign and local influencers, such as community leaders and activists. Field organizers are responsible for recruiting, training, and managing volunteers, as well as executing the campaign's strategy on the ground.
Recruiting Volunteers
Volunteers are the foundation of any political campaign, and field organizers play a crucial role in building this volunteer base. When recruiting volunteers, field organizers should consider the skills and experience of the applicants. While prior experience in volunteer management or recruitment is preferred, it is not always required. Field organizers should also keep in mind that volunteers may have different motivations for joining the campaign and should be able to adapt their recruitment strategies accordingly.
Training Volunteers
Once volunteers are recruited, field organizers are responsible for training them effectively. This includes providing clear instructions and guidance on the campaign's goals, strategies, and expectations. Training should cover specific tasks that volunteers will be expected to perform, such as canvassing, phone banking, and community outreach. Field organizers should also ensure that volunteers understand the importance of their role in achieving the campaign's objectives.
Managing Volunteers
Managing volunteers involves coordinating their activities, providing ongoing support, and ensuring that they remain engaged and motivated throughout the campaign. Field organizers should be able to adapt their management style to suit different personalities and work environments. This may include providing feedback, recognizing achievements, and addressing any challenges or conflicts that may arise.
Executing the Campaign Strategy
Field organizers are responsible for executing the campaign's strategy on the ground. This includes direct voter contact through canvassing, phone calls, and local events. They must also collect and manage data, such as survey results and voter information, to inform the campaign's strategy and target specific voter groups. Field organizers may also be involved in distributing promotional materials, such as lawn signs and buttons, to help spread the campaign's message.
Additional Considerations
Field organizers should be prepared to work long and flexible hours, including evenings and weekends. Strong communication skills and the ability to work well within a team are essential. Travel may also be required, so access to a reliable vehicle is often necessary. Additionally, field organizers should be comfortable with technology, as many campaigns now utilize digital tools and social media platforms to enhance their presence and engage with volunteers and voters.
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Frequently asked questions
Field organizing is a critical part of campaign strategy that involves directly contacting voters to educate and mobilize them toward the campaign's goals. It involves a human approach to campaigning, encouraging voters to become politically active through one-on-one conversations with dedicated volunteers.
Field is important as it helps to create a comprehensive campaign plan and guide everything done during the election season. It is the primary liaison between the campaign and local influentials, and field departments are responsible for the local distribution of promotional materials.
Field organizers train, recruit, and manage volunteers in grassroots efforts to persuade, identify, and mobilize targeted voters. They also assist the Deputy Director and report to the field director.
Common field tactics include canvassing, phone banking, and texting initiatives. The tactics used depend on various factors, such as budget, geographical constraints, and demographic considerations. For example, towns with a high population of young people may be more responsive to texting than traditional phone banking.
