Building Power: The Importance of Membership Recruitment and Leadership Development

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Building Power The Importance of Membership
Recruitment and Leadership Development

• Jill Reese
• Health Equity and Training Director
• Alliance for a Just Society

Taking Action Making Change .
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• Objectives
• Understand why its important to always be
  recruiting new members
• Get an overview of different methods of
  recruitment and understand importance of 1-1
  contact
• Discuss personal visits building rapport,
  listening, agitation, getting commitments
• Discuss leadership development overview of the
  process, identifying potential, providing
  opportunities for development

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Why Recruit?
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Organizations that arent growing are dying!
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One-on-one homevisits, doorknocking
House meetings Organizational events
and activities Phone calls
Personal letters Direct mail
campaigns Organizational newsletters
Brochures and flyers
News items Ads
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People-to-people, person-to-person relationships
are the most important part of any community
organizing effort.
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Outreach Methods
Method Who talks? Visit lasts? Goal? Where?
Street Outreach Organizer One minute or less! Quick action Street corner
Canvass Canvasser 1-5 minutes Membership Porch
Doorknock Recruitee 10-15 minutes Membership, relationship In the house
Homevisit Member 30-45 minutes Relationship, commitment In the house
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Home Visits
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Four Major Parts to a Home Visit

• Make a connection who are you, who are they?
• LISTEN, LISTEN,LISTEN! for self-interest and
  motivation
• Agitate, polarize and validate for their
  interest and participation
• Get a commitment

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Step 1 Make a Connection

• Questions to ask to get to know someone
• How many people are in your family?
• Where were you born? How long have you lived
  here?
• Where do you go to school? How do you like
  it?
• Where do you work?
• What do you do when you're not
• working/taking care of the kids?
• What do you do to have fun?
• Have you been a member of any
• other community groups before?
• churches? school?

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Step 2 Listen, listen, listen
80 listening / 20 talking, asking
questions NEVER make assumptions about a
persons self-interest. You must ask and even
probe to really find out. And then you have to
listen.
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Step 3 Agitate, polarize, validate
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Step 4 Get a commitment

• Some examples
• Become a member
• Participate in an event
• Write a letter
• Invite you to their friends / family
• Take on a new role

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Home Visit Tips

• Make a connection this is about building
  relationships
• Tell them why youre there
• 80 / 20 rule
• Agitate, polarize, validate anger is powerful
• Get them to tell you why they should participate
• Ask for a specific commitment
• Assume support
• Affirm their commitments
• Good follow-up is critical
• Have fun!

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Marcelas Owens community leader from Washington
Community Action Network

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vuBMRdWXOrb8
• How did he get there? Leadership development!
• Attendance at events political rallies,
  marches, etc.
• Participation in summer leadership conferences
• Organizing skills training
• Public speaking training

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Why develop leaders?
X
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A healthy organization should look like
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But often they look like
Not enough recruitment
Stalled leadership development
Needs more of both
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Leadership Qualities

• Motivates, inspires and develops
• Angry at injustice
• Positive outlook
• Confident
• Honest
• Critical perspective
• Courageous

• Agitational
• Imaginative
• Values and Vision
• Accountability
• Trusts people
• Delegates
• Sense of humor

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Leadership Skills

• Leaders have followers
• Relational organizing
• Listening
• Recruitment
• Membership training and development
• Leaders help plan and carry out strategies to win
  campaigns.
• Understanding power
• Strategy chart
• Legislative process
• Systemic change
• Leaders understand and can help build coalitions
• Self-interest
• Basics of coalition building
• Leaders communicate with members, the media and
  allies
• Developing a clear message
• Connecting individual self-interest and
  organizational vision
• Public speaking
• Media

• Leaders hold public figures accountable
• Planning an action
• Deliver a clear message to a target and get a
  clear answer
• Good judgment and preparation
• Leaders help build their organization
• Democratic practices
• Fundraising and membership
• Setting goals and achieving them
• Leaders are personally organized and accountable
• Workplans and systems
• Accountability
• Delegation

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It happens in home visits
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Learning Process
Easy Zone
Learning Zone
Comfort Zone
Freak-Out Zone
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Roles Leaders Play

• Spokesperson
• Recruiter
• Board member
• Campaign committee chair
• Coalition representative
• Event planning and execution
• Mobilizer
• Etc.

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Basebuilding and Leadership Development Are
Integral To Building Powerful Organizations!
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Jill Reesejill_at_allianceforajustsociety.org206-56
8-5400

• Dont miss CCHEs next webinar!

Political Education and Campaign Organizing
Date May 26, 2011          Time 200pm-400pm
EST Popular education opens a space for members
to bring their personal and collective
experiences to a campaign and helps build
campaigns with greater resonance with community
residents. It is an important methodology for
making issues and information relevant to
peoples daily lives. This webinar will explore
Popular Education, its principles and methods for
applying these principles in community work.
Presenters will offer examples on how community
based organizations have used popular education
to do political education with their members,
leaders and the general public  Participants will
learn the basic steps for developing their own
political education activities and get access to
tools and materials and online venues for
additional resources. Presenters Francisco
Pancho Arguelles, Co-Director of Colectivo
Flatlander