weekend DFA training in Moline

Written by: Carolyn Shannon on Apr 11, 2006 9:51 AM EDT

Hi all,

Just wanted to cross-post this here - I attended the DFA training in Moline last weekend, and posted a diary about it on Soapblox/Chicago. I'm including it here too for those who don't get over to SB/C.
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This weekend's DFA training in Moline, IL was tremendously productive and eye-opening experience. Working with some 10 professional campaign managers and trainers, about 120 people walked through the basics and some detailed info on precinct organizing, volunteer management, working with the media, fundraising, and developing a field plan.

The group (about 120) was a good mix of activists from Lane Evans' district, Quad Cities and Iowa environs, Chicago, the 14th and 6th Districts, and a couple others from Michigan and Indiana thrown in for good measure. The trainers deserve a special mention - they were incredibly knowledgeable and energized. At first I thought "wow, how incredible would it be to have someone like THAT working on so-and-so's campaign or organizing our precincts." But then I remembered the DFA slogan:

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

So, we settled in. Of course, the very first thing they emphasized was

There is no magic.

There is work.

And with that mantra, we blasted through 18 hours of material. We covered effective attack advertising strategies, how to motivate volunteers, how to work with issues and identity-based advocacy groups (hi Tony!), and how to ask for money. So, my head is still spinning a bit, but the biggest single thing I took away was detailed info on developing a field plan. Because for me, it's one thing to kvetch and it's another to figure out how to get it done. That is, how to look at past voter data for your precinct, township, district, whatever and use it to figure out
- who are in your persuasion universe (the ones whose doors you need to knock on)
- who are in your GOTV universe (can I offer you a ride to the polls Mrs. Smith?)
- who you should cross off your list,
- the magic number you need to win,
- how to plan your persuasion time and move people into your GOTV universe, and
- how to manage a GOTV plan.

There was much, much, more (everything from fundraising to advertising), but I guess this appealed to my inner data-geek.

In that vein, they asked each of us to immediately put our training to use. So here are my action steps/goals from this training:
- today I am making a precinct development and turnout target for my precinct
- within the week, I want to train at least five new people in how to do this in their own precincts (fortunately, our DF14 meeting is coming up tomorrow night, Tuesday. Feel free to stop by! Details on the calendar.)
- within the month, I will develop a field plan for Kane County persuasion and GOTV.

OK, so I've put it on paper and even published it. Now, I have to do it.

Several of us at the training agreed it would be immensely useful to have such a training weekend in our area. Activists in the 6th, 13th and 14th CDs are working to develop on the momentum of the primary campaigns and do long-term grassroots precinct development work. Having more trained activists would help us tremendously in this work. So to that end, I have "made the ask" for a DFA training in the 14th district - but I know their schedule is filling up though, and it takes several months to plan one of these. If any of you would be interested in attending such a training, I encourage you to go to dfalink.com, join a local group (if you aren't already a member), and send DFA Training Coordinator Arshad Hasan (wow, does this guy have some energy) a message to that effect.

One of the things DFA looks at when planning training sessions is how many potential attendees they might have for such an event. Our red-esque districts would be perfect breeding and training grounds for their strategies, and there are already a number of flourishing DFA groups in these areas, so we have a demonstrated commitment to long-term development here.

In closing, my questions for all of you are"¦

Do you have a precinct development goal for your development? Do you have the tools you need to get there? Have you already been through this in your precinct? What strategies worked (or didn't) for you?

I'd love to hear your stories.

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Location: Batavia, IL 60510