| Keep organization simple School election campaigns usually don’t require a complicated
campaign structure.
Assign one person, the chair, to coordinate the overall
campaign. Set up specific committees to handle the other facets of the campaign. Develop
committees with the following responsibilities:
- Research committee ensures that all data
needed by the campaign are assembled and analyzed, issues that are important to the
campaign are identified, and campaign messages are determined.
- Publicity/public relations committee
prepares all campaign literature based on research, themes and messages. This committee
designs the materials that meet campaign requirements and then produces those materials in
time for campaign deadlines.
- Volunteers committee recruits and assigns
volunteers. This committee also must follow through to be sure that the needed number of
volunteers is available for every campaign task.
- Finance committee raises the dollars and
finds the in-kind contributions needed. This committee also files all of the required
forms and reports with the local elections office.
Involve every school
Most school campaigns are not large enough to need
subcommittees. However, you may want a committee chair for each school. School chairs can
be included as members of the steering committee. You may also want to include
representatives from employee unions or local business/community groups.
Have one leader
Campaign organizations tend to be democratic. While this
is necessary to attract volunteers, make every effort to ensure that one person is in
control. People move in and out of campaigns with both good and bad ideas. The chair needs
to keep the committee on target.
Some campaigns name co-chairs. One person is "the
name on the letterhead" -- the leading citizen in the community who gives the
campaign credibility. The second person is the one who has the organizational skills to
make sure all the campaign tasks are coordinated and accomplished. |
