If you decide to organize an afterschool campaign for an election in your state, it is important to understand your community and the election that you choose to get involved in.

A list of resources and goals should be formulated before you get started. This list should address the following:

• Who are your partners? It is difficult to undertake an effort like this alone, so find likeminded organizations and individuals who are willing to collaborate and pool resources.
  
  
• What election do you want to get involved in? A statewide campaign requires a significant amount of resources, time, and effort. We recommend you start local and if successful, move to a larger jurisdiction next time. Work with your partners and consider targeting municipal, county, or district elections, which will likely be a better use of resources.
  
  
• What are your goals for getting involved? You should be able to clearly articulate your goals for the project… this will be especially important when recruiting funders and partners.
  
  
• Show me the money! Identify community trusts, local foundations, and other groups that may fund an initiative like this. Remember, you are more likely to find funders when you undertake a campaign like this with partners.
  
  
• How do you make the case for afterschool? Research means a couple of different things in this case. First, before you get started, you need to know the lay of the land. Have you conducted statewide or local polling on afterschool? Do you know where the candidates stand on the issue? If any of them are current office holders, have they sponsored legislation or signed resolutions?
  
  
• How do you communicate with the public and your supporters? The two basic ways to communicate is through a database of contacts and a website. At the outset, you and your partners should pool your lists to create a list of supporters (the database). You will add to this list throughout the campaign through voter registration, public education and “list building” events. This list will allow you to call or send out blast emails to your supporters, encouraging them to take action. The website will allow you to post event or candidate information, conduct polls, and allow the general public to find out more about your initiative.
  
  
• What are the "rules of engagement" for non-profits? There is no fear, and no danger, to non-profits participating in a non-partisan voter and candidate education campaign. The goal is to elevate the issue of afterschool, not a particular candidate or political party.
  
  There are, however, a few simple ground rules that you should follow:
  
  
  1. Equal Outreach – all contact with and materials sent to campaigns should be the same for every person running for that particular position. For example, if a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian and Independent are all running for mayor, you must send information to all four candidates. If the Independent contacts you for more information, document that contact, and if other candidates reach out to you, you must offer them the same information.
     
     
  2. Documentation – keep a calendar of every time you conduct outreach to a candidate, and every time a candidate contacts you. This will help you keep track of your equal outreach efforts.

This toolkit will provide you with the information you need to ensure that those running for elected office value afterschool as much as you do. Now is the time to tell the candidates, "I support afterschool, and I vote!"