The following "timeline" represents how you can organize and execute your campaign from month-to- month, with bulleted "action items" and detailed descriptions to follow. Throughout the timeline you’ll see highlights from a 2005 campaign to make afterschool more prominent in the Virginia governor’s race. The campaign, Kids Deserve Better, was jointly run by the Afterschool Alliance, Every Child Matters and Virginia Voices for Children and was supported by the W.T. Grant and C.S Mott Foundations.

MARCH-APRIL

Know Your Community

After selecting the election that you intend to get involved in, it is important to truly understand the terrain. Communities often have unique problems and circumstances, and knowing some of these intricacies will help you navigate the political terrain throughout the campaign. It may also help you identify themes to further develop during the campaign that resonates within the community.

First and foremost, identify the candidates in the race you’ve selected. Be sure you include all the candidates from every party. Excluding or omitting a candidate may open your afterschool campaign up to charges of favoritism or partisanship.

Next, develop a list of resources in your jurisdiction including afterschool leaders and supporters, programs, associations, advocates, and high profile political players. Now is also the time to determine the state’s funding, legislative and administrative structures as they relate to afterschool.

At the outset, you should also be aware of the election and voter registration calendars. Each state is different, and each community has different voter registration deadlines for the primary and general elections. Before you plan your outreach strategies, know when the elections are (primary and general) and how much time you have to register voters.

	Lessons from Kids Deserve Better During the Kids Deserve Better campaign, gang violence was a particularly hot topic in Virginia. In Northern Virginia there was a series of gang related activity that captured lots of media attention, which naturally captured the candidates’ attention. The campaign used the attention paid to gang violence as a way to increase awareness of the value of afterschool programs and the need for more programs among the candidates. Kids Deserve Better incorporated messages about how afterschool programs help keep kids from crime and gang involvement in all of our talking points and materials.

Open campaign office / Create campaign "war room"

It is important to find space that is dedicated to the campaign. Working with your partners, identify office space and hire staff who will work solely on the campaign. Once you’ve setup your offices, it’s time to build the database of contacts.

Media and Field Outreach - Engage the Afterschool Community, Build the Database

Once you have thoroughly mapped out the community in which you’ll be operating, it is time to reach out and identify the individuals or groups that will serve as your partners on this campaign. This is your chance to convene and brief members of the afterschool community and the broader children’s community, including local elected officials, practitioners, parents, PTA’s, etc.

Organize conference calls and/or meetings to convene and brief the advocates and potential partners you have identified. These meetings are your opportunity to present the case for afterschool as important public policy and a crucial plank of any campaign platform.

A crucial aspect of the campaign will be your list of supporters and contacts, referred to herein as the “database”. It is important to work with your partners to aggregate a list of your combined contacts in the election’s jurisdiction at the outset of the campaign. As you organize conference calls and determine interest from like-minded organizations around in your area, it may be useful to think about the size of their databases and strength of their existing grassroots network. This can and should be factor when deciding on partners.

Throughout the campaign, each potential advocate and general supporter should be added to the database with notes referring to their level of involvement (i.e. Advocate, Supporter, etc). This is what we refer to as “list building”. Every event and communication with voters is an opportunity to build the list, which will be one of the lasting benefits of this campaign.

The Launch

After identifying and organizing your supporters, it is time to launch the campaign. The goal is to garner media attention when announcing this initiative, so be sure to choose the location of your kick-off event wisely. It does not necessarily have to be in the largest city, but should be where you have the most “friends” and media sympathetic to your cause. Begin to organize a list of supportive journalists and media outlets, so you can reach out to them about endorsements, issue forums, and articles about afterschool.

In addition, try to offer more than just the announcement of the launch. The press often needs something more newsworthy, so whenever possible, present new data or statistics or other announcements that make the launch of the campaign relevant.

	Lessons from Kids Deserve Better The campaign launch took place at an afterschool program in Newport News, VA. Newport News was selected for a variety of reasons: Better chance of media attention and of favorable media attention. The media in other VA cities is pretty conservative, so the campaign felt Newport News offered the best chance at positive media coverage A local elected official was very supportive of afterschool and agreed to put the event on his calendar The campaign had a great ally in Newport News and she helped arrange for the event to take place at an afterschool program, therefore ensuring that youth were part of the event. Media, elected officials, local law enforcement, candidates for office and afterschool advocates and youth were invited to participate in the launch. The program featured the release of statewide polling data and remarks by representatives of Afterschool Alliance, Every Child Matters and Virginia Voices for Children. While none of the candidates attended, one of the campaign offices called Kids Deserve Better within hours of the launch event to talk about afterschool issues. In addition, the launch attracted modest media attention.

Website

As soon as you start talking publicly about the campaign and creating new resources for the field, you are going to need a website to post information. The website also serves as a means of gathering additional contacts for your database. Your website should be live no later than the day of your campaign launch event and should have background information about the campaign as well as a place for visitors to show their support for the campaign.

	Lessons from Kids Deserve Better Every Child Matters and the Afterschool Alliance worked together to create the Kids Deserve Better website. The partner organizations agreed that the campaign should have its own unique identity and not get hidden within a larger organization’s website. These decisions led to the launch of the Kids Deserve Better website, which was then hosted by Every Child Matters. To review the website structure, please click here.

MAY-JUNE

What Do Your Peers Think?

It may be helpful to get feedback from high-level supporters outside your community. Surveying out-of-state advocates and colleagues may give you a better sense of how to present the campaign and what issues might work. Use these people/organizations as resources to help you frame the debate in your community. They may have suggestions of what has worked in their respective states.

Public Education, Voter Registration & List Building

After establishing the infrastructure and determining how best to frame the campaign, you should begin to educate the general public. Be sure to widely disseminate information about the campaign to all in the community. You may find supporters in unlikely places. While informing the community about the campaign, encourage would-be supporters to register to vote.

In general, public education, voter registration and list building are recurring and related activities. These initiatives should be continued throughout the year; in November, the size and accuracy of your list will be critical to the success of your campaign.

Field Outreach – Identify Precinct Captains

You should particularly be aware of strong supporters throughout the community. Engage and recruit these folks to become “precinct captains” for the campaign. It is important to remember that each neighborhood often has its own set of challenges, and your precinct captains will be more aware of their particular community than you.

In general, precinct captains should represent communities throughout your target district (e.g. various neighborhoods in the city for a mayor’s race; various blocks in a neighborhood for a city council race, etc). Be sure to target and recruit these individuals carefully, as they will serve as your eyes and ears. They will help you organize events and communicate directly with the field throughout the campaign.

The Kids Deserve Better Campaign set up offices in Northern Virginia and the capital city of Richmond. The campaign also had a strong partner in the Newport News/Norfolk area, which provided good coverage of the state as a whole. Richmond provided close proximity to the main campaign offices, which made it easier for meetings with the campaigns. Richmond was also the home of one of the major campaign partners, which allowed for office space for the Kids Deserve Better effort. Northern Virginia is densely populated and therefore provided ready access to a large number of afterschool programs and advocates and was also home to a campaign partner who provided low cost office space for Kids Deserve Better.

Candidate Outreach – Forums

The earlier you make contact with the candidates, the better. Communicate with representatives from all the campaigns and request meetings to brief the candidates. Be sure to:

• Document all attempts at communication, successful or otherwise.
• Attempt to contact all the candidates, regardless of party affiliation.

Now would be a good opportunity to plant the idea of candidate forums addressing issues related to afterschool programs. While forums for a statewide race may be difficult to organize, local candidates are usually far more receptive to community or candidate forums. In addition, research the dates for future candidate forums or debates. Put these on the calendar. Organize volunteers and advocates in the field to attend and ask afterschool-related questions at these events. As the candidates continue to field questions relating to the need for afterschool programs, they will quickly realize the importance afterschool will play in this election.

JUNE-JULY

Opinion Research

If you have the resources, conduct polls or surveys to register voter opinions on a variety of subjects, including afterschool. Using the surveys and opinion research, make the case that public concern for afterschool is among the top issues on voters’ minds. This can serve as the “meat” of your campaign.

If you do not have the resources to conduct polls or voter surveys, you may be able to use existing data to make your point or work with an organization already conducting a poll for this election. Don’t reinvent the wheel! Review existing research and polls on afterschool and collate the data to release “new” results from which to base your talking points. If an organization is conducting a poll, discuss adding afterschool-related questions to their poll.

	Lessons from Kids Deserve Better Working with non-partisan pollsters, Kids Deserve Better was able to conduct an opinion survey of potential Virginia voters before the election. The polling and opinion research allowed the campaign to ask questions to determine what voters really cared about. While roads and taxes were thought to be the hottest issues in Virginia, youth and kids issues topped both of them. As noted earlier, with Virginia’s burgeoning gang activity, voters were most interested in keeping youth challenged and providing moral guidance. This knowledge of Virginia, coupled with the polling data showing kids issues as most important, allowed the campaign to effectively “sell” afterschool as critical to youth development and safety. To review a summary of the findings from the Mason Dixon poll conducted in the 2005 Governor’s race, please click here

Field Outreach - Events with Parents & Afterschool Staff

Having identified sympathetic organizations and individuals, organize meetings with parents and afterschool staff. Create lively conversation among parents, concerned citizens and providers, allowing voters to fully understand the importance of these programs.

Candidate Outreach - Surveys

Distribute candidate surveys to all the candidates, asking them to respond to various issues that are important to the afterschool movement in your community. This is your opportunity to get the candidates on the record, and it is an opportunity for the candidates to express their views.

	Lessons from Kids Deserve Better The Kids Deserve Better campaign in Virginia sought to make afterschool a campaign issue, and as such, looked for every opportunity to place the candidates on the record and ensure them ample opportunity to show their support for afterschool. The candidate surveys provided each campaign an opportunity to voice their support for children and afterschool, and in the process, gave the campaign and the voters something to hold candidates to after the campaign. To review a sample candidate survey from the 2005 Governor’s race in Virginia, click here.

Public Education, Voter Registration & List Building

Continue to disseminate your information throughout the community, register voters concerned with afterschool issues, and add contacts and advocates to the database.

AUGUST

Media Outreach – Local and Community papers

Political campaigns and politicians are by nature reactive, and the candidates will often start talking about an issue once it has garnered sufficient media attention. Reach out to editorial boards, community newspapers, and local media outlets with ideas for afterschool-related articles. Encourage them to focus on afterschool as a key issue in this campaign.

Public Education, Voter Registration & List Building

Continue to disseminate your information throughout the community, register voters concerned with afterschool issues, and add contacts and advocates to the database.

SEPTEMBER

Candidate Outreach

Continue to reach out to all the campaigns and offer to brief and provide information/talking points to the staff and the candidates on afterschool issues.

As it gets closer to November and candidates are more eager for press coverage, campaigns may be more likely to engage in public discourse through a candidate or issue forum. Review the idea of debates, issue forums, and town hall meetings with all the candidates’ campaigns.

Building on the candidates’ need for press opportunities before Election Day, invite the candidates to Back To School events that you or your partners may be hosting. Discuss Back To School events with the local school district and identify opportunities to “piggyback” on their events.

Media Outreach – “Grasstops” and Letters to the Editor

Use your database to reach out to high-profile members in the community who are sympathetic to your cause. Encourage and work with these individuals to place Letters to the Editor or Op-Eds in the local and regional news outlets.

	Lessons from Kids Deserve Better In the 2005 Governor’s race in Virginia, gang activity was identified as a big problem throughout the state, but especially in the larger school districts. So the campaign approached Jack Dale, Superintendent of Schools for Fairfax County, the largest school district in the state. One of the Kids Deserve Better campaign partners also knew that Superintendent Dale supported afterschool programs. The campaign drafted a letter to the editor for his staff to review and edit, and then worked to get it published in the Washington Post. For a copy of Superintendent Dale’s Letter to the Editor, click here.

For more information on how to communicate with your local media and what to ask for, please visit the Media section of the Afterschool Alliance website.

Public Education, Voter Registration & List Building

Continue to disseminate your information throughout the community, register voters concerned with afterschool issues, and add contacts and advocates to the database.

OCTOBER

Field Outreach - Events

As the month before the election, October should be spent communicating with your database of supporters and mobilizing your supporters through Get Out The Vote (GOTV) materials and events. One event in particular that many afterschool providers already organize is Lights On Afterschool.

This election year, Lights On will be held on October 12, 2006. These gatherings are a perfect opportunity to rally disparate members of the community around afterschool, all while reminding and encouraging them to vote in November. Another event could be a “Project 2010” rally, aimed at getting high-profile individuals in the community to support Afterschool For All by the year 2010.

To learn more about these Afterschool Alliance projects, please visit their respective websites: Lights On Afterschool and Project 2010.

Field Outreach – Get Out the Vote (GOTV)

In addition to hosting events to rally support around afterschool, it is important to make a push to turn out voters through targeted materials. Items such as palm cards, fliers, mock ballots and other election related materials can be distributed to your supporters in the community and at Lights On or “Project 2010” events.

These materials should note the day and date of the election, as well as the issues you are urging the voters to support. Again, whenever possible, your materials should advocate an issue, not a particular candidate.

Media Outreach – Editorial Boards

As the election nears, newspapers will begin to offer their endorsements. Request meetings with the Editorial Boards of your local print media outlets and offer to brief them on afterschool issues and why afterschool is important to the community.

Public Education, Voter Registration & List Building

Continue to disseminate your information throughout the community, register voters concerned with afterschool issues, and add contacts and advocates to the database.

EARLY NOVEMBER

Field & Media Outreach - GOTV

During the first week in November, your GOTV effort should be in full swing. Connect and communicate with your list of supporters. Use Lights On Afterschool and “Project 2010” events as venues to distribute GOTV materials. Continue to make the case to the media and general public that afterschool is a critical election year issue.

Continue outreach to local and community papers and using the database, mobilize your list of advocates and precinct captains to increase awareness and outreach activities in their community. Be sure to distribute GOTV materials to ensure your precinct captains have sufficient amounts and won’t run out.

	Lessons from Kids Deserve Better In late September and October, Kids Deserve Better produced GOTV materials that could be handed out at various events, including Lights On Afterschool. In the Halloween spirit (only a few days before the election), Kids Deserve Better created a palm card suggesting that voters “Treat Kids and Vote”. The palm card also noted that Virginia voters ranked children’s issues as their #1 concern (according to the Mason Dixon poll conducted early in the campaign). This palm card and a sticker were placed in a Halloween-themed bag, and bags were distributed at various events in October, including Lights On. (Disney Radio partnered with the campaign to distribute these bags at their various local community events). Depending on your community, Halloween may not be an ideal backdrop for GOTV materials. Kids Deserve Better used a very modest Halloween theme featuring only a pumpkin, which could be accepted by many as a simple fall theme. Be sure to do some research with your allies before deciding on a theme. To see some of the GOTV materials used in the Virginia campaign, click here.

Election Day, November 7

Depending on resources, many campaigns use volunteers and staff as poll workers on election day. This would constitute passing out afterschool material and being a very visible proponent of afterschool programs at various poll locations throughout the district. Again, this may only be feasible if you have the funding and resources. If you would like to organize people to staff the polls, be sure to plan ahead and factor the resources into your planning in April and May.

LATE NOVEMBER-DECEMBER

Immediately following the election, organize meetings with your partners and precinct captains to discuss what worked and what did not. Document and compile this analysis into a document for use by other advocates around the country.

The goal is to make afterschool an issue, not just in your neighborhood, but in communities around the country. By learning from each other, every subsequent campaign may be able to build on the successes while avoiding the mistakes of prior campaigns.