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As a canvass
director or assistant canvass director for the Fund, you run
a campaign office in one of dozens of cities throughout the
country. The staff you supervise educate citizens about the
issues and get them involved in campaigns to win progressive
change. In essence, you build a team of committed activists,
who, in turn, mobilize hundreds or thousands of citizens to
take action.
Your
responsibilities
You recruit
and manage a staff of 10 to 40 people, who conduct
membership drives by going door to door in nearby communities
or talking to people face to face in public places. You train
your staff in effective canvassing techniques, you identify
those who show the most potential, and you teach them how
to be leaders.
You organize a field campaign. You write news releases,
organize and speak at news conferences, and meet with editorial
boards to attract media coverage for your issue. You build
coalitions of civic leaders, elected officials and opinion
leaders. You run grassroots lobbying drives that put pressure
on elected officials, corporate boards and other decision-makers
to act.
You raise funds for the campaign and organization,
seeking to reach or exceed your membership and other fundraising
goals. In most cases, you'll raise at least $200,000 while
identifying 5,000 or more members each year. You'll go out
in the field yourself two to three times a week to train staff,
raise money, identify members, activate supporters and educate
the public.
You make
the office run smoothly, performing whatever administrative
responsibilities are associated with your fundraising, membership,
campaign and other work.
A
typical day.
What
we're looking for in you
We want
to see if you're smart, motivated and action-oriented. If
you're interested in politics and are committed to progressive
issues. If you work well with a team of people. If you have
stamina. If you're able to convey a sense of urgency and passion
about the issues. If you're able and willing to work hard.
If you can be resourceful on a shoestring budget. We'll train
you on the issues, on campaign strategies and tactics, and
on canvassing skills. You provide the brains, heart and drive.
What
you earn
Canvass
Directors: earn $25,250 in their first year. Canvass Directors
typically have either a year of experience with the Fund or
significant outside leadership experience.
Assistant
Canvass Directors: earn $23,750 in their first year.
All staff
are eligible for apply for college loan assistance and accrue
two weeks of paid vacation over the course of their first
year on the Fund staff. Staff are encouraged to join our group
health care plan through pre-tax payroll deductions. Those
who secure positions with the Fund for a second year are eligible
to join our 401(k) plan.
Where
you work
The Fund
is running campaign offices in 31 locations:
Albuquerque, NM
Ann Arbor, MI
Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX
Baltimore, MD
Berkeley, A
Boston, MA
Boulder, CO
Chapel Hill, NC
Chicago, IL
Columbus, OH
Denver, CO
Eugene, OR
Honolulu, HI
Los Angeles, CA
Madison, WI
Manhattan, NY
Miami, FL
Minneapolis, MN
New Brunswick, NJ
Newton, MA
Palo Alto, CA
Philadelphia, PA
Portland, OR
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Santa Cruz, CA
Seattle, WA
St Louis, MO
Tampa, FL
Tempe, AZ
Washington, DC
Staff Profiles
Kristin Urquiza, 24
College: Yale University, 2003
Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona
Portland Canvass Director
I didn't have any experience with grassroots organizing before I started working with the Fund. In college, I studied Art History and Archaeology. I spent my summers and vacations in museums in London or on Archaeological digs in the Mayan jungle. My plans post-graduation were pretty set: I was ready to trade in my cap and gown and rainy New Haven for a hat and shovel and the Mexican jungle...I was going to become the next Indiana Jones. However, as graduation approached and as I learned more about the cultures and livelihoods of those before us, I couldn't help but become more frustrated by the world around me. I began to question our countries' political motives: about the environment, the war in Iraq, corporate accountability, the rights of man and woman. The more I thought about these issues the more I knew that I could no longer justify a life studying and being around "beautiful things" and identifying myself as "environmentally/socially consciousness." I knew that just educating myself about the issues and talking about them was not enough. I knew there had to be a way for me to make an impact, and learn the skills of effective organizing.
I was lucky enough to find the first clue to my career as an activist outside of my college dining hall. I saw an advertisement for summer jobs with environmental groups like the Sierra Club and the State PIRGs. I interviewed for a position and found myself working in a campaign office as a field manager alongside a group of smart, passionate individuals organizing and organized towards a common goal: to raise money and activate normal citizen support to make a difference in today’s political world. I was hooked. Within a week I had interviewed for a directing position and was offered a position in Ann Arbor, MI running a campaign office that September.
I have worked now in four of our campaign offices: New Haven, CT; Ann Arbor, MI; Minneapolis, MN; and now Portland, OR. Over the past two and a half years I have had the opportunity to take on a lot of leadership. Over the past year I have been the lead director in offices that have been our highest grossing and largest offices in the country. Over the course of this year I will be overseeing and working alongside a team of people who will raise around 1 million dollars for campaigns to protect our forests, defend our air quality, and protect consumers. I've enjoyed the challenges of working alongside a group of diverse individuals. I've made an impact on the issues that I care about and I've learned a lot about myself. Working with the Fund has given me the chance, with no "experience", to do something that I care about as well as learn communication and organizing skills that I couldn't have gained in any type of classroom experience.
Kate Ogden, 22
College: Brown University, 2005
Hometown: Berkley, MI
Chicago Street Canvass Director
I can think of few better ways to get in touch with the current political
climate than to stand on a street corner in a bustling metropolis and talk
politics with the passersby. After fours years of college at a school with
a reputation for progressive thinking I was, arguably, somewhat out of touch
with the political sentiments of the rest of the country.
During my sophomore year at Brown I began working on the staff of the Brown
Journal of World Affairs. Working for the Journal exposed me to the challenges of managing a large staff, striking a balance between the details and the big picture, and being the final set of eyes, and the one ultimately accountable for every word printed in the Journal.
All of these skills would later become useful for Canvass Directing, but
domestic politics was the last thing on my mind during my tenure with the
Journal. In addition to the time I spent in the Journal office considering
which topics were most relevant to world affairs, my time in the classroom
was spent studying international relations, and the majority of my junior year was spent traveling abroad.
It wasn’t until I returned to the States not long before the start of my senior year that my attentions turned to politics at home. That summer I began canvassing on the Kerry campaign in New Hampshire. It allowed me to see first-hand the power of face-to-face interactions, of
getting a message out one person at a time.
When I found the Fund at a
Career Fair, I was thrilled to find a group of people that understood that
power and dedicated themselves to canvassing as an action that is inherently
political. I started working with the Fund a few months after I graduated, learning the
ropes in Ann Arbor, MI before I moved to Chicago to oversee the street
canvassing office. Since then I have worked on a campaigns to protect the
Arctic Wildlife Refuge, increase fuel efficiency standards, and protect gay
and lesbian civil rights.
The satisfaction I feel from the work that I do
is second, perhaps, only to the relationships I have formed with the people
I have met through the Fund. My time here has not only cemented for me the
importance of working for change at home, but has given me the means and the
support to do so.
Isaac Bloom, 26
College: Miami University of Ohio, Interdisciplinary Studies
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
San Francisco Canvass Director
I graduated from in 2001, knowing that I wanted to do something in the environmental or social justice field, but uncertain how to get a foot in the door with the non-profit world. I had written extensively about environmental problems during my undergrad work, but hadn’t figured out solutions for the problems that I was documenting.
I spent my first year out of school working for AmeriCorps, doing environmental education for children. It was great, but I had this nagging feeling that just telling people about the problem wasn’t going to do enough to fix it. As my commitment with AmeriCorps was ending, I found the Fund. The mix of solutions and education, combined with some of the most well-recognized non-profits in the country immediately attracted me. I applied, and began as an Assistant Director in the summer of 2002.
I am now in my fourth year of directing, and continuing to learn more about the work that we do. This past year, I’ve been able to help pass progressive energy legislation in Illinois that will help increase the amount of renewable energy that we use in the state. In addition, I’ve helped protect the civil rights of the GLBT community on a national level, working with the Human Rights Campaign. Most recently, we worked with the Sierra Club to win another battle in the fight to protect the Arctic Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The Arctic has been a keystone issue for us throughout my time on staff, and it has been great to be a part of protecting it over the long-term.
I now run my own office, and oversee another. Each year, as I’ve learned more, I’ve been offered the opportunity to take on more responsibility within the organization; my former Assistant Directors run the Chicago office now. The best part of my work with the Fund is that I know that I have been able to have a long-term impact on the movement, on the organizations we work with, and on the issues I care about.
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