The Importance of Using Checklists in Campaigns

Checklists are powerful tools in campaigns. Checklists turn completely green volunteers into competent workers. Checklists ensure quality and help staff manage themselves instead of using precious resources managing employees. The opportunities to use checklists in campaigns are nearly endless!

Campaigns lend themselves to checklists because there is a series of logical steps towards the end of goal of victory. Smart candidates and staff can systematize these steps and develop checklists to keep the process moving. The difference between well run and poorly run campaign is the difference between a campaign that has a plan and a system and one that doesn’t.

The difference between a good campaign and a great campaign is the difference between how well the campaigns execute on their system.

Feel free to take this Field Event Checklist template and make it your own:

Location

_ Secure location one week before the date of the event or as soon as a date is decided by the candidate or a third party
_ Make sure an outside location has an alternative rain location

Crowd building

_ Determine the size of the room.
_ Make sure you are able to fill the room
_ Have an estimated hard count before hand
_ Call local officials at least two days before the event

Visuals

_ Signs
_ Banners
_ Stickers
_ Constituent group specific packets or handouts
_ Sign in sheet
_ Microphone
_ Podium

Price

_ Get budget approval of the final price five days prior to the event
_ Save invoices for all purchases
_ Events including food should not exceed $5.00 per person unless approved beforehand

Press

_ Press risers if necessary
_ Press advisory day before event
_ Take pictures
_ Email pictures to campaign press contact
_ Press release no later than 24 hours following the event

Follow up checklist

_ Follow up with phone calls and emails within two days of the event
_ Make copies of the sign in sheet
_ Enter sign in sheet data into database program
_ Send a copy of the sign in sheet to campaign contact to send out thank you notes

A staffer or a volunteer using a checklist like this one fill find it simple to organize a successful field event. Integrate checklists into your campaign like you have likely already integrated scripts for fundraising asks and scripts for the field. Scripts are to words as checklists are to processes. Winning campaigns rely on them just as much.

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