Develop a Membership Training Programme as part of the Campaign Academy.
Without active and engaged volunteers who will knock on doors and fundraise we can’t campaign to our full potential. There are plenty elections we could win if we had the people. Let’s fix this.
The Campaign Academy has been a great addition to the Party’s offer in support of our campaigning, and the groundwork on developing our membership offer is done. Now, I want to create a new a full membership training programme that will give local officers the training and tools to grow membership and engage with members, and ensure that everyone feels able and supported to do what is needed to fully involve members and to fundraise. Without involved members, we can’t campaign or fundraise.
To do this, we need a comprehensive programme of training, which brings together:
Grassroots engagement and a valued membership
We need to continue to promote the growth of party membership, and make sure members feel valued and listened to by the leadership. Importantly, we need to increase the proportion of members who are active in the party, who will help with the work of winning elections, and support fundraising.
Supporting Talent
Identifying and developing of the next group of local party leaders and candidates. We must mentor and provide training at a local level, and to help everyone get the most out of organisations like CWO, CPF, YCs, and LGBT Tories.
Event Management:
Training on planning and holding fundraising events, from small local social gatherings like coffee mornings to larger dinners and auctions.
Volunteer Management:
Creating welcome teams, buddy systems, and 1-to-1 follow-ups to ensure new members feel valued, and encourage involvement. We also need to develop our ways of Volunteer Recognition.
Importantly, we must also embed Nationbuilder, to ensure we make full use of supporters who are not members.
Strategic Donor Engagement:
Identifying potential donors, and creating long-term relationships through good communication and follow-up. We also need to work with the Treasurer’s Dept, to develop a system which makes sure local parties benefit fully from finding donors.
Public Speaking & Facilitation:
Building the confidence of members to lead local meetings and events, or speak at public events like fundraisers, and how to deal with press enquiries.
Campaign Finance & Donations, and Ethics:
Essential training on Electoral Commission guidelines - donors, recording donation values, and reporting requirements, and transparency and electoral law.
Membership Administration and Engagement:
How to processes membership, from Approvals and Join Requests, to engaging existing members, to reaching out to members who are about to or have lapsed.