Building the progressive movement, one conversation at a time

Canvassing is a simple, powerful tool: by talking to people, one conversation at a time, we help build a base of support for solutions to our country's problems. Change won't come overnight but it will come. Canvassing helps build the movement in five ways:

• Raising money to fund campaigns and build grassroots organizations. Individual contributions are the lifeblood of citizens' groups. They translate directly into political power and fund the research, advocacy and outreach critical to winning campaigns.

• Signing up members for the organization.
Canvassers identify people who support the values and principles that grassroots organizations fight for. By signing them up as members, we set the stage for a long-term relationship that will enable our partner organizations to continue their work well into the future.

• Educating the public about problems and solutions.
Canvassers speak directly to millions of people around the country every year. We alert them to environmental problems and legislative proposals by special interest groups. We also make people aware of common-sense solutions and give them the opportunity to have an impact on their democracy.

• Building name recognition for the organization and the campaign.
Public interest organizations can't often afford to run TV and radio ads to build their name recognition, as large corporations do. However, by talking to people individually and leaving literature with them, we can raise their awareness of the work that we're doing.

• Influencing decision-makers.
Canvassing in the community gives us the ability to speak with thousands of voters in an elected official's district. We can inform people about their representatives' voting records, gather petition signatures, and ask people to make phone calls. That establishes accountability and encourages decision-makers to vote in their constituents' best interests.

Learn more about our work at CanvassingWorks.org.

Canvassing generates activists

I can’t think of another organization that invests so much and gives such responsibility to young political activists, often fresh out of school. While grueling at times, my experience as a canvass director for the Fund taught me skills that I carry with me to this day. I wouldn’t trade my. . . experience for anything because it was the foundation upon which I built the rest of my political career.

—Seth Kilbourn, Political and Policy Director, Equality California

Every night, rather than working at a sandwich shop or a checkout counter, I was reaching out to citizens by knocking on their doors, talking to them about pressing conservation issues, and asking them to get involved—I was doing something I cared about. Working on a canvass, I developed the dedication, work ethic, and skills that have allowed me to do the work I do today and see statewide victories, like the passage of Wisconsin’s Clean Energy Bill which sets the state’s first renewable energy standard.

—Jessica Garrels, Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters Institute