In 2020, re:power Fund partnered with the State Infrastructure Fund (SIF) to train 88 grantees, across 30 states, on digital organizing and civic engagement. The majority of grantees were focused on election protection work and voter turnout and mobilization. More than 187 people participated in this training series and they represented the communities who re:power Fund and SIF seek to center in our work—70% identified as BIPOC and 71% identified as women.
In a pivotal election year that coincided with the pandemic, organizers needed to quickly build and strengthen their digital organizing skills. re:power Fund worked with SIF to assess grantees’ needs and, based on the results, we developed two different offerings: an Intro to Digital Organizing course that covered the fundamentals of digital organizing for participants who were newer to the field, followed by an Intermediate Digital Organizing course where participants deepened their knowledge and skills.
The two courses spanned three months and included the following topics:
Intro to Digital Organizing
- Building Power through Digital Organizing
- Finding Our People & Messaging Online
- Email Writing & Targeting
- Growing Online Communities
- Mobile Campaigning
- Digital Safety
Intermediate Digital Organizing
- Leadership Ladder
- Design Training
- A/B Testing
- Intro to Analytics (Sheets)
- Storytelling Strategies Online
- Rapid Response Assignment
Based on the feedback we received, we feel confident that the trainings enabled organizers to transition their important work to the digital realm, and to continue engaging historically underrepresented voters and protecting the integrity of the election.
“I’m already using the tools I’ve learned to organize better and more impactful digital campaigns.”
SIF Particpant
One participant said, “I’m already using the tools I’ve learned to organize better & more impactful digital campaigns,” while another said, “I have legit changed my entire digital strategy and our team has seen a direct increase in our numbers and actions taken.”
This work was led by Rose Espinola, a contractor with re:power Fund.
