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raise funds for a campaign or movement

Digital Organizer School

Overview

The Digital Organizer School (DOS) is re:power’s core offering for progressive organizers, digital practitioners, and communicators who are looking to build technical skills and invest in strategic ability and leadership within the movement. Applicants will be asked to commit to full participation which includes a pre-training online gathering and a 5-day in-person training. 

Digital Organizer School is an intensive 5-day training designed to meet people at different points in their career. Whether you are brand new to digital organizing or have been practicing for 1–3 years, you will discover new skills and tools, new strategies and approaches for your work and new relationships with others across the movement. We emphasize strategic decision-making and leadership development to make the training a powerful experience for participants at all levels.

At DOS, you’ll learn how to execute essential digital tactics such as writing effective emails, shifting dominant narratives, online ads, organizing on emerging media platforms, and analytics. You’ll also focus on strategic decision-making and developing digital organizing plans that will be most impactful in your unique community. Finally, you’ll invest in your own leadership at your organization or campaign. This emphasis on strategic decisions and leadership development makes the training a powerful experience for participants who arrive with varying levels of digital organizing experience.

The program begins with an intensive 4-day in-person training where you’ll work in teams to practice what you’re learning through a campaign simulation. On day 5, you’ll present your work to the full group and receive feedback from trainers.

Who is this course for?

  • Field Organizers and Communications folks who are new to the digital organizing landscape
  • Digital Organizers with under 3 years of experience
  • People who want to learn how to integrate a digital program into their current organizing campaign
  • Folks who work for organizations with a digital presence but would like to learn how to be in the role of digital organizing and engagement
  • Organizing Insight: Folks with experience doing organizing work on the ground. That work can be tied to grassroots, electoral, and/or issue organizing. We seek to support organizers who are currently part of a campaign effort or are seeking to build one.
  • Openness to learning: Regardless of experience in organizing online, we are interested in organizers who are excited about challenging themselves to learn new ways of doing the work and partnering with others to come up with creative solutions. People should come ready to be present and engaged.

What will you learn?

  • Writing emails 
  • Building strong digital relationships with your supporters
  • Challenging dominant narratives & incorporating stories into your online campaigns
  • Analytics & Testing 
  • Online Advertising 
  • Mobile Campaigning 
  • Digital Security
  • TikTok and New Media
  • Online Fundraising 
  • Storytelling Online 
  • Content Creation & Design for the Movement

Expectations

This is an intensive 5-day in-person course with high expectations for participation. 

During training sections and breakouts we ask participants to be present, share verbally, and participate in breakout group discussion. Participants will be asked to work in groups to complete a group-based assignment. While some time will be structured for group projects, groups are expected to work together outside of class time as-needed to complete the assignment.

There are limited spaces available for participants in this course. We ask that you commit to meeting these expectations if you apply to the training.

If you’re interested in this course, but not able to join us in person—please check out our virtual Introduction to Digital Organizing course which offers the same curriculum in an online format and paced out over 3 weeks.

We will be meeting in person for this course. Please read our latest COVID-19 protocol before proceeding with your application.

COVID-19 Protocol

Training dates

No upcoming trainings

*Please refer to the Training Policies page for more information on our sliding scale system. please reach out to digital@repower.org if you have any questions.

Policies & FAQ

For more information regarding payment, refund policy, and other frequently asked questions, please refer to our Training Policies page. Contact us at digital@repower.org if you require further assistance.

Digital Fundraising

Overview

Our movement needs to harness all our resources to mobilize our communities, inspire action and engagement for the long-term, and win elections. This training will teach candidates, campaign managers & organizers how to run a digital fundraising program from start to finish. Participants will learn the basics of digital fundraising copywriting, projecting income, analyzing statistics and how to grow a dynamic, successful digital subscriber base.

Who is this course for?

  • Grassroots candidates who are new to digital fundraising. 
  • Volunteers, staff and activists who want to use digital best practices to raise money for their organizations or campaigns.
  • Anyone who wants to expand their existing digital organizing skills to include building a holistic, successful digital engagement and fundraising program.
  • No baseline knowledge of digital tools required, but familiarity with digital organizing or CRMs is useful.

Expectations

This is an interactive course. We ask participants to write in the chat box, share verbally, and participate in breakout group discussion. We understand that folks have a lot going on though, so if you are not able to participate in a breakout discussion you can let the tech moderator know. We encourage, but do not require, participants to turn on video during breakout discussions.

Questions? Please contact us at electoral@repower.org

Grassroots Fundraising

Overview

Fundraising and organizing go hand in hand. Just as there are people organizing themselves to take courageous acts of defiance, right next to them are people organizing resources to support those campaigns. Most times, the same organizers leading campaigns are the ones doing the fundraising, without fundraising training. Fundraising is seen as a necessary evil, but this is in part, due to the relationship we have with money and money with the violence of capitalism. Yet fundraising, if it is practiced within a framework of liberation, can ground us in community and sustain our movements for the long-haul.

re:power’s Grassroots Fundraising is a 4-session course curated to teach organizers the fundamentals of building fundraising campaigns. Participants will learn the skills necessary to recruit donors, maintain and develop donor relationships, and launch a fundraising campaign.

Who is this course for?

  • Folks tasked with raising funds for small and medium sized grassroots organizations, full time, part time, or part of their role’s responsibilities.
  • Folks who want to develop and deepen their organization’s relationship with grassroots donors to build more sustainable organizations.
  • Folks who want to develop grassroots fundraising skills to explore new career paths.
  • Folks who would like to hone any of the skills listed above

Ideal applicants come from all walks of life, though we are especially focusing on beginners who are passionate about their organizations and want to start their learning journey. Here are some attributes shared by all our applicants:

Relational & people-focused: Ideal participants are excited to build relationships, to invest in the leadership of others, and to continue telling stories to bring people together and move them towards action.

Organizing Insight: You don’t need to be a professional fundraiser, but we’re looking for applicants with experience doing grassroots work. We seek to support fundraisers who are currently part of an organization or seeking to build one.. 

Dedication to Inclusive Politics and Intersectional Solutions: At re:power, we center race, class, gender and sexuality across all our trainings — it’s part of our practice of inclusive politics. We want organizers to be open to new ideas regarding it and to the ideas and contributions from their fellow organizers who will reflect our diverse communities.

Course Expectations

This is an interactive course. We ask participants to write in the chat box, share verbally, and participate in breakout group discussion. We understand that folks have a lot going on though, so if you are not able to participate in a breakout discussion you can let the tech moderator know. We encourage, but do not require, participants to turn on video during breakout discussions.

Lesson Plan

Session 1: Evaluate the Soil

The first session of this fundraising series will be about identifying the feelings that arise while fundraising and exploring the role that class and money play in our fundraising journey.

Session 2: Planting the Seeds

In this session, participants will be equipped with the fundraising basics of “making the ask”, such as who to ask and how to ask for a gift. Participants will have the opportunity to practice making fundraising asks with each other.

Session 3: Watering Your Flowers

This third session follows the path after receiving your first gift. Participants will discuss best practices to cultivate and engage donors.

Session 4: A Strong Flower Bed

The last session of this series is a workshop on creating a strong fundraising plan. Participants will put together the skills they learned during the first three sessions and draft a fundraising plan.

Questions? Please contact us at grassroots@repower.org