the future of organizing is relational.

Every outreach program today — whether for an election or social issue campaign — starts the same way: with a list of voters (or potential supporters) and a menu of tech-enabled contact methods at varying price-points. The goal is to reach and persuade as many people as possible — as cheaply as possible.

Technology used to be a solution — until it became the problem. Phonecalls and texts are cheap, until answer rates drop and the volume of mass texts means you’re lost in the noise. Voter data means easy contact attempts — unless the data is out-of-date. Disinformation campaigns used technology to spread lies, leading voters to be more distrustful of informaiton they receive from people they don’t know.

However, technology and the pandemic have changed civic engagement over the last decade.

Voters want to be connected, but they don’t want a stranger knocking on their door.

and they’re not all on the same social network anymore. They want to support the issues and candidates they care about, but they want to do it with someone they trust.

Relational mobilization recognizes that the best people to talk to voters are their friends and family — the people who know them best. And when we mobilize voters fast and at scale around a specific shared goal, we can do things that haven’t been done before.

Mis- and dis-information

Trusted messengers are more important than ever.

Data integrity

Campaigns typically buy voter lists

Decrease in contact responses

People answer calls from people they know.

Volunteer experience