Canvass(ing) their Ass(es) off

Making change, one door at a time 6

canvassingIt’s officially summer, and one thing that brings, besides Kennedy yacht races on Nantucket Sound, is an army of thousands of kids with clipboards, out canvassing neighborhoods, street corners, and subway stops for green: green causes and the green of cash.

This tried and tested organizing tactic is a mainstay of many groups from Sierra Club to the PIRGs (college-based public interest research groups), and is one of the biggest, most regular shows of force that the green movement has outside of climate rallies and mountaintop removal protests.

It’s proven to build member rolls and donor bases, yet has many detractors. A guest commentator here at Grist started a heated debate 2 years back with his assertion that it’s a waste of effort, in that the clipboard horde does not invite or engender activism amongst those canvassed, and just turns people off when it asks for money. Better to just talk with people, or do outreach via electronic channels, he said.

Rereading the comments, I found much to agree with, both pro and con. Yes, some canvasses are worse than others in terms of info and action items. Much of the money raised goes to pay for the canvass effort, leaving little extra to fill out the group’s budget. Yes, it’s a really tough job that has a high rate of burnout. And yes, around 40 percent of what you give to the canvasser stays with him or her, not the group or mission.

But what the writer missed is that a canvass is often a group’s biggest outreach effort. It brings real people to others’ doors to start a conversation, no matter if these chats are sometimes clumsy, ill-informed, or frustrating. And it’s paid for by its own proceeds.

The canvasses I’ve worked, a PIRG fighting an incinerator in New York and a wolf reintroduction project in Colorado, were grueling but exhilarating. Both focused on gathering signatures and letters while distributing literature, and in the former case resulted in an outright win.

All we had to do was prove that recycling would handle just as much of the waste stream as burning trash would, at a fraction of the cost. But we had to do that one person at a time.

What I think is an under-appreciated aspect of canvasses, though, is that for many, it’s the first time they’ll get paid for their activism. And that’s crucial. If we want more green leaders tomorrow, we need to find them work today. Just look at the conservative movement to understand how important that is.

I didn’t stick with canvassing long, but used it as a stepping stone to other jobs in organizing, as so many do. It was a formative experience for me, to face my fear at every door and try to make a connection with a person who usually didn’t want to talk, and share my passion for this world. And along with other gigs I stitched together, I was making a living as an activist.

This is why I don’t flinch at giving a donation to someone at my door, after asking how else I can be involved. I know lots of people insist on sending their donations in by mail to the main office to avoid giving canvassers a cut, but not me. That 40% is part of what keeps green boots on the ground.

 

Erik Hoffner is the coordinator of the Orion Grassroots Network which supports the work of hundreds of grassroots groups and which connects the green leaders of tomorrow with good work today via the Grassroots Jobsource. Based in Massachusetts, he is also a freelance photographer.

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  1. JeffMCS Posted 11:57 am
    15 Jul 2009

    Hi Erik,What I think you miss in this article is that canvassing doesn't have to be this way; in fact, it's much, MUCH more effective without the traditional goals.  Bringing people together to have that discussion, and empowering activists to go door-to-door doesn't require the pretext of fundraising, and it is more potent without it.I'm volunteering this summer with Massachusetts Climate Summer, a group of 20 students going across Massachusetts to canvass, hold presentations and media events, and find leadership for continuing the pressure on Congress into the fall.  And, I should add that we're traveling entirely by bike, and we're volunteers.The lion's share of what we do is canvassing - five days a week, for four hours a day.  We don't ask for money!  We don't get paid!  Instead, we gather support on the Repower Campaign goals, invite people to our events in each town along the way, and recruit leaders for the fall campaign and beyond (October 24!  Copenhagen!).And while I agree that it would be nice if we were makin' some dough for ourselves, I think it would also detract from the authenticity of the campaign.  We truly care about these goals, and I would gladly stand in front of anyone's door and explain why they need to get involved NOW to help stop climate change. And to tell them that I have no personal stake in these issues, beyond carrying out my civic duty to engage the public on an issue that I believe is really important.Raising money for the sake of raising money is silly, unsustainable, and tarnishes the goals of a program.  I understand that it is necessary to support many institutions that are doing important work, and I don't mean to badmouth the many who are involved with money-raising canvass projects.  But if we don't look beyond the established model for canvassing, we might miss some big opportunities.If you want to see what we're all about, I encourage you to come out and join us - you can find our route maps on our website.  Or, read this blog post for an encounter between one of our groups and a MassPIRG canvass team.My take-home from this summer: you need to be a model for the change you're asking others to make.  And if you treat them as real people who care, and who want to get involved, rather than just hitting them up for money, we have a chance of getting the kind of change we really need.Read more:Massachusetts Climate Summer.orgClimate Summer BlogMassachusetts Power Shift, our coordinating groupThanks!Jeff Gang

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    1. Erik Hoffner's avatar

      Erik Hoffner Posted 2:51 pm
      15 Jul 2009

      Thanks, Jeff. It's great you can work for free this summer, and get such good stuff done. You guys wheelded thru the Berkshires, Orion's home base, recently and I helped get the word out about your visit.Unfortunately, there are many many who would like to work for free but can't. If the green movement is going to keep bringing in new people, and untraditional people at that, there's got to be a way to help them buy dinner. Canvassing does that, and helps groups get their word out. Erik - Orion Grassroots Network

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  2. jayohara Posted 2:28 pm
    15 Jul 2009

    Erick, thanks for your help with the Western Mass bikers at the
    beginning of the project.  But, here's the thing.  Everyone doesn't
    have to work for money.  Part of the problem of the environmental
    movement is that it is extremely top heavy - large numbers of paid
    activists, lobbyists, consultants and policy experts.  And the focus on
    these has evaporated, skimmed off or otherwise shut off the faucet on
    the flow of resources to democratically run decentralized grassroots
    efforts.  In otherwords we've supplanted citizen organizing in the
    shape of a social movement with professionals and organizations (with
    self interest).  Now, obviously these things aren't completely causal,
    but are in a sort of dance with each other.To the idea that people can't work for free - the idea that people need to work full time to get anything done is not true.  I'd like to think that environmentalists need to resurect the idea of tithing - using 10% of our resources to devote to good.  If one devoted 10% of one's time, that'd be over 5 weeks - a lot of time to get a lot of stuff done.  But instead we are driven by our socially accepted views on what is proper work and proper livelihood.  A great attack on which was led by Curtis White's "The Ecology of Work" in Orion a while back.  Or Jim Merkel's "Radical Simplicity".  If we simplify our lives down and eliminate desires (as the Buddha and Jesus and many others would have us do anyway) there's tons of time to devote to unpaid work for the environment.And the bonus is that if we're not paid for it we can do what's RIGHT instead of what the funders or the higher-ups want us to do.  BONUS!

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  3. Morgan Posted 5:21 pm
    15 Jul 2009

    Hey Erik,I worked for min. wage for the month of October up until election day for a progressive nonprofit to promote the election of progressive candidates. I knocked on aprox. 1,000 doors. It did help me get over the fear of approaching people and I found that even those who disagreed were willing to listen, especially if I listened thoughtfully to them. My favorite neighborhoods were working class (with chihuahuas) and my least favorite were upper class--usually fortified with huge gates and big dogs, where it was really hard to find or get to a front door.Besides building social capital as a nation, canvassing made me rethink the social capital of my own neighborhood. It convinced me that engaging with your neighbors is a good first step to social change.http://www.ecohearth.com/eco-blogs/small-earth/608-building-social-capital-in-a-low-density-neighborhood.html

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  4. randino Posted 9:21 am
    16 Jul 2009

    I usually dread canvassing, though I have done a ton of it.  Although you have to practically drag me to the area, and kick me out of the car, I find at the end that I had a ball, and there is nothing to beat it as an education.  My latest was for the Obama campaign, and a lot of it was depressing for me.  20 years ago my peer group and I got our start in the neighborhoods of Cleveland.  This past fall we returned to our old stomping grounds.  We thought things were bad years ago. Things were much, much worse today and it was sobering.  On the other hand, there was a lot of esprit d'corps in the canvassing effort, made you feel special and proud to have worn yourself to a frazzle for the cause.I am for anything that gets people out from behind their computers, lap tops, or to quit texting, twittering and all the rest of Borg behaviour.  Quit hiding behind your computers folks.  There's a big, beautiful world out there that is worth fighting for, and wearing out shoe leather over.Randy Cunningham   

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  5. levineg Posted 10:01 am
    17 Jul 2009

    One thing about canvassing that's often overlooked is how it facilitates further interactions with 'canvassees.' I canvassed for a progressive grass-roots organizing group in the summers of 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. While fundraising was an element of our activities, our goal was find individuals who could be motivated toward political action, connect with them, and record their information. The emphasis was never the money or the first contact; what mattered was building a database of at-least-moderately-motivated individuals who could be recontacted later.The recontacting phase was where the real political action happened. When critical progressive issues came to a head, members were recontacted over the phone, with physical literature and electronically. They were given information about the issue or issues, encouraged to vote or speak out, and provided with the tools to do so. This recording/recontacting model has been so successful that this organization has only grown since its inception more than five years ago.Money makes the world go round -- but all money in the world can't buy an American vote. Grassroots political action can motivate one, however. It isn't fundraising that lies at the heart of a grassroots organization; it's the ability to reconnect with voters, time and again, and build with them a foundation of political activism.

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