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Frequently Asked Questions about Hosting a DFA Campaign Academy

Thanks for your interest in hosting a DFA campaign training in 2009. Below you will find answers to some
frequently asked questions about our trainings and how they are organized. If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to contact us by email at training@democracyforamerica.com or by phone at: 802-651-3200. You can also visit our website at www.democracyforamerica.com/training

Q: Why have local leadership for the trainings?

A: We practice what we preach. Our Campaign Academy events are organized in large part by grassroots activists. You have the best perspective on local logistics, local vendors, and the local political landscape. All trainings must have a Host Team of volunteers who handle local logistics (venue, food, etc. - but DFA pays for all the costs) and local recruitment. The team must be at least 3-5 people with at least one person serving as the liaison to DFA HQ and everyone assigned specific roles.

Q: What topics are covered at the training?

A: We offer a comprehensive campaign training, meaning that we cover a wide range of campaign-related topics. There is heavy emphasis on Field (voter contact, targeting, volunteer recruitment), Communications (crafting a message, working with the media), and Finance (fundraising tactics and strategies). We also offer more specialized sessions on topics such as online organizing, event planning, precinct organizing, and more. We try to tailor our training topics to the needs of the activists and candidates on the ground.

Learn more at: www.democracyforamerica.com/training/curriculum

See some of our regular trainers at: www.democracyforamerica.com/training/trainers

Q: Who pays for the training?

A: The DFA Campaign Academy is a revenue-neutral program for DFA. DFA doesn’t make money off of training, but we hope not to lose it either. Therefore, we must work to keep costs low. DFA pays for venue (if necessary) costs, food, printing costs, travel for trainers, accommodations for trainers, necessary fees, and so on. The host team is not responsible for any of the cost of the training. If you decide to incur any financial costs, DFA cannot reimburse you. The tuition paid by the attendees is the main source of revenue used to pay for the trainings; therefore, your recruitment is vital to sustaining the DFA Campaign Academy!

Q: How do you recruit attendees?

A: Attendees to trainings come from many sources. Local, statewide, and regional DFA groups are first target for recruitment. The Democratic Party and local Party clubs are also a critical target. Other progressive and community organizations or groups, local unions, locals colleges, etc. are all sources of recruitment. We want a diverse range of people to attend the trainings. You know your community, local campaigns, and local candidates best, so think about the makeup of your community when recruiting!

Q: What are the recruitment goals?

A: Because DFA utilizes local volunteers to be our eyes and ears, and because we’re fiscally responsible, we run an extremely cost-effective program. We recoup these costs by spreading out everyone's share (through tuition). In order to make the tuition reasonable we usually need to get around100 people at the training. You will need to work out a specific recruitment goal with the Training Director.

Q: Where do you hold the training?

A: The venue needs to be affordable (meaning free or nearly so) and must be able not only to hold a crowd, but also to provide breakout rooms. Venues which work best are colleges, high schools, and union halls.

Q: How long does the training last?

A: It’s an intensive 18-hour training spread out over only two days. The hours are from 9am to 6pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

Q: When are the trainings held?

A: Our training season usually goes from February though September, depending on the calendar and election cycle. Great care should be undertaken when selecting the training date so as not to conflict with any other events.

Ready to apply?
Visit www.democracyforamerica.com/trainingrequest to get
started on an application.