How can volunteers be organized remotely to help others vote? How can celebrities support a cause? How can phone banks be energized with video streaming? How do you extend the impact of your events long after they are over?
The Workers Circle is a social justice organization that has powered progressive Jewish identity through social justice activism for over a century. It organized a phone bank co-sponsored by Public Citizen, DemCast, Declaration for American Democracy (DFAD), Avodah, and Repair the World, B’nai Jeshrun and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.
Volunteers called Georgia voters with critical non-partisan info such as polling locations, rides and Voter ID requirements. Mark Hamill (who played the character of Luke Skywalker in StarWars) joined the volunteers on a Facebook Live stream that had over 200,000 views!
Phone banking tips
- Plan well in advance to recruit and train volunteers.
- This free five minute video training on phone banking is a good start.
- Partner with other like-minded groups to increase awareness for the phone bank.
- Recruit a celebrity to increase interest in the phone bank.
- Use a video stream like Facebook Live to build camaraderie and excitement amongst the volunteers.
- Extend the impact of your event by streaming it with calls to action after the event with BigStage.
Extending your event's impact
Organizers have several free options to video stream their event after it's over including Facebook Live, YouTube Live and Twitch. But how can the energy of the event and calls to action be recreated after the event is over? That's where BigStage comes in. It lets organizers take a video stream of their event and package it in a frame in which they can add buttons with links to donate, register and volunteer. Supporters and sponsors can be featured in a rotating carousel.
Converting a video stream into a BigStage event is done by adding the Facebook video stream link to BigStage like this along with links to calls to action and sponsors. BigStage is free for groups working for voting rights and social justice issues.
Take away: Enroll your volunteers in the fight for voting rights with phone banks and innovating technology. May the force be with you!