Speakers’ Bureau

In terms of voter contact, speaking directly to voters is as close as you can get- closer than phone calls and mail.  Convincing people active in the community to support the levy or bond can result in new volunteers, articles in other newsletters, donations, and most importantly, more votes.

Establishing a Speakers’ Bureau is one way to organize volunteers to meet with community groups.  A Speakers’ Bureau is a group of volunteers who have been trained with the appropriate message and facts about the levy or bond and are prepared to speak to groups like the rotary or the PTA.  One person should be in charge of scheduling appearances for the speakers and preparing kits for the speakers to take with them.

Preparing Speakers

A Speakers’ Bureau training is a good idea to prepare volunteers for their speaking engagements.  Volunteers for the Speakers’ Bureau should be comfortable with public speaking, able to present clearly, and willing to spend a few evenings talking to community groups.  This is a good place to use willing school board members. 

A 10-minute script or outline of the basic message should be created for the volunteers to use.  The script should include:

  • Key messages about the levy: “This is not a new tax, it is just a renewal,” “This levy is critical to provide a safe, positive learning environment,” etc. 
  • Facts about what the levy will fund, appropriate information about how much it will cost, that a 60% YES vote is required to pass it, etc.
  • Request for endorsement from the organization
  • Request for volunteers to give a few hours on the campaign making phone calls, putting up signs, helping with mailings, etc.
  • Request for donations

The speakers should also be prepared to answer common questions about the levy or bond:  how long will the levy last, how much does the state pay for, when will we vote again, etc.  These questions may be part of the general speech, but do not necessarily need to be.

Speaker’s Kit

Common items to include in a Speaker’s Kit are:

  • Script/outline for speech
  • Large charts and visuals about the levy or bond
  • Fact sheets about the levy or bond to pass out to listeners
  • Yard signs or car signs to pass out to listeners
  • Buttons for listeners to wear
  • Organization Endorsement Form
  • Volunteer sign-up sheets
  • Donation envelopes to pass out to listeners

Scheduling Speakers

Obviously, arranging speaking engagements is one of the most important parts of a Speakers’ Bureau.  This part of the job can be very busy at the beginning of the campaign until most of the appearances are scheduled. After that, it’s simply a question of lining up speakers with appearances and reconfirming the date/time with the host organization.

It’s important to get started early lining up speaking engagements for the last half of the campaign. Six to eight weeks before the election (and earlier if possible) is a good time to start contacting potential organizations to host a speaker.  For many campaigns, the last four or five weeks of the campaign are filled with speaking engagements.

Some suggested groups to give presentations to:

  • Parent groups
  • Business organizations like rotary and the chamber of commerce
  • Religious and faith organizations
  • Political groups like local democrats and republicans
  • Senior citizen organizations like retirement communities
  • Neighborhood groups
  • Cultural groups like local ethnic organizations

Other personal appeals

In addition to giving presentations, if any of the above groups are having an event, ask to set up a table with information.  Any place with crowds gathering is a potential spot for a table about the levy or bond, including local festivals, PTA auctions, and other events.  Be sure to have fact sheets, donation envelopes, volunteer sign-up sheets, signs, and buttons to pass out.

Volunteers may also be interested in going door-to-door in their neighborhood to encourage support for the levy or bond.  This is a very time-consuming activity and does not reach large numbers of voters.  If the volunteer is willing, suggest some of the other activities like making phone calls, first.  However, if this is the only activity the volunteer feels comfortable with, take advantage of the offer.  Be sure the volunteer has fact sheets, donation envelopes, volunteer sign-up sheets, signs, and buttons to pass out.  Just as with voter identification phone calls, if the volunteer learns that a voter supports or opposes the levy or bond, make sure this information is recorded in your voter records.  This will help with targeting phone calls and efforts during the campaign and in future campaigns.