1. Recruit

You’re gonna need folks to come to the phone bank, so how do you recruit them? Include sign-ups everywhere.

Here are a few places to include volunteer asks:

Website: Be sure to include a zip code field so you can sort through people based on their location.

Paper forms: If you’re hosting a rally, town hall or any other type of forum, make sure to have people sign in, so you can collect their contact information. Be sure to include a checkbox asking if they’d like to volunteer!

Donation redirects. Once people donate online, redirect them to a volunteer ask form.

Ask the email list. Work with your digital team to send a volunteer ask with geographic targeting.

Call supporters. Call folks who strongly support your candidate and ask them to come volunteer.

Once you have your bank of people to pull from, call and confirm what day and time they’ll be coming in. Giving supporters a specific time and date is much more effective, then just asking, “when can you come in?” It’s even better if you have a recurring weekly phone bank, so volunteers can integrate a shift into their plans for the week.

2. Confirm your vols

Once you have your volunteers signed up, confirm them. And don’t just confirm them once, but multiple times. Send them a reminder a few days before and then a reminder the day of or night before.

It’s not just about confirming them, but how you confirm them. Sending emails is quick, but texts or phone calls are much more effective. If your campaign is using SMS tools like Hustle or Revere Mobile, you can send a text through NGP VAN’s Digital 8. No response? Give them a call, tell them how excited you are that they signed up to volunteer, and remind them how important this phone bank is to winning the campaign. We all know it’s a lot harder to say no to someone on the phone. When you’re confirming them be sure to tell them what to bring when they come to the phone bank (phone, laptop, headphones. etc.)

If they can’t attend, ask when they can come in. If they can’t phone bank, ask if they would prefer to go door knocking or enter data. There is a volunteer role for every type of person, so don’t be afraid to make the hard ask.

3. Build your universe