New Canvasser Onboarding

Activist stewards are responsible for outreach to new and potential canvassers to help them connect with the group and feel more comfortable participating.

Once someone expresses interest in participating and fills out the interest form, the next step is to help them get involved in the campaign. The activist steward should reach out to the potential canvasser soon after they have completed the form in order to provide them with a connection within the campaign and encourage them to attend an upcoming shift or social event. It is especially important to form a connection with newer campaigners in order to help them feel more comfortable getting involved.

The process for onboarding new canvassers is as follows:

1. Initial Contact: Potential canvassers reach out to us to express interest in helping with the campaign, or we contact them to see if they’d like to contribute.

2. Volunteer Interest Form: We send the Volunteer Interest Form for them to fill out. This needs to be completed before they can begin canvassing.

3. Share Resources: Once they’ve filled out the form, direct them to the Pro Animal Colorado main page. Here, they can find everything they need to get started including petitioning instructions, canvassing talking points, the link to join our Slack channel, and the orientation video.

   • **Note: Don’t just send them the link and expect them to take it from there, though! Walk them through each of the following steps.

4. Join Slack: Invite the campaigner to join our Pro Animal Future Slack channel. They’ll want to begin with the #welcome-start-here channel, and can opt into any other channels they’d like to join.

5. Orientation Call or Video: The volunteer interest form contains links to either watch an orientation video or schedule a call with an organizer. If this is not completed within a week or two of filling out the interest form, reach out with a gentle reminder on how to get started.

6. Sign Up for First Shift: People who complete the interest form will likely need some encouragement to sign up for their first shift. We find that specific personal invites work well! That is, inviting them to a specific shift at a time they said they’d be available to volunteer. Make sure to let them know that an organizer will be there to help them get started with their first shift.

7. Attend First Shift & Onboarding: The activist shows up to their first shift and is onboarded. They will receive resources and tips on how to begin canvassing, and will shadow the shift captain or an experienced volunteer.

8. Attend Second Shift: The activist attends a second shift after their initial canvassing shift. This is an equally important milestone as attending their first shift, as it shows that they plan to continue participating in the campaign.