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Organizing Your Campaign

To get your campaign started, you'll need to line up the right people, from campaign advisors to staff to volunteers. This chapter discusses the basic organization of a campaign-people and infrastructure-and the legal requirements for launching your campaign.

Citizens' Campaign Advisory Committees

One of the first, most important steps to take is to form a broad-based citizens' committee to help with strategy, fundraising, and endorsements. The committee can also provide valuable help throughout the research, polling, measure design, and campaign phases. A campaign advisory committee (which is different from an oversight committee) is an informal body of local leaders formed to guide the campaign and lend it credibility and resources. Some of these members will likely serve as officers of your campaign committee: chair, secretary, treasurer, etc. The number of people on an advisory committee can vary; what's important is to attract a diverse group of experienced, motivated community leaders.

Seek out people who are well-intentioned, politically astute, and connected to their community. That could mean a business leader who can raise campaign funds, an influential parks advocate who can speak persuasively to the issues, or a community activist who can organize a neighborhood. While these people should be expected to do some major lifting, they will also be the eyes and ears of the campaign. They will also likely help design a measure that reflects public priorities and communicate the benefits of the measure to the public.

Staff and Volunteers

Depending on the resources available, your campaign could be run by a seasoned campaign manager or by a group of volunteers. Quite likely you'll have a mix of the two, as well as a media consultant and a pollster. Here are several things to consider before staffing your campaign:

• Be realistic: build your organization according to the needs of your campaign and the resources available. You may find you can get the job done without any paid staff, or you may want to invest in a professional campaign manager who can lead the effort.
• Be resourceful: don't pay for things that you can get for free (but make sure any donations are reported appropriately).
• Be prepared: assess your campaign, evaluate staff and personnel, and assign tasks as early as possible.

A review of common campaign roles follows. Keep in mind that for smaller campaigns, a person will likely wear more than one hat. With limited financial resources, hard-working volunteers can fill these spots.

Campaign Manager: This is the person in charge of managing the operation, and guiding the development of the campaign plan. The campaign manager oversees the campaign staff or volunteers and works with the pollster, consultant, and advisory board to keep the campaign on track. Depending on the needs of the campaign, this individual could also take on other roles (press secretary, field manager, fundraiser etc.). Qualifications: Strong management skills; politically astute; experience managing winning campaigns (preferably land conservation); knowledge of the community; solid relationship with key political figures in the community; an understanding of and preferably first-hand experience with each major campaign function (field operations, fundraising, etc.).

Fundraising/Finance Coordinator: It takes a lot of people to raise a lot of money. One person, the finance coordinator, will manage the process. Their job: organize a finance committee, develop a fundraising strategy, solicit donors, and oversee fundraising events. Qualifications: Strong interpersonal skills; experience raising money; an understanding of potential donors in your campaign; knowledge of campaign finance rules and regulations.

Treasurer: The campaign treasurer oversees expenditures and files financial reports. The person is responsible for paying the campaign's bills and depositing and tracking contributions. Qualifications: Accounting/bookkeeping experience; knowledge of state/local reporting requirements; organized and detail-oriented.

Press Secretary: The press secretary develops a press plan, communicates the campaign message through the free media, and serves as the point of contact for reporters. (More on the roles of the press secretary in the free media section.) Qualifications: Good communicator; experience working with the press; an understanding of the media market.

Field Coordinator: This individual coordinates direct voter contact efforts, at the door, on the phone, at a neighborhood coffee or meeting. The tasks include design of a field program and management of volunteers and/or paid field staff. Qualifications: Field experience; strong organizational and management skills.

Volunteer Coordinator: The volunteer coordinator must keep people busy, motivated, and on-track. He/she must also keep them coming back. As you see, it's a crucial role; in some smaller campaigns it's the most important role. Qualifications: Strong interpersonal, organizational, and management skills. An ability to motivate people.

It's important in any organization for people to understand their roles and the roles of others. This is especially true of campaigns, where things move quickly and some positions are filled by paid staff, others by volunteers. Make sure to clearly define each person's role and to keep everyone informed as your organization grows. Finally, you may need to hire campaign professionals such as a media consultant.

Campaign Headquarters & Equipment

Most small campaigns can manage effectively without a campaign headquarters. In fact, the overhead costs may drain valuable resources from direct voter contact. If you do need a campaign headquarters, try to find one that is centrally located in a safe area, accessible from the street, and free. Try to get office space, furniture, and equipment donated from a friendly business or supporter (once again, make sure any donations are appropriately reported), or pay as little as possible for a vacant store-front. Depending on the configuration, you can use your office to house staff and volunteers, hold campaign rallies, and increase visibility. Good campaign headquarters provide ample office space for staff, storage room for supplies, and a large work/meeting room for volunteers. The furniture and equipment will depend on the size of your campaign. Essential furniture: desks, tables, chairs, file cabinets, partitions (if the office configuration is not suitable). Essential equipment: computer software and hardware, printer, fax machine, phones.

Understanding Legal Requirements

Legal issues and election requirements vary from state to state and community to community. Even within a jurisdiction, the rules are often in flux. That's why it's important to review the election laws in your community and check regularly throughout the campaign to find out if changes have been made.

If the rules in your community are complex, you might want to consider hiring legal counsel to advise on financial reporting rules and requirements. If this is beyond your budget, consider naming an election law attorney to your advisory committee or finding another pro bono source.

Campaign Committees

You'll need to establish a campaign committee as a legal entity and name officers. This is different from a campaign advisory committee discussed earlier, although members may serve on both. Check with your secretary of state or local elections office to obtain an application and instructions for establishing your committee. When you select the name for your committee, remember your message (the Committee for Safe Parks, the Committee for Clean Water, etc.); the committee name will be on your letterhead and on every piece of advertising you distribute.

Individuals who serve as chair, vice-chair, secretary, and treasurer can be called upon to provide general guidance and carry out key tasks. Determine the responsibilities of each position based on the legal requirements and the needs of your campaign. For instance, treasurer is a key position that entails significant work and responsibility (more on the specific duties to come later). Your chair may provide direction to the entire campaign and advisory committee. If the campaign is very small, however, you may need this person in name only. It may be useful to find and appoint a lawyer with election law expertise to your campaign committee. This person can help navigate the critical and sometimes confusing legal issues involved in running a campaign.

Bank Accounts & Employees

No matter where you live, one of the first things you should do for your campaign is set up a campaign committee and open a campaign bank account. Without these, you won't be able to raise or spend money for your campaign. If your campaign is hiring staff, you should also obtain a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), sometimes known as a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). The FEIN helps establish the committee as a separate legal entity for tax purposes. You will also need a FEIN to open a bank account for the committee and for all other IRS reporting. (If the campaign is sponsored by an incorporated group, such as TPL or TCC, those organization's numbers would be used.)

The committee must also determine whether its workers are employees or independent contractors. This decision determines what benefits and legal protections the worker is entitled to, and whether payroll taxes must be withheld and paid on that worker's compensation.

Raising & Spending Money

Before you raise a penny, you (or your treasurer) should determine how much the campaign is legally allowed to accept (contribution limits) and spend (expenditure limits), and all other finance reporting regulations. (Your campaign treasurer is responsible for tracking contributions and expenditures.) Remember: Don't rely on what you or someone you know has done in the past, because regulations tend to change frequently. Don't rely on this or any other campaign handbook either, as the limits and reporting requirements will vary from state to state and even community to community. Go straight to the source: the secretary of state and your local elections department. These offices will provide you with the information you need to raise and spend money legally. Here are some key questions to have in mind:

• What are the contribution limits for individuals, corporations, and political action committees (PACs)?
• What information must accompany a contribution (name, address, contribution amount, check date, copy of check, etc.)?
• What format should be followed for making financial reports, whose signatures are required, and when are they due?
• What are the limitations for in-kind contributions and how must they be reported?
• What are limitations and requirements for accepting loans to the campaign?
• How should expenditures be itemized?

Make sure one person (the treasurer) is responsible for all campaign finance tracking and reporting. And make sure you follow the rules exactly. Even minor financial reporting oversights have the potential of tarnishing your campaign's image and weakening support.

Disclaimers

Find out exactly what information needs to be included on the campaign's printed materials, checks, and other legal documents. For instance, a disclaimer for advertising may read "Paid for by the Committee for Clean Water and Open Space, ID number 654321; 123 Main Street, Burlington, Vermont; Jane Smith, Chairman; Bob Jones, Treasurer. Some or all of this information may be required on your campaign checks. The elections office will probably assign your committee an identification number. If you don't have a campaign headquarters, open up a post office box or use the address of one of the campaign officers or staff.

Other Legal Considerations

As outlined by attorney and election law expert Rosemary Fei, there are several other legal requirements that should be considered during the early stages of a campaign. First, the committee should consider obtaining insurance. This can be done fairly easily: insurance carriers will typically provide up to $5 million for a cost of approximately $500. Secondly, if the committee's gross receipts are expected to exceed $25,000, you must file a Form 990 tax information return annually with the IRS.

TPL Creates The Conservation Campaign, Expanding Campaign Services

Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, like TPL, are limited in the amount they may spend on lobbying for support of legislative and ballot measures. This limitation applies to measures at the federal, state, and local levels of government. In order to promote ballot measures beyond the ceiling, TPL recently formed a 501(c)(4) organization called The Conservation Campaign. This organization is a separate nonprofit corporation that may lobby without limit; its primary purpose is to raise and spend money on lobbying for government funds that will save land. Unlike a 501 (c)(3), however, contributions are not tax deductible; this entity may not receive government funding or private foundation support.

Both TPL and TCC work to increase public funding for land conservation. Their roles are usually distinct yet at times overlap. TPL generally helps governments research and design ballot measures, activities which are not considered lobbying. Both TPL and TCC support local ballot measure campaigns with strategic advice, polling, and campaign activities - endeavors which are generally classified as lobbying. TCC handles direct campaign/lobbying activities such as forming a campaign committee, creating a campaign plan, etc.

It's important to note that both TPL and TCC are prohibited from influencing the outcome of campaigns for elective office; partisan politics must be avoided at all times. No campaign activities or materials can promote or be coordinated with a candidate or a political party.