Canvassing

Canvassing Guide

Canvassing is the best way to sign up pepole we don’t already know to participatory budgeting.

Recruiting people to whom you already have a connection is the best way to start, but after asking everyone you know, you’ll need to start talking to strangers. Impersonal marketing methods, like social media, newsletters, posters, yard signs all have their place, but they are nowhere near as effective in getting people to participate.

Learning how to talk to strangers is empowering. Not only will it allow you to successfully organize to improve your community, but it will allow you to be comfortable developing many new relationships, friendships, and connections your community. Talking to strangers Is the basis of of all networking, an absolutely essential professional skill.

Most of us find talking to strangers scary at first, but remember that no one is born knowing how to do this. It requires many concepts and skills, some of which might be new to you, but ANYONE can lear how to do it.

Scripts

When canvassing, you use a script to guide the conversation—you don’t follow the script word for word like a play, but as guidelines for a good conversation. You’ll want to practice the script until you can have the conversation without the script. Use the simple script when you are starting out. Once you’re comfortable canvassing with the simple script, start to add in elements from the Full Script a little bit at a time to make your conversations even better!

See below, or download:

Simple Script

Have you registered for participatory budgeting?
Evanston has given us $3m to decide how to spend to make Evanston better. Community members have already submitted and developed ideas and we get to vote on which ideas to fund this September.
We’re collecting emails today to send people information on how to vote in September. Would you like to sign up?
[Get email address]
Thanks!

Full script

Setup

If you have a cart, table, food, stickers, etc., set it up in a place where it will catch attention but not be in anyone’s way. If someone objects to you being there, calmly state what you are doing, but remember that’s it’s not worth getting in an argument or compromising your safety.

After you set up also remember to walk up to people – don't just hide behind the table!

If you don’t have anything to set up, that’s great – a clipboard, pen and signup sheet is enough.

Prepare

To get yourself in the right mindset, ask yourself:

Can I move this person to participate?

Then think about some of the reasons why the answer to this question is yes:

PB is awesome!
Everyone has something they’d like to make better about Evanston
I’m good at explaining what PB is
We have already signed up over 100 people
[add your own reasons...]

Hook

If you are approaching a stranger, you must first catch their attention. Some of the hooks we’ve used:

Have you registered for participatory budgeting?
Would you like to decide how Evanston spends $3m for covid relief?
Have you heard about participatory budgeting?
Do you care about Evanston?
Hi!

Explain your purpose

After you’ve got their attention, you want to tell them your purpose in talking to them. You might say something like:

Evanston is starting a participatory budgeting process that is letting everyone in the community decide how the city should spend $3m of covid relief money, and we’re collecting emails to send people reminders about how to vote.

Options

At this point, there are several directions you can go depending on how they react and how much time you have. They might be ready to sign up, in which you can make a first ask, or they might have more questions that you might want to answer; or if they seem willing to talk, you can engage them in conversation by asking them about their ideas.

(a) First ask

To make the smallest, first, ask, just say:

Would you like us to send you information about how to vote?

(b) Give more information about PB

If they want to know more about the process, describe how it works:

Last Fall we held 11 idea events where anyone in Evanston can show up, learn about the process and share their ideas.

Then in Winter and Spring, volunteers signed up to be budget delegate who will worked in teams with the help of the city to turn the ideas into full proposals that can be implemented

This September, everyone over 14 who lives, works, or studies in Evanston gets to vote on which ideas to fund and the city will implement the winning ideas.

The money is from ARPA for covid relief and can be spent on things like health, social services, economic recovery for families and businesses, education and infrastructure, and pretty much anything city government does that will increase equity.

Then answer any questions about the process. You can also ask:

Would you be interested in (Fall only) in attending an idea collect event, (Winter only) signing up to be a budget delegate, voting or volunteering?

(c) Engage in developing idea

The best way to get people excited about PB is to have a conversation about how they want to improve the city. Start off by saying:

Do you have any ideas about how we should spend the money?

A few people may already have some ideas, but most will say I don’t have any ideas right now, at which point you can help them develop their ideas by asking the following series of questions:

How were you, your family, or your community affected by the pandemic?

What do you think would help address that?

What could the city do or spend money on to make that happen?

When they share their ideas, affirm the need they have identified and thank them for sharing. Then explain the different ways they can get involved to push that idea forward, for example in Fall they can attend an idea collection assembly; Winter they can join a related budget delegate committee; Spring/Summer they can vote for a related idea.

Make the first ask to sign up if you haven’t already.

(d) Second ask(s)

If they indicated that they might want to volunteer, attend an event, or be a budget delegate, you might say:

Oh, I noticed you signed up <to volunteer / attend assembly / be a budget delegate> that’s great! We’ll put you on the list so you can get information about how to get involved.

Do you have any questions about <how you’d like to volunteer / assemblies / being a budget delegate>?

Responding to concerns

Sometimes people might be wary of participating. If so, it’s important to listen to their concerns, acknowledge those concerns, and provide information if helpful before circling back to your ask. Here are some common objections and how you might address them.

  
    Concern
    How you might address 
  

  Where is the money coming from?
  The city of Evanston got $43m of American Rescue Plan Act funding for covid relief.  The city council has set aside $3m for a participatory budgeting process which we get to decide how to spend.

  The city council will never give us the money for our projects.
  In fact, the city council has already allocated the money for participatory budgeting and voted unanimously to support participatory budgeting. The only restriction is that projects will be vetted to make sure they comply with ARPA requirements. There are thousands of community members involved in PB already so there would be a huge political cost to any council member who doesn’t abide by the results.

  They should give the money to me!
  You can propose that idea! You’ll have to get other people to vote for it though.

  They should give the money back to the people.
  You can propose that idea! You can sign up to be a budget delegate to get that idea on the ballot.

  I don’t want to give you my personal information.
  PB Evanston doesn’t sell your information or use it for other purposes. We just want to give people information about how to participate. If you want to sign up online, you can go to pbevanston.org. You can also sign up for the city newsletter, but make sure to read all the way to the end so you don’t miss the announcements.

  I’m too busy.
  It's easy to participate—it only takes a few minutes to vote (next summer) or submit an idea. If you have an idea now, I can submit it for you.

  I’m not from Evanston / not registered / not 18, not a US citizen.
  Anyone who is over 14, lives, work, study, own a business, or have a kid that studies in Evanston can vote in PB. And everyone can submit ideas or volunteer no matter where you live or how old you are.

  I already registered to vote! 
  That’s great you’re signed up to vote for the national elections. Voting for the participatory budgeting is a different event and happens at a different time. Do you want to sign up so we can send you information about when to vote? 

  I’ve done PB before. 
  The person might be confusing PB with something else like priority budgeting. First ask them about what they did and where. If it wasn’t participating in PB in Rogers Park, explain that this is the first time Evanston is doing PB and how the process works.

  How can I get a PB grant?
  Nonprofits are used to applying for grants from the city, so they sometimes think PB is another grant making process. Explain that this is not a grant making process and then explain how PB works 


  Who chooses the steering committee? 
  Anyone can apply, the city council approved the steering committee just like any other board and commission. Members were selected to represent each ward and the diversity of Evanston. Anyone can join the leadership committee and applications are still open on the city website.  

Concern	How you might address
Where is the money coming from?	The city of Evanston got $43m of American Rescue Plan Act funding for covid relief. The city council has set aside $3m for a participatory budgeting process which we get to decide how to spend.
The city council will never give us the money for our projects.	In fact, the city council has already allocated the money for participatory budgeting and voted unanimously to support participatory budgeting. The only restriction is that projects will be vetted to make sure they comply with ARPA requirements. There are thousands of community members involved in PB already so there would be a huge political cost to any council member who doesn’t abide by the results.
They should give the money to me!	You can propose that idea! You’ll have to get other people to vote for it though.
They should give the money back to the people.	You can propose that idea! You can sign up to be a budget delegate to get that idea on the ballot.
I don’t want to give you my personal information.	PB Evanston doesn’t sell your information or use it for other purposes. We just want to give people information about how to participate. If you want to sign up online, you can go to pbevanston.org. You can also sign up for the city newsletter, but make sure to read all the way to the end so you don’t miss the announcements.
I’m too busy.	It's easy to participate—it only takes a few minutes to vote (next summer) or submit an idea. If you have an idea now, I can submit it for you.
I’m not from Evanston / not registered / not 18, not a US citizen.	Anyone who is over 14, lives, work, study, own a business, or have a kid that studies in Evanston can vote in PB. And everyone can submit ideas or volunteer no matter where you live or how old you are.
I already registered to vote!	That’s great you’re signed up to vote for the national elections. Voting for the participatory budgeting is a different event and happens at a different time. Do you want to sign up so we can send you information about when to vote?
I’ve done PB before.	The person might be confusing PB with something else like priority budgeting. First ask them about what they did and where. If it wasn’t participating in PB in Rogers Park, explain that this is the first time Evanston is doing PB and how the process works.
How can I get a PB grant?	Nonprofits are used to applying for grants from the city, so they sometimes think PB is another grant making process. Explain that this is not a grant making process and then explain how PB works
Who chooses the steering committee?	Anyone can apply, the city council approved the steering committee just like any other board and commission. Members were selected to represent each ward and the diversity of Evanston. Anyone can join the leadership committee and applications are still open on the city website.

Thanks

Once they've discussed what they wanted and are ready to go, double check that you can read their email address, and thank them for talking with you, even if they decided not to sign up.

Reflect

Great job! Remind yourself that you have someone the opportunity to participate who would never have gotten involved without your help!

Take a moment to reflect on how the conversation went and what you might do differently for the next one.

If the person didn’t stop to talk or didn’t sign up, remind yourself that:

This is not permanent – another person you talk to will sign up
This isn’t pervasive – this particular person was difficult
This isn’t personal -- it’s not about you, it’s about them. You did your job by inviting them to participate

Remember to keep at it! The next person you talk to might be the next super volunteer or a budget delegate who will come up with the next great proposal.

Canvassing Tips

1. Practice your pitch.

Often the first sentence is the hardest. One approach is to use and interesting pitch like "Do you want to decide how Evanston spends $3m?" Another approach is to just start explaining what participatory budgeting is so that people start understanding that this is something different and exciting before deciding if they want to stay or go. Whichever approach you choose, practice your opening so you can deliver it with confidence. Make sure it is sincere and authentic, not robotic.

2. Be safe

Always canvas with 1 or more teammates, during the day, in public settings. Evanston is a relatively safe and friendly community, but if you canvass long enough, you will eventually run into someone who’s having a bad day, who wants you to leave, who is just plain disagreeable. Never compromise your physical safety.

3. Canvas at public, social events

The best events are ones where there are a lot of people hanging out or waiting in line, like large block parties or carnivals.

The next best are busy events like farmers market or festivals, but you may have to stand outside the event, and people are more likely to tune you out.

If there are no events, find somewhere with a lot of foot traffic.

4. Walk up to people

If you are at an event where people are sitting or waiting, just walk up and tell them about participatory budgeting. At a large block party, you can sign up more than 70 people in an hour or two. If you are at an event where other community groups are tabling, you can sign them up too!

5. Ask everyone

Remember you are not bothering people; you are giving them the opportunity to become more empowered. If you don't ask, you are taking that opportunity away from them.

6. Be noticeable

In places where people tune you out, you have to do something to get their attention. The cart and costume stand out and make people look long enough to pause. Giving out free food, stickers or swag can work if you pick something your audience likes. Be excited - your energy is infectious. DO NOT avoid eye contact, sit down, stand behind a table or laptop, or check your phone -- why would someone stop to talk to someone who doesn't want to talk to them?

7. Listen, be curious, ask questions

The more you have a good conversation with someone, the more time they have to think about what they want for the community and how PB can help them achieve that. Listening sincerely to someone is a gift.

8. Asking anyone is a success

Many people will walk on by without signing up -- that's fine! Just getting out of your comfort zone by asking people to sign up is a success! If you have 1 good conversation, even better--you never know if the person you talked to is going to be the next big advocate for participatory budgeting.

9. Reflect

After a canvassing session, reflect on what worked and what you will change for next time. If you keep practicing, you’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll get better at talking to strangers.

10. Talk shop

Remember, there are many you can ask for advice and help such as the PB staff and other volunteers – a great way to learn is to share tips with each other.