If you have any questions, or need more details, please reach out to Galen: [email protected]
Social media resources:
Launch Party resources:
Team Meeting resources:
Website (forourkids.ca) & Nationbuilder resources:
Frequently Asked Questions:
- What are the Actions of the Month?
Every month, we put forward actions that your team may choose to take part in. We encourage new teams to stick to these actions for the first few months while your team gets established. Click here to see our current Action of the Month. Many actions from previous months are still relevant and can be used.
Nationbuilder is the software that hosts our website, forourkids.ca. It also allows us to communicate with our supporters, and allows you to send e-blasts to your team and to supporters in your area.
Tutorial video: How to create an event (RSVP) page in Nationbuilder.mov
-
What is the the buddy system:
You have the option of being paired up with a more experienced team leader so that you can learn from each other and support each other in your organizing work. If that sounds interesting to you, just ask!
How to run a Zoom meeting
You don't have to create an event RSVP page on forourkids.ca for every meeting, but we recommend that you do. These events allow you to easily keep track of who is planning to come to your meeting. They ensure that you have email addresses for everyone who attends your meeting. They make it easy to send meeting and event announcements and reminders to your team and supporters in your area. They also make it easy for people to unsubscribe from meeting reminders, so you don't have to keep track of who to email and who not to email.
-
How do I send emails/e-blasts to my team, using Nationbuilder?
How to Send Emails with Nationbuilder (starts at minute 7:30).
-
What is an "e-blast?"
"E-blast" is short for email blast. Eblasts are emails sent through Nationbuilder, to your team or to all the supporters in your area
-
Are there suggested roles for a team?
Yes! Every team is different. Do what works for you. Suggested Team Roles & Team Structure:
As team leader, your role is to organize the group, but the team leader (or leaders) should certainly not be doing everything. The way you choose to structure your team is up to you. Here are some suggestions for team roles:
-
Team Leader(s): We suggest having more than one team leader so there’s not so much pressure on one person. Many groups have two team leaders. Some even have a leadership committee of 4-6 people. Team leaders usually organize and facilitate meetings
-
Person in charge of Social Media: Probably, most people on your team will participate in social media, but it’s good to have someone “in charge.” You may even have one role for each social media platform, depending on how you use them. This person will create Facebook events for meetings and event
-
Person in charge of Nationbuilder: RSVP pages, E-blasts, Webpage: This person will use Nationbuilder to email supporters in your area and let them know about upcoming events, actions and meetings. This person will keep your webpage up-to-date and create RSVP pages. This role does not require a particularly techy person, but it does require some willingness to learn
-
Person in charge of Outreach: Everyone on your team should be helping with reaching out to new people that might want to join, but this person makes sure it’s really happening
-
Person in charge of Welcoming New Team Members: This person should plan to have one-on-one Zoom calls with new members to bring them up to speed
-
Person in charge of Actions: Everyone should be involved in actions, but it helps to have one person in charge of keeping track of actions
-
Liaison to the National For Our Kids Network: Keeping up with what For Our Kids is doing can take some time, and it may help to have one person whose job is to be in the know and report back to your team. Usually the Team Leader does this job, but it doesn't have to be the team leader.
What is the commitment for a team leader?
Your commitment is to your own local team. We will help you learn to share the leadership and responsibilities (many teams have more than one team leader). Starting out, you will be expected to organize and host monthly team meetings (on Zoom).
For the first several weeks, we encourage you to meet with a For Our Kids organizer for one hour per week.
The typical minimum time commitment for a team leader is about three to five hours per week. Beyond that, it’s up to you.
To help you get your team up-and-running, we provide you with this guided training series, split up into three parts. Generally, it will take about two months of one-on-one meetings (one hour each, once per week) to complete this training, but you may choose to move through it more quickly or to take more time.
