Rally Organizing Guide
Here are some rally organizing tips from previous rally organizing experiences that Council leaders have had. Always check with your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator for more specific event information.
i. Before Your Rally
A) Nail down the key elements of your Rally
Here are the most important decisions you need to make to prep a successful event.Line up your Speakers
You should prep some speakers to speak. Some good examples of speakers you can recruit are:
- Veterans have a unique role and stature in public policy debates because of their service to our country.
- Local/State Elected Officials: Mayors, state representatives, state senators, city council members and others in the area.
- For our health care campaign, people with health care horror stories:
- Someone whose insurance company refused to pay for their care when they got sick, leaving them with huge bills.
- People who simply can't afford any health insurance at all.
- People who have been denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
- People with friends or family members who have experienced any of these.
- Small business owners.
- Constituency Leaders: Clergy, Small Business People, Physicians or other medical providers, children’s advocates, etc.
You can also invite the target or their staff to speak at the event. This is especially appropriate if they've been a real champion on our issue.
Choose a Location.
Pick a start-time for your Rally.
Rallies are often held during business hours (starting no earlier than 8:30 am and no later than 4:30), when we have the best chance of getting media and the attention of Congress.
The best time is usually around mid-day. That's a good time for reporters to come. And if you can have your event around the lunch-hour, there's a good chance that some members of the general public can participate by coming on their lunch break.
Register your event online
Please make sure your Rally is registered in MoveOn's online system as soon as possible As long as it meets our core criteria, and is posted by one of the deadlines, MoveOn can often send an email to active MoveOn members in the area advertising your event. Here are the criteria it must meet in order to get a central recruitment email:
When you're ready, register your event.
Figure out if you'll need a sound system
If you're in a large city where you've had large crowds in the past, it's probably wise to arrange a sound system ahead of time. (And if you do, make sure to check into getting a permit, since having a sound system is often the trigger that requires a permit.) If you're not sure, check with your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator.
Figure out if you'll need a permit
In most communities, you don't need a permit to stand on public property, including public sidewalks. But depending on the location of your event, you may want to check with local authorities ahead of time. Many senate offices are in federal buildings that do require permits for "public sidewalks" outside (i.e., in Chicago, Seattle, NYC, and Rochester). If you're unsure, you should check with local authorities. If you have a sound system, you are more likely to need to arrange a permit. (In some communities, having a sound system is the trigger for requiring a permit.)
Contact your target
In order to ensure that our events get maximum notice from our targets, it's a good idea to call your target's office directly.
- If you have a supportive member of Congress, invite them to speak! If they can't appear themselves, ask if they can send a staffer to speak on their behalf. Even if not, let them know where and when your event is happening.
- If you have a non-supportive member of Congress, let them know where and when the event is happening as a courtesy.
- For all targets, it's great to ask if you can meet with their office before or after the event.
B) Prepare the materials you'll need
Make sure you're prepared with all the materials and resources you'll need. Check with your Organizer for any materials you may need.C) Join our national host conference call
If we're having a national host call for the event, plan to join it! Ask your Organizer for details on the date and time.
D) Recruit, recruit, recruit
If you have a recruitment team, now's the time for it to shine! There are several major roles that you will need to fill to pull off a successful event. Although one person could potentially fill more than one of these roles, ideally the team would include at least one person for each:- Location/target point: responsible for researching, scouting, and choosing the target and location for the event.
- Media point-person: responsible for pitching media in advance of the event, distributing press advisories, and greeting media at the event.
- Speaker point-person: in charge of recruiting and prepping speakers at the rally.
- Member-greeter: in charge of greeting and signing in all the rally attendees and, if appropriate, giving them a sign (you may want a team at larger events).
- Sign coordinator : in charge of coordinating a group of folks who will make signs for the event.
- MC: master of ceremonies at the event. This person will be responsible for speaking in front of the assembled crowd, introducing speakers, and keeping the program on time.
- Cheer-leader: leads chants and cheers at the rally.
Hit the phones: The best thing to do is to have a recruitment call party -- or at least, to give out a list of names for your recruitment team to call. If you're a MoveOn Council member, you can now get a list of names to call through your Council Page -- just go to http://www.moveon.org/council, and click on "Event Recruitment - Make Calls." Calls are the best way to get people to your event.
Emails: You can also invite people over email from your host tools page. Make sure you at least invite every Council member and everyone who recently attended a Council event! Here's how:- To send the invite email, log in to your host tools page. From there, you can easily send invitations using the "Invite Others" tool. (This will automatically add the details of your event and a link to RSVP.) Be sure to ask everyone to bring a cell phone.
- The personalized link to your host tools page was included in your confirmation email.
E) Prepare a plan in case of right-wing protesters
- Defuse conflict. We want our events to be peaceful and respectful. Our message has a better chance of getting media coverage if we refrain from confrontation with any opposition. We will have the greatest success if, rather than engaging with protestors, we honor the serious tone of our events.
- Designate a spokesperson and make sure he/she talks to reporters. Some of these events will be super jam-packed, and it's important to make sure that reporters get a chance to talk to articulate people who can make the case for a strong public option. A great way to do this is by proactively seeking out members of the press (note people with cameras or notepads) and offering up designated spokespeople.
- Show that we want what is best for our country. There have been a few instances recently where protesters on either side of the aisle started singing "patriotic" songs such as "The Star-Spangled Banner" or "God Bless America." In one case, both sides were even singing together across the protest lines. Obviously, it's always great for us to show how much we care about our country. This is also a great way to defuse or avoid confrontation with the other side.
F) Reach out to the media.
The media is a really important part of this event. Use the media guide and other media outreach resources to contact members of the media and invite them to come to your event. Use our media materials to help you.G) Hold a "run-through"-- or at least a final check-in call
It is a great idea to actually hold a dry-run day a few days before the event, to make sure everyone knows their part. Whether or not you can do a dry-run, though, you should definitely get all speakers and key volunteers to hold a final check-in call to go over what's going to happen.It's very important that you prepare your speakers well. Make sure you've had a "prep call" or meeting with every single speaker who's appearing at your Rally.
H) Make final preparations, including reminder calls
In the last 24 hours before your event, make sure you're ready! Read all your materials linked above, and re-read this guide once more. Also, be sure to check in with all local coalition partners the day before the event to finalize any logistics items and talk through any questions. Then make sure you talk to your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator before the action for final tips and prep. If you don't know how to contact your Field Organizer or Regional Coordinator, you can email councilorganizer@moveon.org.And your registered guests should hear from you in the 24 hours leading up to the event. This is by far the best way to help ensure that people show up so that you can build a strong Council. You can log in to your host tools page to send an e-mail to everyone who is signed up, reminding them what time you are starting and how to get to your event location. You should also give them a reminder call. If they listed their phone numbers, that information will show up on your host tools page.
ii. During your Rally
Make sure you've given out a copy of the speaker's script and copies of the talking points to anyone who may be talking with media. (These materials will be linked from the top right of this guide.)
Also make sure you have a debrief/next steps meeting planned before the event. It's also a great idea to announce the next meeting at the event -- either by making a spoken announcement or by handing out a flyer with the information.
Here's a sample agenda for your rally, assuming a 12 noon start:
- Starting at 11:15: As the crowd arrives, sign in all rally attendees (click here for rally sign-in sheets). It's best if one person is tasked with this responsibility, and if you expect more than 40-50 people you will want several people circulating with sign in sheets.
- Starting at 11:45: Greet reporters as they arrive. You can usually identify reporters as people with notebooks who aren't participating in the rally. TV reporters usually arrive in vans with TV station logos on them and will have large cameras. Radio reporters often have visible recording equipment also. Again, it's best if someone is set up to do just this task and nothing else.
- 11:45-12:10: Lead the crowd in cheers and chants. Again, it's best if someone is set up with a megaphone or other sound projection system to do just this task and nothing else.
- 12:09: Announce to the crowd that the spoken presentation is about to begin.
- 12:10: Welcome, introductory statement from MC (1-2 min.)
- 12:12: Speaker #1 (3 min.)
- 12:15: Speaker #2, introduced by MC (3 min.)
- 12:18: Speaker #3, introduced by MC (3 min.)
- 12:21: MC wraps up prepared statements and takes questions from media (4 min.)
- 12:25-12:45: Continued chanting and cheering (20 min.)
iii. After your Rally
You definitely want to hold a debrief / next steps gathering to talk about how the event went and to plan for the next step in our campaign. Try to plan that gathering to take place within 10 days of the event.
Here are some great ways to follow up with folks who attended your rally:
- Call through your sign-up sheets to thank people for coming and ask them to attend the debrief/next steps meeting.
- Debrief with any members who took on leadership roles during the event
- Share any press hits with attendees
- Send any press clippings into your target office and share them with attendees.
Please also fill out the survey we send you, and send any photos from the event to MoveOn.
Celebrate, and talk to your field organizer or Regional Coordinator to get ready for the next phase of the campaign!