Couldn’t I help out in some other way?

Political groups of all types wrestle with two pivotal problems in trying to grow and increase their ranks:

• how to persuade more of their supporters to become volunteers, and then
• what to do with the bulk of those volunteers once they've been recruited.

These two problems share a common source: most people are aversive to the primary task asked of political volunteers, which is talking to strangers. Phone banking, canvassing, or passing out fliers on a street corners -- all of these jobs require making contact with people you don't know and trying to persuade them to do things that they don’t start off inclined to do.

Some people love this work and do it extraordinarily well. They are the lifeblood of every successful grassroots campaign. But most people do not enjoy talking to strangers, do it relatively poorly, and therefore volunteer to help out political campaigns only when they are desperate to participate in some way. Most people never actively participate at all.

For a political movement to build real momentum, these disengaged people must find a way to become part of that movement. Rather than trying to shoehorn them into existing movement roles, it is essential that we give them the tools and the encouragement they need to create the roles in which they can be the most useful and the will best suit their personal preferences and needs.

Getting Everyone Involved

ActionMatch will facilitate innovative political activism by encouraging potential volunteers to think outside the box, and then find others who can join them there.

Participants in the program will fill out a profile that describes the issues and/or candidates that they want to support, the skills that they have to offer, and the types of activities that they enjoy doing. Based on their answers, they will be shown two different kind of matches:

Compatible People

Users will see the profiles of other participants who live nearby and have given similar answers. For example, a person who checked off homelessness as an important issue and photography as an enjoyable activity would see other people who are interested in homelessness and photography. Matched people will be encouraged to make contact and dialogue about creative ways to work together productively.

Innovative Ideas

Users will also see a range of proposed political actions that match the issues or candidates that they want to support, or the types of activities that they enjoy. To extend the example above, participants who checked off homelessness and photography might pull up a proposed project to document homelessness in cities all over the country with photographs shot and submitted by amateurs.

Participants can respond to the ideas posted, rating and commenting on them. They can also sign up to participate in the action described. If none of the previously proposed ideas appeal to them, they can propose their own.

By typing in a zip code and specifying the distance they are willing to travel, users will be able to pull up local volunteering opportunities. People who prefer to work at home, doing either phone or Internet-based work, can check that preference and find those ways to contribute.

Groups of all political persuasions will be invited to post their volunteer projects on the ActionMatch directory. Links to the websites of all of the groups listed will be included. Listings will be updated frequently, so that new volunteer opportunities can be posted and old ones removed in a timely fashion.

Both group and individual listings will be free.

We welcome your questions and comments. Please Contact Us.