Regan Conley Communications
West Seattle Democratic Women
A strategic grassroots outreach plan for a women’s political organization increases membership 30% in under a year
West Seattle Democratic Women (WSDW) is a force in one of Washington State's most active legislative districts. They wield sought-after candidate endorsements and provide support to community organizations. But after more than 70 years of activism, they faced a dwindling membership and worried they weren’t sustainable—or even relevant to 21st century women. Renewal rates were high, but new members were nearly non-existent. WSDW wanted an outreach campaign that would appeal to a new demographic.
Approach
The members were mostly older, retired women, and WSDW believed they needed to appeal to younger women to revitalize the organization.
First, I held a workshop with the membership to assess their strengths and how they saw themselves in their community using participatory appraisal tools. This critical step helped define their audience and the potential for new members. Instead of changing their organization to appeal to younger women, they discovered untapped potential of women in their existing demographic and in their capacity for outreach.
Based on this, I:
Created a detailed outreach plan that identified achievable goals, audiences, messages, and specific tactics that could be put into action by volunteers
Wrote collateral, including a new brochure, volunteer job descriptions for communications and outreach, and outreach scripts
Results
WSDW increased their membership by 30% within the year.
The participatory assessment helped them embrace their audience. Instead of changing WSDW, the plan bolstered new member numbers and kept the committed core.
The plan is repeatable. For regular membership drives and for special events, WSDW returns to the basic tactics their own without needing additional professional support.