Building Community with a National Postcard Group

Report from Robbin Warner of the Postcard Working Group

Q.What is an experience you've had as an activist that led you to focus on this area for your working group?

When we started Postcards4VA back in 2017, we were the first statewide postcard group. We choose to build our own operation rather than rely on an outside group, because Virginia has elections every year. By running our own operation, we could decide on which candidates to support. We knew that we had to support local races and invest in tough races, not just the popular competitive races, to plant blue seeds.

Another wonderful outcome is the community of leaders this has formed. At the beginning and end of each election cycle, we bring postcard group leaders together to debrief that last election and plan for the next one. Topics range from how people keep their groups engaged to tips for distributing postcards and for managing quality control.  They discuss fundraising strategies for purchasing stamps. Everyone always leaves with a list of things to bring to the operation of their group.

Q - Describe your working group.

We are having a great time talking postcards. We are from four different states with different programs and personal experiences. Our conversation covers a wealth of topics from discussing postcard messaging, card design, benefits of layering postcards with other voter engagement strategies, research outcomes and impact.

Q. What are the next steps in your team's work?

Having seen the power that comes from postcard leaders working together on the state level, I was excited to be part of a group that could do the same on a national level. We are in the early stages of planning a series of meetings on Zoom.  Some of the topics under consideration include: The value of postcard writing; How to collaborate on key national races; and sharing best practices.