Another good question. Listening tours are pretty rare, so there may not be a "typical" way of paying for it. If a party has free access to a data management tool like MiniVan, there may not be significant additional costs. It can all be done on a volunteer basis.
However, to do an effective listening tour, you will need at least one person who is proficient in electoral data management and canvassing to cut turfs, decide on the script given to volunteers, train volunteers on both how to deep canvass and how to enter the info they collect, and then to analyze the data received. If a local party doesn't already have people with that expertise, then it would need to pay someone for those services.
I've asked the Johnson County Dems to record one of their training sessions in May so people can use their training in other places.
Hi, Steve! What a great idea, to "(ask) the Johnson County Dems to record one of their training sessions in May so people can use their training in other places." If they do that, how could it be made available to those of us interested in viewing it? I'd certainly like access, so if it's not shared publicly, I'll shamelessly ask for a link/copy to be emailed to me [george.sullivandavis@gmail.com]. Thanks, and best wishes!
Why doesn't everyone do off-year listening tours? I didn't even know that was a thing! What do the logistics of that effort look like when it's not centered on an election date?
Hi, Madeline, that's a great question. There's lot of reasons most local Democratic organizations don't do listening tours. A major one is that the national Democratic organizations have not supported organizing by local parties even during election years. Instead, they focus on funding candidate campaigns. Another problem is the lack of communication mechanisms where local parties could share what works and what doesn't. A few state parties support local organizing, but most don't. There are many other reasons, too, but I'll stop there.
The logistics of organizing an off-year canvassing tour are similar to organizing an election year canvass. You need to recruit volunteers, have a data collection mechanism such as MiniVan or PDI, decide on where you want to canvass, and decide on who you want to talk to (or adopt a knock-on-every-door approach.) As stated in the article, it's actually easier to get people to do this kind of canvassing because you are just asking people what they are concerned about.
If you live in a red or purple place, you could talk to your Dem county leaders about organizing a listening tour. I
A very helpful answer thank you! Who typically pays for a listening tour? The county leaders, state leaders? Or if I want to organize a listening tour do I have to come up with the funds myself
Hold Republicans accountable by highlights the harm their votes cause to their constituents. Use this StoryMap to see how many people live in poverty in a district. How many are disabled? Seniors? Have no other health insurance? Use the facts to be more effective.
American Genocide: Mapping the Republican scheme to eliminate poor, disabled seniors by cutting Medicaid
Hi, Madeline,
Another good question. Listening tours are pretty rare, so there may not be a "typical" way of paying for it. If a party has free access to a data management tool like MiniVan, there may not be significant additional costs. It can all be done on a volunteer basis.
However, to do an effective listening tour, you will need at least one person who is proficient in electoral data management and canvassing to cut turfs, decide on the script given to volunteers, train volunteers on both how to deep canvass and how to enter the info they collect, and then to analyze the data received. If a local party doesn't already have people with that expertise, then it would need to pay someone for those services.
I've asked the Johnson County Dems to record one of their training sessions in May so people can use their training in other places.
Hi, Steve! What a great idea, to "(ask) the Johnson County Dems to record one of their training sessions in May so people can use their training in other places." If they do that, how could it be made available to those of us interested in viewing it? I'd certainly like access, so if it's not shared publicly, I'll shamelessly ask for a link/copy to be emailed to me [george.sullivandavis@gmail.com]. Thanks, and best wishes!
Why doesn't everyone do off-year listening tours? I didn't even know that was a thing! What do the logistics of that effort look like when it's not centered on an election date?
Hi, Madeline, that's a great question. There's lot of reasons most local Democratic organizations don't do listening tours. A major one is that the national Democratic organizations have not supported organizing by local parties even during election years. Instead, they focus on funding candidate campaigns. Another problem is the lack of communication mechanisms where local parties could share what works and what doesn't. A few state parties support local organizing, but most don't. There are many other reasons, too, but I'll stop there.
The logistics of organizing an off-year canvassing tour are similar to organizing an election year canvass. You need to recruit volunteers, have a data collection mechanism such as MiniVan or PDI, decide on where you want to canvass, and decide on who you want to talk to (or adopt a knock-on-every-door approach.) As stated in the article, it's actually easier to get people to do this kind of canvassing because you are just asking people what they are concerned about.
If you live in a red or purple place, you could talk to your Dem county leaders about organizing a listening tour. I
A very helpful answer thank you! Who typically pays for a listening tour? The county leaders, state leaders? Or if I want to organize a listening tour do I have to come up with the funds myself
Hold Republicans accountable by highlights the harm their votes cause to their constituents. Use this StoryMap to see how many people live in poverty in a district. How many are disabled? Seniors? Have no other health insurance? Use the facts to be more effective.
American Genocide: Mapping the Republican scheme to eliminate poor, disabled seniors by cutting Medicaid
https://thedemlabs.org/2025/04/10/american-genocide-mapping-the-republican-scheme-to-eliminate-poor-disabled-seniors-by-cutting-medicaid/
This is inspiring. I was feeling droopy this morning until I read this.