Advocacy
Advocacy organizations use the ControlShift platform to expand their organizing reach and build leadership among their members. The platform has three core features – Campaigns, Events, and Groups – that let organizations put powerful online-to-offline organizing tools in the hands of their members and supporters.
Campaigns are designed to make it easy for anyone to create a petition, recruit supporters, and deliver it to the decision maker for maximum impact. Some organizations offer an open petition site, regularly ask their supporters to launch campaigns, and then coach those campaigns to victory. Over time, they rack up hundreds of thousands of campaigns with small wins leading to big shifts in power.
Another option is to use the Efforts feature, where organizations can set up a templated campaign and recruit local leaders to take charge in their communities. This works well where decision making doesn’t rest with a central authority like the federal or state government.
A campaign to get city and town councils to commit to accepting a certain number of refugees in their community or a campaign asking colleges and universities to divest from fossil fuels. Efforts can offer a helpful focus, and victories in one place can inspire activists working on the same issue in other locations.
ControlShift also supports distributed events. Even in our digital age, there is no substitute for getting people together in person to plan a campaign, knock doors to reach other supporters, or show power at a demonstration. Supporters can volunteer to host events and recruit their friends and others in their community to attend. Organizations can review events before they go live and reach out to hosts and attendees to ensure success. The Calendar feature lets organizations set up groupings of similar events – like a day of action with rallies in lots of communities – and recruit hosts and attendees to them.
When supporters work together on campaigns and events, it’s only natural for them to want to continue collaborating over time. ControlShift’s Groups feature lets organizations set up local hubs for collaboration and communication, including an online discussion forum.
The three core features of Campaigns, Events, and Groups integrate with each other to form a platform for powerful distributed organizing. For example, when a campaign reaches a certain number of supporters, it can prompt the organizer to hold an event and invite those supporters to gather in person. Groups can create campaigns and events, and supporters who sign up for those are in turn prompted to join the group.
Organizations of all sizes in 25 countries around the world use ControlShift to help their members meaningfully participate in their work. The platform is highly customizable, with some organizations using all three core features and others using just one.
