Door To Door Canvassers

Door To Door Canvassers

Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC) seeks to hire numerous part-time Door-to-Door Canvassers to work from August 7 to November 10 to connect with, engage, inform, and motivate progressive voters. Some of these positions - but not all - will specifically focus on conversations at the doors about ways to take action for energy and climate justice.

Note: We are also advertising other part-time positions, including for Community Event Canvassers, Democracy Champions, and Data Entry Specialists. Individuals may apply for more than one role. 

Position Title:  Door-to-Door Canvasser

Hours: Part-time, 25 hours / week, with a set weekly schedule. (By mutual agreement, there may be opportunities to pick up additional hours closer to the election.)

Duration: August 8-November 12, 2022

Pay: $28 / hour

Schedule:

• Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday: 3 to 8 pm door-to-door canvassing or phone banking in bad weather
• Friday: 1 to 5 pm, work from home or local KFTC office. This shift includes a mandatory virtual training call and phone calls to people you’ve met at the doors recently and/or to volunteers.
• Saturday: 10 am to 4 pm door-to-door canvassing or phone banking in bad weather 
• Shift times may be adjusted by mutual agreement with your supervisor and team.

Priority locations include: Louisville; Lexington; Bowling Green; Covington and NKY area; Richmond/Berea; Georgetown; Danville; Morehead; Prestonsburg/Pikeville; Hazard; or Corbin/London/Somerset. 

Who We Are

KFTC is a grassroots organization with thousands of members across Kentucky committed to advancing racial justice and building a healthy democracy to transform Kentucky. We believe in the power of community organizing – people working together to achieve common goals. It’s a long-term approach that focuses on building and exercising power, especially among people affected by injustice, to improve the quality of life for all. 

KFTC has built up a powerful infrastructure to foster democratic values in our state - through tactics such as targeted voter registration, educating on candidate stances, voter mobilization, training candidates, endorsing candidates, and changing laws to make more space for democracy.

We engage in this work to create an authentic, participatory Democracy, which is needed to create the life Kentuckians deserve.  We want to make elected officials more responsive to Kentuckians as a whole.  We also seek to create an environment in which better candidates will run and get elected.  

KFTC’s grassroots leadership has adopted the following description of what we are working to be and achieve together over the next ten years:

• 2031 description: Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is a collective light, leading the way to a thriving, joyful, intergenerational, multi-cultural society where people are free from oppression and where equity, health care, and racial, economic, and social justice exist for everyone. We are a beloved community, where all people are connected and affirmed through healthy relationships, and dedicated to achieving mutual liberation.
• 2031 goal: Guided by Black, Indigenous, People of Color and impacted communities, we will recruit, equip, and activate a network of 100,000 members and partners across all 120 counties to dismantle racism and all systems of oppression, to develop a robust democracy and transform the future of Kentucky.

What You’ll Do

In this role you’ll primarily be responsible for going door-to-door to engage Kentuckians in conversations about their values and concerns, key issues, candidates, the importance of voting, and ways to get involved. You’ll also help train and support volunteers working with you.

You will learn and may use an approach called Deep Canvassing, which builds rapport with voters by demonstrating radical empathy and sharing emotionally significant stories about important and challenging topics. 

In August and September, the scripts and conversations you will have will focus on one or more of these topics: a) racial justice, b) energy and climate justice, c) tax justice, or d) housing or education justice, or other issues prioritized by local KFTC chapters. You will be trained, supported, and expected to engage meaningfully with Kentuckians about these issues. By October, our scripts and your conversations at the doors and on the phone with voters will focus on candidates, key issues, and voting. 

In this position, you can also expect to spend time talking with voters on the phone, especially on days when the weather is unsafe for canvassing, and in the weeks before the election. During the final month before the election, you will help call, text, and canvass thousands of voters to let them know where candidates stand on key issues and support and motivate Kentuckians to make a plan and turn out to vote. 

Range of Responsibilities: In this role you will:

• Learn. You will participate in several paid orientation days plus a weekly virtual training during one of your shifts. You will gain skills, confidence, and valuable experience on the job. 
• Show up consistently and on-time. KFTC’s door-to-door canvassing program involves small teams of people working together for safety and support. It’s really important for each person to show up so the team can work efficiently and well.  
• Walk door-to-door. You’ll work with a partner or small team to have long, engaging, and sometimes challenging conversations with voters. You’ll use a walk-list, script, and a canvassing app on your phone or on a provided tablet. Conversations will focus on racial justice, democracy, energy justice, tax justice, or other prioritized issues or candidates, and will emphasize the importance of voting. This work requires walking in many weather conditions, hilly terrain, and communities that may be unfamiliar to you.
• Make phone calls. Some shifts will be spent talking with voters on the phone, connecting with them about key issues, candidates, & voting.
• Assist with community events. This role is primarily focused on door-to-door canvassing. By mutual agreement with your supervisor, some shifts may be spent helping to connect with voters and volunteers at community events organized by KFTC. 
• Inform and engage voters. You’ll connect with voters around key issues, candidates, how to register, the voting process, and ways to get involved, including as volunteers.
• Train and support volunteers to have meaningful door-to-door and phone conversations with voters.
• Take pictures and collect quotes from people you meet at the doors.
• Ensure all voter registration cards are protected and turned in safely and promptly, according to procedures.
• Assist with data collection and data entry as needed.
• Comply with organizational rules and procedures, including legal and COVID guidelines.
• Contribute to a culture of mutual respect, support, accountability, appreciation, good working relationships, and constructive communication with your supervisor, co-workers, and volunteers.
• Be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and willing to take other precautions (including masking indoors when at work) to keep our members, staff, and the public safe.
• Other duties as assigned

 
Who You Are

We’re looking for people who are:

• Committed to racial justice, equity, inclusion and democracy
• Able to work and connect well with diverse people, especially Black and Brown Kentuckians, low-income and working class folks, young people, LGBTQ+ folks, disabled Kentuckians, and others whose voices and votes are too often discounted.
• Committed to the mission and values of KFTC
• Excited about public outreach, deep listening, and connecting with voters at-the-doors and by phone.
• Self-motivated and independent, and also work effectively in teams.
• Reliable, organized, and responsive. Able to ask for help when needed.
• Coachable, excited to learn, eager to teach others. 
• Able to follow procedures and instructions with a high degree of accuracy and minimal supervision. 
• Committed to safeguarding confidential or sensitive voter data and information.
• Self-directed, confident, capable.
• Collaborative, patient, hopeful.
• Able to de-escalate and stay calm in potentially contentious situations. 
• Okay being outside in many weather conditions. Enjoy walking, exploring neighborhoods, and meeting new people. 

What Else You Should Know

• You will be required to participate in a paid, in-person orientation and training August 7 in Lexington and in weekly on-line zoom meetings with other door-to-door canvassers around the state, held during your Friday shift.
  
• This position offers $50 / month to compensate for a cell phone that you use for work, and provides reimbursement of $.46 / mile if you use your own vehicle for authorized work. 
• This position requires moderate local travel and working weekday evenings and Saturdays.
• You must have access to a car you can use for local work related travel and/or be able to show up reliably and on-time to a wide range of local community locations using a bike or public transportation.
• You will be supervised by a KFTC staff leader, and may work closely with other KFTC organizers who may provide day-to-day direction and support.
• KFTC is an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage BIPOC people, Kentuckians with felonies in their past, women, and LGBTQ individuals to apply for open positions.

How to apply

• Please complete this online application before July 16 at midnight.
• To ensure that all qualified applicants are fairly considered for these roles, KFTC is not requiring that applicants submit a cover letter or resume. Please take your time with the application and tell us about yourself and your interest in and qualifications for this role. We don’t care about your grammar. We want to learn what’s important for us to know about you.  
• We’ll begin reviewing applicants on the morning of July 17, and will schedule online interviews throughout that week and into the next.
• If you have questions about this position please email [email protected] and type “Door to Door Canvassers” in the subject line.