Preparing for Call Time - National Democratic Training Committee How to Prepare for Call Time

Preparing for Call Time

By Dallas Thompson
60 min
Fundraising

Course Outline

Content
  • 1 Video
  • 2 Quizzes
  • 1 Activity (60 min)
What You Need
  • Just yourself!

What You’ll Learn

  • Define what call time is and its importance on political campaigns
  • Explain the process of researching prospective donors
  • Introduce the most effective way to create call sheets for your candidate
  • Explain how to prioritize a list of fundraising calls
  • Walk through a typical day of fundraising on a campaign

Why This is Important

Most campaigns raise the majority of funds through call time. Make the most of the candidate’s time with proper preparation to run an efficient and successful call time operation. This course teaches how to research potential donors, create call sheets to guide conversations, and how to prioritize a list of fundraising calls.

Key Resources

  • Example Call Sheet
  • Annotated Call Sheet
  • NDTC Call Sheet Template
  • Spreadsheet of State-Specific Sites for Researching Donors’ Giving Histories
  • Call Sheet Rubric

Related Trainings

  • Finding New Donors — Identify the potential donors that you need to research before your candidate can dial their number in call time
  • Staffing Call Time — Preparing for call time is just the beginning; learn how to support your candidate while they’re making fundraising calls, too
Start Course

Dallas Thompson

Trainer

Dallas Thompson is the Founder and CEO of Bright Compass, a boutique HR firm for political campaigns and progressive workspaces. Bright Compass focuses on anti-harassment training, leadership coaching, and comprehensive HR and Operations support to create inclusive organizations that live up to their values while executing on their mission.

Dallas brings more than a decade of management and fundraising experience from both the political and nonprofit fields, including as Chief of Staff for STG (formerly Smoot Tewes Group) in Washington, D.C. In 2016, she was Hillary Clinton’s Operations Director in North Carolina, where she oversaw operations of a 400-strong team working to elect Democrats up and down the ticket. Dallas has also served as Finance Director for the New Hampshire Democratic Party, National Director of Fundraising Development for the Leadership for Educational Equity, and Development Director for the New Organizing Institute. Dallas is a proud AmeriCorps alumna.