Program Overview | icanlead

PROGRAM

The I Can Lead! program is designed to give you to tools and training to win. Based on over 20 years of experience and countless campaigns, I Can Lead! will give you an intimate knowledge and valuable insight into what you will need to know, as a candidate, to have a winning campaign.

I Can Lead! covers five major topic areas, segmented into 20 course objectives you should be competent in to feel confident you will have a success in your run for office. I Can Lead! is intentionally designed to help candidates understand the risks, responsibilities, and rewards of the campaign. I Can Lead! will give you the tools in the toolbox to build the campaign you want.

LEADERSHIP

Leadership is not just an idea, but an action or position. This module uses the participant's own experiences to understand what leadership is, what type of leader they are, and how to use their personal leadership style to structure their campaign to position it for success. In the end, participants should be able to answer two key questions: What type of leader am I? Is this the type of leader I want to be?

CAMPAIGN FINANCE + FUNDRAISING

Jesse Unruh said, "Money is the mother's milk in politics." You have to have it, which is why it's one of the consistent ways pundits and insiders use it as a gauge for a campaign's success. Government has gone to great lengths to make sure the playing field is even, or transparent at best, with regulations outlined in campaign finance laws. People have the right to know how much money you have raised, who gave you money, and where your campaign is spending the money. This module also gives participants insights and tips into effective and strategic fundraising. At the end of this program, you will have an understanding of how to raise money and how to document it properly.

MESSAGING + COMMUNICATIONS + MEDIA

The campaign message and how its communicated to voters is the most visible part of the campaign. Seasoned politicians have mastered this aspect so well its sometimes hard to tell when they are being themselves and when they are campaigning. I Can Lead! participants will go through exercises and activities to learn how to develop an effective message, and how to communicate it to voters. Participants will also gain an understanding in how to used the media to communicate.

CAMPAIGN OPERATIONS

Making all the moving pieces of the campaign work together like a well oiled machine is intentional and should not be taken lightly. It's the candidate's job to make sure that happens, no matter how good the campaign manager is. I Can Lead! participants will learn the basic techniques in putting the right team together and developing an effective field campaign to reach targeted voters.

ENDORSEMENTS & COMMUNITY

In politics, people will talk. People who like you will tell others, and people who don't like you especially will tell others. Endorsements allow voters to know who is public about supporting you, and depending who your endorser are, could determine if a voters is a supporter. Members of the community are often your biggest and most important allies, especially those that have organized themselves into affinity groups through community-based organizations, religious institutions, or even youth sports organizations. I Can Lead! participants will learn how to identify endorsers, manage them, and use them effectively.