Building a team

Past experience shows that Trick or Vote has amazing potential to bring in new people and drive significant, effective voter contact. You can blow this bad boy up. But to bring it to the scale that it can reach, you won't be able to pull off this event on your own. You're going to need help. The first thing you'll need is a dedicated crew to help you plan your event. When recruiting your team, here are few things to look for:

• Diligent and Committed. There's nothing worse than counting on someone's help, only to have them flake out. Be clear up front with your volunteers about your expectations and needs. Look for poeple you can count on. One super-committed planner is better than 25 flakes. Much better.
• Cool and Creative. Creativity and fun are at the very heart of this event. Look for people who'll contribute creative energy. This kit includes some suggestions for ways to make your event cool and innovative, but the best innovations will come from your planning team. You'll know your audience a whole lot better than we will. And what's cool in rainy, coffee-riddled Portland may be waaaay lame in Austin or Minneapolis. Probably is.
• Connected and Networked. That girl your friend works with who has 7,000,000 MySpace and Facebook friends? Probably an asset. That dude that seems to organize every other event on your campus? Yeah, Probably good to have around. Your friend who works for a booking agency? Nah, forget that guy. He probably doesn't know any bands or anything.
• Smart. Smart people are never bad to have around.
• Advice from Good to Great, by Jim Collins: First figure out who you want on the Bus, then decide where you want to drive.