- What strategic questions can you answer/clarify to improve your impact in ‘25?
- What are efforts that are independent of/separate from UA activities?
- If you stopped doing the work you’re doing, who would take it up? And what would stop?
- What is only accessible to you through the currency of veterans?
- To what extent can you coordinate other Vet groups that are not explicitly political?
- You call us when you want to mobilize vets for causes that align w/ our mission?
What are the hard dates around which we could use to structure by when you want to have decision and greater
“Come here if…” who are the committed in between the spurts?
Scratch pad of ?s > brand identity, how do we go to market;
Emotional conviction about path forward; sunset the other options
Org strategy and the personnel implications;
Ecosystem challenge > How what others are doing.
- Do it off cycle, non presidential? How does the context affect?
- Onramps into the movement
Framing “small ball” “current state bias”; “How do you personify this movement? Faceless revolution” What is our animating narrative?
Principles-policy bridge (everyone dislikes us)
What are the 👃🏼?
What inputs do we need?
What does VAV look like in between cycles and outside of the build-ups. VAV isn’t incomensurate
As I see it there are sort of 4 strategic paths we explore:
1) Narrow: stay explicitly with election reform, operating in a similar fashion to how we did last cycle. Hire people in targeted states, focused on ballot initiatives, direct support of those campaigns, and not a lot of activity in places that do not have that. Heavily funded by UA.
- You’re a UA arm that specifically mobilizes vets
- Even in the base case:
- Drive/accelerate volunteer
- Clarify the call to action
- What’s the operational improvements that are irrespective of strategic decisions
- Election recruitment
2) Expand with "civic listening" strategies to augment the first point but find reasons to engage the community outside of election reform, bridge divides, build trust and relationships. This likely opens up funding from non-election reform funders (i.e. Ford Foundation)
- How does this complement / compete w/ folks like MPU & Bridging?
3) Expand with stand-alone affiliated, and independently funded, organizations like Veterans for Idaho Voters. This is essentially helping build and then support the sustainability of state-based chapters with their own ED's, boards, etc. Big lift but potentially big impact for long-term impact focused on a given state
- National entity that helps state-based entities foster/organically take root?
- Legislative teams that work at each legislature level?
4) Evolve to a "league of women voters" model with membership, year-round programming, candidate debates, all the things that they do.
- The preeminent veteran voice lobbyist?
There may be other options as well - but a facilitated conversation to really pressure test who we are, where we play, and how to orient our efforts going forward would be very productive.
PS: We are still looking to onboard our first Veteran leaders in ND & WV (with the need to grow our bench in a number of other states as well -- GA, LA, UT). If you know anyone who might be interested in learning more, please send them our way!
- For WV, connect w/ Chris Fussell
- For GA, Garrett
- For UT, Kyle Baum
- For MO, Eric
This is the best link to share: https://www.veteransforallvoters.org/take-action
- Definitions for healthy & rep? What about “incentivized”?
- Mobilize > advocate > produce competition + depolarization + more effective government
- If successful, specific outcomes are increases in nonpartisan primaries and forms of RCV?
- What is the impact you seek to create? These are #s, not impact
- The veteran catalyst that states call on?
- Learning & Listening, ROI here? With whom should you partner and coordinate
- Where are the existing grass top efforts? How to leverage interest in folks like Miley and other?
- What victories exist outside of ballot initiatives
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