A presidential election season can create big impacts for your fundraising and team. With early voting taking place in many districts, election season is truly just days away! Here's how you can make sure you're prepared to handle this special time of year.
The most news-worthy election season in recent memory will greatly affect the attention economy. If you thought people had newscycle whiplash in 2016 or 2020, may I introduce you to 2024? Depending on your local races and the amount of money being spent on them, your audience may be especially inundated. If you don't create worthwhile content and deploy it in the brief moments of news downtime, it's going to be completely missed.
On the content side of things, you may be able to find relevant ways to bring your org and the election together. Focus on the word relevant here. News burnout is real and you will lose credibility/trust if your content is exploitative of what is taking place politically.
If you are wading into the political world as a non-profit, you need to be clear on what activity may threaten your 501c3 status. This guide walks you through the basics, such as allowed nonpartisan activities, voter engagement, candidate engagement, and more (despite being made for New Mexico, much of it is applicable across the US).
In our hyper-partisan election season, emotions will run high for many. If you are a leader, recognize that this will effect your teams and be proactive in managing political issues in the workplace:
DO Encourage team to making their voting plan and take time off to vote, if needed.
DON'T Discourage diverse political viewpoints in your work environment.
DO Call out political ideology that is harmful, especially if those victims are part of your team or people your org serves.
DO Hold staff accountable to treat each other with respect and professionalism when it comes to politics and the election season.
DON'T Make assumptions about a person based on how they are voting. If you don't understand their point of view and you have a relationship with them, use your curiosity and empathy skills to learn more about why they feel this way.
DO Create space for staff to process or have downtime in the event of continued political violence, disputed results, and other possible outcomes.
DO Hold boundaries and disengage with political chit-chat at work if you don't enjoy those conversations.
