Opening up the books on the "hard costs" of a local transportation campaign
Safe streets are priceless, but printer ink isn't free.
MAR 16, 2023
I’ve found that often, people can be intimidated by the idea of needing to spend money as part of their effort to win changes to their community because they imagine it comes with a huge price tag. But you don’t have to spend like the NRA or Big Oil to effectively move your issue forward. And although elections are so expensive, even for local offices, that doesn’t mean you even have to spend that much money to win the change you want.
When you want to win a specific policy change or action– like getting a bus or bike lane built– it’s important to remember you are just trying to get your policy enacted. You are not campaigning for office. You aren’t pushing to have your issue be the #1 top issue of a candidate. You are pushing to make sure that decision makers care enough about what you want so that it is high enough on their to-do list that it actually gets done. You hurdle you need to clear for victory is a lot lower than you might think.
And while hiring a high-powered lobbyist and making big campaign contributions are very expensive (but powerful) political tools that can help you win the change you seek; you have a lot of other very effective and far less capital-intensive tools at your disposal. Basically– while it’s generally nice to be a Goliath- it’s expensive, often overkill, and not a guarantee of success. Slings and stones are pretty cheap and can be devastatingly effective if you know how to use them.
So, whether you are looking to get started on your own campaign or interested in funding someone else's advocacy, here’s an inside look at the costs of those “slings & stones” for a transportation policy change I’m working on now.
For the Oakland “Safer Streets, Smarter Spending” campaign we’ve gathered over 1,400 signatures, built a coalition of over 15 diverse organizations, and gotten positive radio and newspaper coverage. We’ve already expanded the conversation on public safety and raised public expectations from what city departments and elected officials should be doing to make the streets safer for everybody. The campaign isn’t over, but it’s still useful to take a fiscal snapshot at what it takes to get this far.
For this, I’m just talking about “hard” costs– the costs of stuff that was paid for to help make this happen. I’m not talking about the costs of the volunteer time, effort to build the needed skills, nor the years of advocacy from a range of individuals and groups that this is building on. The total accounting for that goes infinitely deep. There is no such thing as starting from scratch, especially in the world of advocacy, and as Carl Sagan said, “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”
So here is a full accounting of the “hard” resources that have gone into this campaign so far:
3 things of printer toner (~$270 from Office Depot)
Paper (~$20)
Full disclosure: I already owned a printer (a “Brother USB Monochrome Laser Printer with Duplex Printing” store price is ~$140. I got mine for free a few years ago from a friend who was moving) and I’ve been borrowing a paper cutter (store price ~$50). Also, other people have done their own flyer printing & distribution too.
Beyond those “hard” costs, the things with a price tag that are more loosely tied to the campaign were: transit to & from locations to either flyer or deliver flyers to volunteers; masks to wear while flyering; coffee; snacks; and space to do the printing. Everything else has been done through volunteer time from myself and many others.
So, all in all, less than $500 in “hard” costs. That’s about 6 flexposts!
That isn’t to say $500 is not a lot of money, it’s a pretty penny and if you’d like to help defray some of those expenses, you can send some support my way via Venmo. And of course, volunteer labor is based on “free time” which has a high associated cost. Hard costs and free time are definitely barriers to entry to activism, and that inherently limits who has the ability to advocate for what they want.
But I wanted to spell out these costs to show that:
The “expense” of winning the change you want to see in your community comes mainly from the costs of time and skills– not stuff
If you have the right skills, then you can get a much bigger bang for your buck in terms of what you get out of the time and materials costs you put in
The costs of making change in your community is a lot lower than you might think
You can lower the personal costs to you by recruiting & empowering volunteers, getting materials donated/loaned, and fundraising from supportive individuals who share your vision
You can win the change you want in your community. It’s easier than you think it might be and as you strengthen your skills you can chart an easier path to victory and win bigger with the same amount of effort.
Want help turning your vision into strategy and the steps needed to make it reality? Email me at Carter@carterlavin.com and let’s schedule a consultation.
