Partying is an essential step of advocating for bikes & transit
Activism isn’t all petitioning and protesting. Sometimes the most important thing you can do for a campaign is to throw a party
JUL 17, 2023
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When you run your first campaign on an issue, you generally are starting from 0 and try to accelerate as fast as possible so you can hit your big target by your deadline. If you are alone in your opposition to a planned freeway expansion, and have four months before a key committee vote, then you have to go pretty fast and accelerate quickly to get tens of thousands of petition signers and a coalition of 300 organizations on your side by the vote.
That can feel daunting, but remember that a key part of organizing is thinking exponentially and in systems. You don’t have to personally talk to 50,000 people to get 10,000 petition signers, you need to make sure that 50,000 people get talked to about the petition. You should still talk to strangers, but make sure you are recruiting volunteers and training others to train volunteers so that you have dozens of volunteers getting petition signatures. That’s key for scaling up your advocacy efforts, building momentum and the power you need to win your vision. So what’s all this have to do with throwing a big party?
It’s about intention, making choices thoughtfully and not just getting swept away by the momentum. When a campaign is going full speed, it can feel like a whirlwind of activity that’s building and building up energy while you hurtle towards the moment of impact with the deadline. The tension in those final days when all eyes are on the deadline and seeing how much more you can do before the time is up can be immense.
And then the decision happens and you win. Or maybe you lost. Or somewhere in between. What then? What do you do about this campaigning machine you built of volunteers, supporters, donors, coalition partners? The week before the decision you had dozens of people doing thousands of things and connecting with huge chunks of the community– does that all come to a halt after the decision day?
If it’s a campaign for a candidate, that is generally the case. But when you are working on an issue, like getting better bus service in your community, that doesn’t have to be the case. When you work on issues, it is very easy for the momentum to make it so one campaign flows seamlessly into the next one. You retool your campaign machine a little bit, aim it slightly elsewhere and go. You fought the fight for that protected bike lane, and now that that decision is final, you can campaign to win more funding for bike lane construction.
The ability to daisy chain campaigns and keep building a bigger and bigger movement is a major feature of issues-based organizing. But there is a pivotal step to take between campaigns and if you miss it you are going to miss out on a lot of opportunities to grow even further, you’ll miss out on joy, and you head towards burnout.
That key step is to party (and maybe get some rest).
Fireworks optional— and probably actually better to avoid. Hosting the party at an outdoor patio at a local bar that has non-alcoholic options is generally best
When you pause and take a moment to collectively reflect and celebrate what you did–even if you aren’t celebrating the outcome– you gain a few things:
A bit of rest and recharge which you very likely need since you’re depleted
Community and collective reinvigoration. You aren’t alone in your post-campaign hangover! Connect with your compatriots about it, it’ll help make you more cohesive, stronger and happier
Re-engaging people who may have briefly dipped in to help at some point in the effort, but left before the end. They own part of the outcome too and should be invited and encouraged to come out and maybe they will get reengaged
Feedback and intel. There are somethings about how your campaign went and why things went the way they did that you’ll only learn in a relaxed, social setting
Parties can also be a good fundraising or other action opportunity!
Improving your community takes work, and that work is never ending since life can always be better for everyone. You will burn out if you don’t rest and you and your allies will likely lose motivation if you don’t take the time to savor the good when you can. So, when your campaign comes to a close: party, take a breath, and then jump back into the fray.
Need help figuring out which tactics to deploy next to help win your pro-walking, biking, or transit goal? I’m here to help. Email me at Carter@carterlavin and let’s chat!