Democracy For America Campaign Academy

The DFA Campaign Academy mission is to focus, network, and train grassroots activists in the skills and strategies to take back our country, manage successful campaigns or run for office themselves. Here is a statement by former Bloomington City Council Member Isabel Piedmont-Smith about how a previous DFA Campaign Academy helped her run a successful campaign for office.

When I ran for office in 2007, I attended the Democracy for America Campaign Academy in May of that year, and I learned essential skills about organizing, messaging, and fundraising. This year, our community is lucky to have the Academy return, and this time it will be in January, a much better time for candidates and team members who are just starting their campaigns.

The idea of running for office, even on the local level, can be overwhelming. The DFA Campaign Academy summarizes the tasks to be done, and then provides guidance to completing the steps and running the campaign. This year's training will certainly be different than 5 years ago, with added focus on digital communications and use of voter lists.

The most valuable lesson I learned from the DFA Academy was honing my message. We live in a society, unfortunately, of short attention spans and media sound bites. This makes explaining complex positions very difficult. Distilling your message into three main points that cannot be misconstrued is difficult but essential. The DFA Academy helped me develop and deliver my campaign message.

Another area where candidates often need help is asking for money. You gotta do it, but very few people know how. The DFA Academy will give you the confidence you need to ask for funds, and also help you develop a budget plan. I highly recommend the DFA academy. I'll be there again this year.

Isabel Piedmont-Smith