Phone Bank Checklist

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Planning a tax referendum and need to identify areas of voter support?

Gather up volunteers and host a phone bank. The Alabama Association of School Boards’ Phone Bank Coordinator Checklist should help.

➧ Make sure there are enough volunteers. You’ll need twice as many volunteers as there are phones.
➧ Develop a phone bank schedule and shifts for your volunteers. Remember to schedule the phone bank during a time when most voters are at home and least likely to be “disturbed” by a call (usually 6-9 p.m. on weekdays and late afternoon on weekends).
➧ Set your goal. If you plan a 2-hour phone bank with 10 volunteers and want each person to make 5 calls per hour, then your goal is 2 X 10 X 5 = 100 total phone calls.
➧ Organize the voter list that will be used for calls by precincts. It makes it easier to identify precincts where there is high voter support.
➧ Divide your volunteers into manageable teams (maybe of five) and assign a team captain to no more than three teams. Train captains to monitor and assist the teams.
➧ Use the data collected to get out the vote.
➧ Keep volunteers energized by leading fun games, competitions and “awards” to ensure morale remains high.
➧ Add the phone bank volunteers’ information to your contact list and keep them informed about the campaign and the outcome of the vote.

Any other tips you’d like to share?

Our contributor, Denise Berkhalter

Denise L. Berkhalter is Director of Public Relations for the Alabama Association of School Boards. She edits the association's magazine, writes a newsletter, maintains the website, participates in statewide collaborations, handles media inquiries and oversees public relations, marketing and meeting activities. Prior to joining AASB in 2005, she served as Tuskegee University's director/coordinator of marketing, public and media affairs and has worked as an assistant managing editor, editor and a reporter for several newspapers. Her degrees are from Troy University-Montgomery and Jackson State University. She is a member of the Council of School Board Association Communicators, the Alabama School Communicators Association, the National School Public Relations Association and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.