Many people assume that campaigns are won by registering students to vote, doing text banking and creating effective media. All true! But before a single neighborhood walk is organized, your college needs an effective, easy-to-understand written description of your bond proposal, which is the foundation to a winning campaign.
This article comes from the new issue of the Community College Journal, the flagship publication of the American Association of Community Colleges.
Here are three tips:
Don’t guess — test! Your ballot question is the most important message element your team will develop for a winning campaign. Our successful colleges conduct polling to craft the most salient language for voters to consider. In California, we get 75 words or less for our ballot label describing a comprehensive proposal, and we typically poll twice to arrive at the magic words that compel a “yes” vote.
Keep your language simple and focused on basics. In today’s uncertain economy, voters want to pay for bread-and-butter necessities, preferring to “upgrade,” “fix” or repair,” over “modernizing,” “constructing” or “building new.” Often the most popular elements of a given bond proposal are replacing leaky roofs, repairing old plumbing or upgrading science labs. Don’t be afraid to call something “old.”
Describe outcomes, not just bricks and mortar. “Recruiting and retaining quality teachers” or “preparing students for jobs and careers” are two of the most compelling messages for voters. Transforming our teaching and learning environments to attract the best educators to our campuses and upgrading our classrooms and labs for career tech training is visionary for why we need bond support. Writing about results, outcomes and the heart and soul of what your classrooms and campuses support on a human level are compelling to voters.
Free your keyboards from “technical bond language speak,” and just tell your story!
Related article: Delivering on bond-funded projects
