The YDA Works coalition has announced a series of four phone forums to discuss what needs to be done to improve the way the Young Democrats of America works.

Crystal Strait and the YDA Works Candidates have traveled to 31 states and had hundreds of conversations with leaders around the country about their thoughts and ideas for making the Young Democrats organization better. From these conversations it was clear that YDA leaders are interested in four main topics: local programs, direct issue advocacy, infrastructure/finance, and leadership development/accountability.

The calls are scheduled for Wednesdays at 9pm EST for the four weeks following the YDA National Conference in Houston. The topics and dates are:

I. June 17th: Focus on Local Chapter Programs

IV. July 8th: Help Leaders Have Impact

If you are interested in participating in any or all of the forum calls, there is a sign-up form that will let you choose the calls you would like and get the call-in information.

You can learn more about the YDA Works coalition on YDAWorks.com and the Facebook Page.

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The Young Democrats Working for America have launched a new Facebook page for the coalition.

Become a fan of the page to show your support for the team and to see travel recaps, announcements, and more.

Check out ydaworks.com as well, the website for the coalition.

If you want to learn more about the YDA Works team, take a look at the slate announcement email from YDA Presidential candidate Crystal Strait:

My name is Crystal Strait and I am leading the YDA Works team as a candidate for President of the Young Democrats of America (YDA).

Please Join the YDA Works Team TODAY!

During my career in politics, as I was serving as a Political Director for the California Democratic Party, as a Communications Director in the state legislature, as a State and local Young Democrat President, and as your female representative to the Democratic National Committee, I have learned that political power is divined only from the strength of your team. I’m writing today to introduce you to (and brag a little bit about) the impressive team that I am running with.

You may already know the YDA Works team. For months now, our team has been traveling around the country sharing our action plan to get YDA working again. While we have made over 50 trips to 27 states to share our vision, we aren’t done yet.

Over the next few weeks, you will be hearing more about our action plan over email, online, by phone, and at the YDA meeting in Houston. Soon, we will be having a series of public town hall style conversations to highlight our action plan to get YDA working again once elected, all while generating much needed discussion and input from the power base of our organizations – local leaders like you.

Today, I want to take this time to introduce to you the YDA Works team in the off chance you haven’t met them before or aren’t familiar with their accomplishments.

The YDA Works Team of Candidates

Rod Snyder is our candidate for Executive Vice President. Rod is an innovative leader from West Virginia with experience as a dynamic YDA Region Director and state chapter president. Most recently Rod was the Campaign Manager for the youngest female member of the West Virginia Legislature. Additionally, Rod has extensive public policy experience, specifically on agricultural and rural issues. He was an active member of the Obama campaign’s Agricultural and Rural Policy Advisory committee.

Isaac Robinson from Michigan is our candidate for Vice President. His experience as a Caucus Chair of the pioneering YDA Labor Caucus makes him a formidable advocate for caucuses in YDA. Whether it is standing up for workers rights at our hotel, or leading the charge for our national efforts advocating for EFCA, Isaac brings labor issues front and center. Additionally, Isaac serves as the political director of the Detroit Teamsters, giving him unique insights and relationships within the labor movement and Michigan politics.

Renee Hartley from Texas is our candidate for Vice President. As President of the Dallas County Young Democrats, the largest local chapter in the country, Renee has a deep understanding of both the challenges facing local chapters and effective strategies for building membership and chapter infrastructure. Whether it is planning a week long of trainings for the YDA Convention in Dallas or being a trainer herself for the Human Rights Campaign, Renee never sits on the sidelines. That is unless, she is watching her son play football or watching her daughter cheer. Renee represents a constituency that has been sorely overlooked as we try to expand YDA: young families.

Colmon Elridge from Kentucky is our candidate for Vice President. Colmon was instrumental in helping rebuild the Kentucky Young Democrats into an energetic and active organization. As a surrogate for Governor and then Senator Barack Obama Colmon has used his experience as a former CDA national leader, and currently as a local chapter president to bring issues affecting young people to the forefront. As Executive Assistant and now Director of the White House Faith Based Initiatives for Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear, Colmon is experienced in and passionate about direct issue advocacy.

Emily Robinson from Illinois is our candidate for Secretary. Emily has worked at every level of YDA – local, state and national – to make the organization stronger and more responsive, most recently helping to orchestrate the Chicago convention bid and initial planning all while attending law school full-time. A detail-oriented master of multitasking, Emily wants to explore the different and new uses of technology to expand communications capacity for YDA.

Mark Newman from North Carolina is our candidate for Treasurer. Mark is the Chair of the YDA Finance Committee and has expanded YDA’s sustaining giving program – Tomorrow Club. Professionally, Mark has worked in political fundraising, in development at Georgetown University, and is currently the Assistant Director of Development for the School of International Service at American University. Mark has a broad range of fundraising and financial management experience that will enhance our team.

I am proud to lead a slate that is accomplished both within YDA and in the broader political community. As you will realize while getting to know our team, we want to move YDA beyond the rhetoric and focus on results. What YDA Works promises, we will produce. Our team matches excellent political and professional skills with a passion for growing and building YDA into a sustainable leader in youth politics and the Democratic Party.

Throughout my professional career I have been blessed with an ability to put together teams of people who can achieve the tasks set before them. I think you will agree this is an impressive group of leaders that combine rich YDA experience with a practical background that will enable them to serve you and lead as YDA Board Members. This team is the most impressive complete slate of candidates seeking YDA office since I have been a member, and with your support we are going to get YDA working again.

From my time as a local chapter president, state chapter president, and national officer, I have ideas on how we can get YDA working again and I know you do, too.

I look forward to talking with you so we can share our ideas and plan how we move YDA forward, together.

The time for words and finger pointing has passed. Let’s make each of us an example for Young Democrats across America and get to work.

Democratically yours,

Crystal Strait
Candidate for YDA President,
YDA Works

Become a fan of YDA Works on Facebook

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It is with great humility and profound gratitude that I am writing to share with you the announcement of my candidacy for a Vice Presidency of Young Democrats of America. In this moment, young Democrats have much to be proud of, but we also have much work still before us. I am ready to roll up my sleeves with you, build on our accomplishments, and help lead YDA forward into its very bright future.

Barack Obama taught us all that change is never more powerful than when it powered by people like you and I – from the ground up. In helping to build the largest Young Democrats chapter in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and rebuild the Kentucky Young Democrats, I understand the importance of strong state and local chapters. YDA will be the organization it should be, only if our state and local chapters are built for long term success. I look forward to traveling across our nation and working with you to strengthen your chapter, and grow our grassroots.

We must embrace that elections are not an ending, but instead only a beginning. Once our chosen candidates have won, our work is not nearly finished. We must push them each and every day for what we believe in, and hold them accountable to us. We do this by generating the same effort in policy that we have proven we can put forth in politics and elections. We simply cannot be the leaders of tomorrow, if we are not right now the leaders of today – making change in our towns, cities, states, and across America.

I am honored to join the YDA Works team of candidate led by Crystal Strait. Our team offers a vision for YDA that moves us forward towards what we can and should be – the preeminent youth political organization in America. This team values hard work, dedication, and public service. We are ready to work with you to make the change we know is possible.

In the coming months, I look forward to talking with you, and listening to what kind of future you want for our beloved YDA. It is a conversation that begins now, and must continue on to Chicago and beyond. I ask not only for your support of candidacy, but your leadership in this movement. Elections are not an ending, and our work continues.

If you would like to learn a little bit more about me, I hope you will take a few moments to watch my YDA Works video.

Let’s Get to Work YDA!

Democratically yours,

Colmon Elridge
Colmon4yda@gmail.com

Here is a video of Colmon introducing Barack Obama at a campaign event in Kentucky in 2007:

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For the past five years, I have lived and worked in service of young Democrats locally, statewide and nationally. Moving forward, the promise and potential of YDA will only be realized through the exercise of hard work and honest, transparent communication. We will not make progress by employing the rhetoric and divisive politics of the “Old” YDA, but instead doing our part to get YDA working again.

I believe all politics is local, and like many of you that is how I got my start. After college graduation, I moved to Chicago, and I recognized that young people were not as engaged in politics as they could or should be. I met with other young people that agreed we needed to do more and with the support of our local elected officials, founded the First Ward Young Democrats. This local involvement sparked my involvement with the Young Democrats of Cook County, Young Democrats of Illinois, and ultimately YDA.

Each and every step of that journey prepared me for my two biggest challenges yet. The first challenge is ensuring a successful 2009 YDA National Convention in my hometown and the hometown of our 44th President Barack Obama – Chicago, Illinois.

My newest challenge begins today by announcing my candidacy for Secretary of the Young Democrats of America. In the coming days and months, I intend to work harder than ever before to secure your support.

I have been privileged enough to work with many of you and have experienced firsthand the tight knit familial bond that is held within this organization. The bond goes beyond national conferences, meetings, and conventions – it crosses state lines. The bond transcends elections and candidates. Like no other bond, it has directly affected my life and my family. For that, I am forever indebted to each and every member of the Young Democrats of America.

YDA has been deeply affected by the economic hardships America is facing. The real test of our strength will be in how we respond; whether we turn this crisis into an opportunity to move YDA forward. Some people might want to talk about whom and what is to blame for our present circumstance and not see the opportunity to move us forward. I would rather work to do something about it. I think it is time to get to work and I am proud to join Crystal Strait’s Young Democrats Working for America team to do just that.

I look forward to the many conversations we will have in the next six months about the future of YDA, and how we can do a better job increasing accountability and keeping you informed. I look forward to making this journey with you.

Democratically yours,

Emily D. Robinson

emilyforyda@gmail.com

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Cross-posted on Future Majority.

Following the success of Obama for America’s low-dollar fundraising effort many organizations are looking to replicate the strategy for their own campaigns. This post will look at some strategies you can use based on a current fundraising campaign I am working on: the Young Democrats Working for America raising money for YDA.

Our campaign is based on raising $25 donations for the Young Democrats of America through ActBlue.

One of our most successful techniques in promoting the ActBlue page has been encouraging supporters to share the link to the donation page using Twitter and Facebook status updates. We noticed a bit of a viral effect once the practice started to catch on, resulting in Twitter re-tweets and Facebook friends changing their statuses even without formally being asked to do so. Once a number of people changed their statuses we started to get a lot of saturation on Facebook’s news feeds, which helped build more buzz.

Another successful practice on Facebook was posting the donation page to our profiles. This was another technique that had a viral effect. Once people saw that 12 or so of their friends had posted the link in their news feed they were more likely to join in and do the same.

Group administrators were also able to send messages to their groups asking for donations to YDA.

Once the initial buzz was gaining steam on Facebook and donations started coming in, the ActBlue page gained in popularity and became the hottest page on the site, building exposure for our effort even further.

We were also able to use the ActBlue goal thermometer to post the page on supporters’ websites and blogs.

After the wholesale buzz creation was underway, the strategy changed to include online peer-to-peer asks. No matter how successful a buzz campaign is, a personal ask to someone you know is the most effective way to get a donation.

This is where Facebook messages, e-mails, and instant messages come into play. The key is to come up with the names of people you think might be able to make a small donation or at least spread the word about the campaign. Once you have your contact list you use the previous mentioned tools to reach out to them and make the ask. Some of those people may even be willing to become bundlers for you and reach out to their own network for small donations.

While this post is intended to talk about the online methods for low-dollar fundraising, it is important to note that they should be combined with phone and in-person contacts as well.

Have you had success using online methods to raise money through low-dollar contributions? Share your experiences in the comments.

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Crystal Strait and the Young Democrats Working for America have launched YDAWorks.com, a site that allows visitors to fully participate in setting the agenda for the future of YDA.

On the site you will be able to learn about the team, take part in discussions about the future of the organization, and share your stories about how you are working for America.

The Young Democrats Working for America ActBlue page to raise money for YDA is only $29 short of $2,000, so please consider making a donation to this organization we care so much about and ask your friends to do the same.

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Everyone knows that a successful campaign uses as much of its resources for the elections it participates in, and the Young Democrats of America ran a number of very successful campaigns in 2008, turning out the youth vote to be the margin of victory for President Barack Obama and Democrats up and down ballots across the country. Now we need your help to raise the money to keep up the momentum and enable YDA to replicate its success in 2009 elections and the 2010 mid-terms.

Your donation of $25 will help YDA continue forward in building a generation of Democratic voters.

Is a generation of Democratic voters worth $25 to you? A generation with the electoral strength to fundamentally change our country for the better, to provide health care for all Americans, bring true equality and justice for every citizen, and implement a progressive agenda.

President Obama’s campaign proved that small donors can drive a movement. Your donation of $25, combined with you asking your friends to do the same, will build our movement for the long-run. Below is a link to an ActBlue page that you can use to donate your $25 and that you can send to your own friends as well.

http://www.actblue.com/page/crystal4yda/

Thank you all in advance. Together we can build this movement.

-Kevin

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Let’s kick off the Young Democrats Working for America Campaign

As the Campaign Chair for Young Democrats Working for America, I am so excited that YDA is coming to the Big Apple to get to work building on our successes and planning for our future.  I am just as excited to formally announce my support for Crystal Strait, Rod Snyder and the entire Young Democrats Working for America team of candidates.

You are invited to participate in the official campaign events happening this weekend:

The Magnolia Cupcake Welcome Party

Friday, February 20, 2009
3:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Sheraton Hotel Lobby Coffee Bar

This will be a great opportunity to meet and speak with team members.

YDWA Strait Up New York Event

Saturday, February 21, 2009
9:30 PM – 11:30 PM
Ava Lounge at the Dream Hotel
210 West 55th Street

After a long day of meetings and trainings come spend the evening in the Crystal Room at the Ava Lounge with Crystal, Rod, Renee, Isaac and Mark as they kick-off the campaign to work towards moving YDA forward.

We look forward to seeing you at these events!

Please forward to any and all Young Democrats attending the YDA Winter Conference.

Stephanie Hausner
Campaign Chair
Young Democrats Working for America

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A Tarheel for Treasurer:

The 2008 elections truly demonstrated that our generation is ready to assert our power and influence in a new era of American politics. No place was this more evident than in my home state of North Carolina, where for the first time in 32 years Democrats won up and down the ticket. It is clear, the map has changed and Democrats have shown that we can compete everywhere. Young people made that a reality. YDA must be prepared to demonstrate our leadership in that effort.

I am proud to announce that I am running for Treasurer to ensure that the financial health of YDA is strong and our resources are used wisely. Given the changing dynamics of political fundraising, YDA may need to overhaul and transform its funding structure in the coming years.

As a college chapter leader, North Carolina National Committeeman, Southeast Region Director, and currently YDA Finance Committee Chair I have learned much about the needs of young Democrats and feel qualified to serve as your next Treasurer.  Professionally, I have experience in  political and higher education development helping candidates and organizations raise hundreds of thousands of dollars should help make me an asset to the organization.

With the wild success seen in the 2008 election cycle engaging small and medium-sized donors to run and win elections, YDA must employ those cutting edge practices to fulfill its mission and achieve our goals. We have made great strides in expanding our Tomorrow Club membership.  This is a critical step in expanding not only our grassroots fundraising efforts, but also sends a powerful message to medium and large donors of our own commitment to the health and longevity of YDA.

However, our work does not stop here. We must examine every dollar spent by YDA to make sure we are spending our resources efficiently and transparently. We must expand our donor base to include not just a few, large traditional donors, but also to include small and medium-level donors.  We must also provide various levels of budget and finance training to our state and local chapters, so they can be in the best financial position to join a growing number of partnership opportunities with YDA. Finally, I am committed to expanding our Tomorrow Club membership to include all members of the National Committee during my term as Treasurer.

I am proud to join an experienced and qualified team of candidates led by Crystal Strait and Rod Snyder. Together, we will work to bring new people to the table with fresh ideas and new experiences.  I look forward to working with them. But we know we can’t do it alone! We need your ideas, your input and your support if we want to continue to move YDA forward and build on our successes. I look forward to talking with you in the coming days and months about what we can do together to make YDA better from the ground up.

I hope I can count on your support.

Democratically Yours,

Mark Newman

Mark Newman for YDA Treasurer Facebook group

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In 2008, the hard work of millions of Americans coming together from every walk of life led to an unprecedented result: Yes We Did.  YDA is ready to go to the next level, but just talking about it is not going to get it done.  Each and every one of us is going to have to work and fight to make it happen.  It must be an inclusive and team effort.

Yes We Can.    This organization must stand up for young people. We must empower local chapters and the next generation of leaders to tackle issues impacting cities and states across America. This is why I am asking you to support me as a candidate for Vice President of the Young Democrats of America.  We need strong leadership at this critical time in our nation’s history and we must seize the moment.  We must take action, grow our movement, and play a bigger role in the direction of our country.  We must have a stronger voice.  We must stand up on issues.

Too often in politics, the rhetoric does not match the results. I know Crystal Strait, Rod Snyder, and Renee Hartley will work for the changes we want to see in YDA. I am happy to be part of a team who believes in opening up the process so that new members and current members will have a larger role in the operation of our great organization.  We will only reach our true potential through a grassroots approach.

I am a Detroiter, a Teamster, and the Chair of the YDA Labor Caucus.   I am proud to be a part of the labor movement and the diverse and talented team of leaders in the YDA Labor Caucus.    I am proud to be a member of YDA. We, as Young Democrats, must champion social and economic justice, civil rights, and fight for a level playing field for every American without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability.

YDA is creating a standard for training and engaging young people in political activism, and we are on the cusp of securing a permanent place as leaders in the world of youth politics. We cannot stop now.  We have to keep working. By opening up the process, we will develop more leaders and bring new people into YDA.

My work in the labor movement and the Democratic Party has taught me that when passionate people get together to make a difference, it’s not only possible – it’s inevitable. If we do this right, embrace diversity, and support inclusion, we will develop YDA into an organization that ensures a lifetime of Democratic voters. Then we can truly say: Yes We Did.

I hope that you will consider supporting me and our team.  I encourage you to call, e-mail, and as you all know, you can contact me on Facebook anytime to share your ideas with me and discuss your vision for YDA. This is a campaign about forming a collective vision for YDA and where we want it to go.

Thank you,

William Isaac Robinson

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