Swing Left Grassroots Leaders Toolkit

Local groups are the heartbeat of Swing Left’s work. As a Swing Left group leader, you’re organizing on the ground to build lasting grassroots power in your community—and win elections together.

We're here to support you! Get in touch anytime by scheduling a one-on-one conversation with your Swing Left staff contact. For questions and time-sensitive support, please email our Grassroots Support Team at [email protected].



Reminder: Grassroots Leaders Calls are for internal use in your group only, not for press or public release.

Here are the upcoming Grassroots Leaders Calls, which take place on the third Thursday of each month from 8-9pm ET / 5-6pm PT. You can register for each of them using this link!
  • Thu, March 21, 2024, 8pm ET / 5pm PT
  • Thu, April 18, 2024, 8pm ET / 5pm PT
  • Thu, May 16, 2024, 8pm ET / 5pm PT
  • Thu, June 20, 2024, 8pm ET / 5pm PT
  • Thu, July 18, 2024, 8pm ET / 5pm PT
  • Thu, August 15, 2024, 8pm ET / 5pm PT
  • Thu, September 19, 2024, 8pm ET / 5pm PT
  • Thu, October 17, 2024, 8pm ET / 5pm PT
  • Thu, November 21, 2024, 8pm ET / 5pm PT
  • Thu, December 12, 2024, 8pm ET / 5pm PT
Recording and slides from our most recent calls:
  • February 2024: Call recording and slide presentation | Vote Forward research team members Emily and Phong give a preview of the 2024 letter campaigns and answer questions about what letters we're sending, when, and why
  • January 2024: Call recording and slide presentation | Swing Left's executive director Yasmin Radjy shares the 2024 Super State strategy to help you plan for the year and prepare to host your group's kickoff event
  • December 2023: Call recording and slide presentation | Wrap up the year and hear more about what you can expect in 2024 with Swing Left's Head of Politics & Stragey, Dan Kalik
  • November 2023: Call recording and slide presentation | Debrief the 2023 election results, highlight leaders' experiences, and preview Swing Left's 2024 roadmap
  • To access recordings and slides from older calls, please visit the archive.

Congratulations on starting your Swing Left group! We know that for some of you, this is your first time leading a group like this; for others, you might simply be bringing an existing group of grassroots volunteers over to Swing Left. Whatever your specific circumstances are, our staff is here to support you. Schedule a one-on-one meeting if you haven't already, and we’ll walk you through every step of this process!

Register your group on
Swing Left's Group Builder


Manage your group members, send emails, link upcoming events, and more.
Register your group Group Builder guide Recruit volunteers

Connect with other
group leaders virtually


Talk with our community of 250+ groups across the country.

RSVP for monthly calls
Join on Slack
Facebook group

Prepare for your first
Swing Left organizing event


Bring volunteers together to introduce your group and share Swing Left’s strategy. Host guide
Swing Left strategy
Get help from staff


Make the most of Swing Left’s digital volunteer management tools
  • Group Builder Guide | Tips for using Group Builder:
    • Update your group’s page with current information and fill out each section so that your page is attractive to new members and a valuable resource for existing members.
    • Use the email functions to welcome new volunteers and communicate with your members. Customize the welcome email on the "Email members" page; when someone new joins your group, reach out directly and start to develop a relationship!
    • Set up all of your events on Mobilize through your Group Builder page by clicking "Create an event" (or, make sure you’re using your same email address when going through Mobilize). This will help you increase turnout, keep track of volunteers’ attendance and contact information, and measure your impact. If a volunteer signs up for one of your events and they're not already registered with your group, they'll automatically be added!

Recruit volunteers and build your team for the long-term

Hosting voter contact events is also a great way to recruit new group members. Check out the section below for details!


As a group leader, a big part of your role is hosting organizing events and voter contact events at different points in the election cycle. Here are our resources for organizing each kind of event, including a host guide with helpful tips plus the links to post your events on Mobilize. Looking to manage your existing events? Visit your Swing Left Mobilize dashboard to see all of your events in one place.

Host a letter writing party

Motivate voters in target states by sending them personalized letters.

Host guide: Letter writing party

Post your letter writing party

College organizers: Post your event

Host a phone bank

Calling voters is an important way to help get voters to turn out on Election Day.

Host guide: Phone bank

Post your phone bank

College organizers: Post your event

Host a canvass carpool or meetup

Travel to a target state or district to knock doors with a campaign.

Host guide: Canvass carpool

Post your canvass carpool

College organizers: Post your event

Host a Swing Left canvass

Talk to voters year-round to build connections and increase voter turnout.

Host guide: Swing Left Canvass

Post your canvass

College organizers: Post your event

Host a high-traffic canvass

Head to a busy area to recruit volunteers in your community or register voters in a target district.

Host guide: High-traffic canvass

Post your high-traffic canvass

College organizers: Post your event

Host a friend bank

Bring folks together to reach out to their networks and ask them to take action with your group.

Host guide: Friend bank

Post your friend bank

College organizers: Post your event

Host a fundraiser

Raise money for candidates early, when those dollars have the biggest impact for campaigns.

Host guide: Fundraising event

Post your fundraiser

College organizers: Post your event

Host an organizing event

Organize any other type of event, including trainings, planning meetings, etc.

Host guide: Organizing event

Post your organizing event

College organizers: Post your event
Mobilize guide: Here are tips on how to set up events on Mobilize. The Swing Left team is here you make your event a success; don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected] for support!
  • Note for virtual events: When filling out your new event, if you choose a “virtual” event under Location, please also list a city, state, and zip code (full address not required), because that helps our website continue to show events to volunteers in your area. If you include a full address for an event you've indicated is "virtual," Mobilize will automatically hide your street address and only show the city, state and zip.

  • Additional event resources:

We're here to support you and help you become a more effective grassroots leader. Check out these helpful guides covering basic organizing skills — which can help you recruit more members, build relationships, and grow your group's leadership team.
You can also use these modules to lead trainings for your leadership team and/or group members to build their skills in organizing and talking to voters.

As a group leader, you play a big role in telling the story of Swing Left. Here are some resources to help amplify your work:

Money isn’t everything, but candidates in close races need resource to hire organizers and make sure their message gets out. More than 50 percent of all fundraising goes to races that aren’t competitive—and many political donations are given too late in the cycle for maximum impact.

Raising money (early!) through personal fundraising pages or events for candidates in Swing Left’s target races—who need it most—is critical to winning elections:

Our Community Agreements guide all the work we do as a national organization, in our local groups, and one-on-one with each other as volunteers and activists. Thank you for reviewing these agreements and incorporating them into your work!

Swing Left Community Agreements

Our goal is to create and foster a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment for our volunteers and greater Swing Left community. These guidelines help us hold ourselves and each other accountable to ensure that together, we build the best community that supports our work and our mission.

  • Organize to elect Democrats. We focus on flipping seats from red to blue and winning Democratic majorities to help bring about progressive change. We organize and fundraise year-round to give eventual Democratic nominees critical support in their general election campaigns.
  • Focus on inclusivity and respect. We work to show respect and inclusivity in our actions and organizing. Both in-person and online, we use welcoming and inclusive language, model empathy, and empower each other to do our best work. We speak up, hold ourselves accountable, and work to address racism, sexism, homophobia, misogyny, transphobia, ableism, ageism, and all forms of discrimination.
  • Build a sustainable and strong progressive movement. We work within the progressive movement to create change and fight injustice. We support partners and allied groups whenever possible.
  • Approach our work with humility. We are all learning, and we follow the lead set by local leaders and communities. We openly accept feedback, and proactively work to unlearn our own biases and assumptions.
  • Respect each other’s time and resources. As an organization, Swing Left helps volunteers find the most impactful actions to take to help Democrats win the most important elections.

Please report examples of abusive behavior, harassment, or other unacceptable conduct to [email protected] , and a member of our staff will review and respond promptly.


Anti-Racism Action Hub

Electing Democrats alone is an important but clearly insufficient step towards achieving the progressive change needed to create a more inclusive and equitable government and society. We encourage all of our volunteers to consider how you can elevate anti-racism work and show up for communities of color side by side with your electoral work.


You can start by reviewing our Anti-Racism Action Hub for ideas.


As a group leader, your first resource is our Grassroots Support Team (Bria, Mete, and Winston at [email protected]). They’re scheduled around the clock to ensure you get prompt responses with whatever you need.

Connect with the Swing Left staff person for your region: Swing Left Organizing & Mobilization Leadership: