Canvass for Power Program

CPD affiliates across the country are doing the day-to-day work of building a better world. We are committed to supporting them in this mission. Through our Canvass for Power Program, we help our affiliates to develop a scalable and deeply-engaged base of members, and to generate independent revenue that can grow our movement sustainably. 

Our first canvass programs launched at the end of 2016 with Working Washington in Seattle, W.A., and VOCAL in Brooklyn, N.Y. Over the past two years, CPD has launched canvass programs with five more affiliate organizations as part of our State Power Project: One Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Organize Florida in Orlando, New Florida Majority in Miami, Make The Road Nevada in Las Vegas, and Detroit Action. 

Since their launch, these seven canvass programs have dramatically increased our organizing capacity. In the last year, our canvass teams have had almost 175,000 conversations; identified 51,000 people who support our affiliates’ campaigns and want to get more involved with their work; and recruited 7,000 recurring monthly dues-paying members who have generated almost $600,000 in membership dues. The first two canvasses we launched now generate enough revenue to pay for the cost of their programs, and we expect the other canvass programs to reach self-sufficiency by 2021. 

The Canvass for Power Program is also a leader in developing a diverse canvass staff and leadership that reflect the communities within which they work. Over 50 percent of our network’s Canvass Directors and Field Managers are women, and 75 percent are people of color.