It is helpful in most organizations to keep a "master list" of active members, people who volunteer occasionally, and people who sign in at your activities and events.
If your group is small enough to fit all this information on a single printed page, you probably don't need to worry about special software; you can do everything in your word processor. But once you have 50 people or more people, it's easier to maintain your list using a spreadsheet or a database program like Filemaker.
Whichever you choose, here's an example of some information you might want to track within separate fields:
First Name
Last Name
Address (2 fields)
City
State
Zip Code
Home Phone
Work Phone
Registered to Vote?
Level of Interest
Source of the Name
Subcommittee1
Subcommittee2
Comments
If you are using a spreadsheet program such as Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, or Quattro, the first line of the spreadsheet should usually list the field names:
|
First |
Last |
Addr1 |
Addr2 |
City |
ST |
Zip |
hphone |
wphone |
voter |
level |
src |
subcom1 |
subcom2 |
comment |
Each successive line will list the information for one person. Ask a friend who has experience using a spreadsheet to show you the basics if you have never used one.
The advantage of using spreadsheet software is that you can sort the information many different ways. You would keep the list sorted alphabetically by last name and first name most of the time. If you sort it by zip code, you can easily pick out the members with no zip code, and assign a volunteer to look them up. If you sort the list by voter registration status, you can organize a phone bank on the people marked "N" in order to encourage them to register. (Note: if you have zip codes in New England or Puerto Rico that begin with a Zero, be aware that it is possible (in Excel 97, for example) to format a column as a 'zip code' column so that the information will be sorted properly.)
In the example above, the field "Level of Interest" is usually a number. In many political campaign databases, a "1" in this field is a person who is definitely voting for your candidate, a "2" is a probable supporter, a "3" is probably not a supporter, and a "4" is definitely not a supporter. In a typical membership database, a "1" is someone who wants to be invited to meetings, a "2" is a volunteer who does not attend meetings, and a "3" is a supporter who might attend infrequent, large events.
"Source of the Name" is usually a code indicating how you got that person's name, i.e. "DIN 3/99" for the dinner that took place in 3/99. The Subcomm fields can be left blank for most people in your list, but filled with 1's or 2's for people who have interest in working with subcommittees of your group.
It is a bit cumbersome, but still possible in combination with a word processing program, to generate labels using the information in your spreadsheet.
If your list has more than 200 names, or you need to track information like donations and membership expiration dates, we recommend using database software that is designed for a political campaign. For lists of 200 to 10,000 names, we recommend that you try the Organizers' Database software program, which is available at no charge (donation suggested). Another free option, which is more sophisticated in terms of its donor tracking capabilities, is ebase. If you have $1000 or more to spend on your database, you may wish to explore a custom solution using Filemaker or Access, or a commercial product such as Fundraiser Basic or Giftmaker Pro. To help you in making a decision, please see the following companion article, written for Techsoup.org.
Last Updated 8/2002.