Turn your skills and interests into a contribution toward democracy by volunteering with DASA!

Volunteers drive Democrats Abroad! Volunteer with DASA to play a part in developing our country committee and American democracy!  

We are looking for volunteers to help us gear up as we build the organization and prepare for the 2022 and 2024 elections! Whether you’re interested in an ongoing role or a have just a few hours to share from time to time, there’s an opportunity for everyone.

Ongoing Leadership and Administrative Roles:

Do you have some time you can set aside each week to play an ongoing role in one of DASA’s volunteer focus areas? Would you be interested in taking on an IT, administrative or organising role as part of our leadership team? (10-20 hours per month)

10 Hours in September or October in one of our Focus Areas:

Can you find 10 hours in September or October to volunteer with DASA? Some of our needs will change throughout the year, and as we approach elections, so we’ll advertise specific needs from time to time but at the moment we have a wide range of volunteer opportunities!

DASA Volunteer Focus Areas – September 2021

 Get Out the Vote: All things voting!

1. Events / Caucuses / Task Teams
2. Fundraising and Financial Management
3. Organizational, IT and Administrative Roles
4. Communications
5. Liaison with Regional and International Democrats Abroad Activities
6. Membership Development

Get Out the Vote (GOTV): All things voting!

• Voter Assistance Leader and Support Team – Start preparing for the 2022 election
  • Become familiar with the Federal (FVAP) and Vote From Abroad (VFA) resources and attend a Democrats Abroad Voter Assistance Training (live or video)
  • Provide assistance to Americans in SA through calls, emails, social media, WhatsApp posts etc
  • Share relevant information via our communication tools
  • Become a DA / VFA / GOTV liaison
    
    
• Priority Need: Voter Protection Leader – are you keeping on top of the Voting Rights issues in the US and interested in finding ways for DASA to contribute to Voter Protection efforts? Could you contribute 6-10 hours per month?
  • Keep in touch with DA Voter Protection team for updates
  • Share relevant news, actions, timeframes, etc
  • Contribute toward related online events
  • Develop letter writing campaigns and support Global DA efforts across various platforms

Events / Caucuses / Task Teams

• Are you are interested in helping to organise online or in person events? Let us know!
• Develop Caucuses and Task Teams Assist with organising and developing caucus initiatives that support local and global campaigns
  
  
• Priority Need: Zoom Skills – are you comfortable setting up Zoom meetings and managing the background support needed during online events? Do you have 8-10 hours available per month (flexible hours and then usually evenings for the events themselves) to help us run our events professionally on Zoom?

Fundraising & Financial Management

• Fundraising: We’re looking for volunteers to assist with raising funds locally and applying to Democrats Abroad Global for funding from time to time.
• Financial Management: Do you have financial skills you can share to assist us with managing our funds and related reporting?
  
  
• Priority Need: Creative fundraiser to help us kick off our fundraising efforts! Have ideas for a quick fundraising activity and willing to take the lead on this?

Organisational and Administrative Roles (ongoing)

• Secretarial / Administrative roles
  
  
  • Priority Need: We are looking for someone who has experience with the administrative aspects of an organisation: taking and distributing minutes, assistance setting up Exco meetings and agendas, reporting, experience using CRM software or comfort in learning to use NationBuilder (*preferred for this role though not required), and general comfort with technology and electronic communications tools (estimated 20 hrs per month).
    
    
• IT / Contact Management Systems
  • Priority Need: We are looking for 1-2 process-oriented volunteers to play an ongoing role (estimated 10-15 hrs per month) using NationBuilder, the software system used by Democrats Abroad, for our website, database and mailing requirements. Previous experience using similar tools or with web development would be very helpful but not necessary. This role does require training and certification through Democrats Abroad.

Communications

• People to post relevant info / articles /events on Social Media
• People to help write / speak as required (media, press releases, newsletter etc)
• Graphic design
• Create presentation templates and google forms
• Democrats Abroad Comms Liaison
  • Receive and keep us up to date on DA Comms info, tools, graphics, news etc
  • Share with relevant volunteers

Liaison with Regional and International Democrats Abroad Activities

• Local liaisons for global caucuses
• Local liaisons for regional or global task teams
  
  

Membership Development

• Networking, online research and reaching out to find potential new members
• Set up a table at a local shopping centre to recruit members
• Serve as a contact to welcome new members
• Familiarise yourself with Democrats Abroad and its work to be able to share that with others seeking more info
• Assist with keeping our contact lists updated

Volunteering locally with Democrats Abroad is a great way to stay active in the American political process, to contribute to democracy, and to meet other Americans living in South Africa.

To volunteer with DASA, please email Liz O’Leary on [email protected]