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Title: DC Role Manual 2024

Original CoS Document (slug): dc-role-manual-2024

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Attached File: DC-manual-2024.pdf

DC 3/19/2

Created: 2024-05-08 01:11:31

Updated: 2024-05-08 01:15:57

Published: 2024-05-08 01:00:00

Converted: 2025-04-14T20:20:14.172683798

background image District Captain: Training Manual

Table of Contents

**Getting to know your legislator.................................................................................................... 7\\ ****Legal Limits On Your Volunteer Activity....................................................................................8**

**Continuing Education..................................................................................................................10\\ Personal Development................................................................................................................. 10\\ ****Commonly Used Acronyms.........................................................................................................11**

**Positions.................................................................................................................................. 11\\ Tools.........................................................................................................................................11\\ General.................................................................................................................................... 11**

**State Leadership Flow Chart:.....................................................................................................12\\ Your Signature Page.................................................................................................................... 12**

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background image Welcome to the Team.

Congratulations on being selected as a District Captain (DC) for Convention of States (COS).

Your willingness to step into this vital role and become part of a leadership team will help fulfill
the mission of COS by building up the grassroots army of educated and engaged citizens.

The mission of Convention of States is to “Build an engaged army of self-governing grassroots
activists.”

We aim to grow a grassroots army large enough to call the first convention of states and
drive the political and cultural narrative across all 50 states. We want to see
self-governance and liberty flourish in our nation, and we believe this will only happen if
good people like you get involved in political and cultural battles. We want to train you how
to do this as effectively as possible.

Without a doubt, the role of a District Captain is pivotal in building a solid grassroots movement.
Being the leader, mentor, and coach to the volunteers in your district is vital in creating a
dedicated and influential team. Additionally, establishing a relationship with your state
legislators increases the likelihood of passing our Resolution.

If we fail to pass the resolution one year, we will keep growing the grassroots team until we have
enough influence to effect the change and pass the resolution. Every additional person we
educate, train, and get involved with is one person closer to victory! We often say, “There is no
political problem that more grassroots can’t fix.”

You will work closely with your State Director, Grassroots Coordinator, and other team

members within your state. Always keep in communication with your team. The state team is in
place to serve your needs and be successful.

In this manual, you will find a wealth of information to equip you to handle most situations. It is
not intended to be all that you need. Instead, it should give you basic guidelines and principles
for you to use. Some other sources of support and training you can use are

● COSU University. Specifically, there is a course for District Captains here.\\ ● Your State Team. There are likely many seasoned leaders on your state team, in addition

to your Regional Director, who can help answer questions and provide support, direction,
and mentorship as you grow into this role.

● On Tuesday Nights at 8pm Central Time, we host a live DC Training call focused on

providing you with the latest encouragement, guidance, and innovation from our
grassroots leaders nationwide. You can sign up or access past training recordings here.

● Our website. There is a vast amount of content you can look through on our website to

give you ideas and inspiration regarding your role.

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background image Responsibilities
As a District Captain, you are responsible for building, leading, and growing support within your
district. Your job has a two-fold mission: You will develop relationships with your legislators and
build a team of citizen activists.Your state team will work with you to develop goals and a
strategy for your district.

Here are your primary responsibilities:

● Be in regular contact with your state team and respond to communications as appropriate.

Attend state team events, such as rally and surge days at the capitol and state strategy
meetings, as you can.

● Complete the District Captain training course at COS University within two weeks of

being assigned. If this is not possible, work with your onboarding team to let them know
your situation so they can work with you. Regular logins are crucial for connecting with
new supporters and volunteers in your district. Aim for 2-3 weekly logins to welcome
new petition signers promptly. Seek support from your state team when regular logins
become challenging. They can assist in finding someone to support you and ensure the
continuous connection from your efforts, maintaining the momentum within your district.

● Regular logins are crucial for connecting with new supporters and volunteers in your

district. Aim for 2-3 weekly logins to welcome new petition signers promptly. When
regular logins become challenging, seek support from your state team. They can assist in
finding someone to support you and ensure the continuous connection from your efforts,
maintaining the momentum within your district.

● Regular logins are crucial for connecting with new supporters and volunteers in your

district. Aim for 2-3 weekly logins to welcome new petition signers promptly. Phone
calls should be made to new petition signers to welcome and thank them. See our\\ follow-up training course in COSU here for specific training on follow-ups. Seek support
from your state team when regular logins become challenging.

● Learn about Article V and the Convention of States to help educate and build awareness

in your district. The more you know, the more confident you will be in educating others.

● Build a team of engaged volunteer activists who are willing to: call, write, and visit your

legislators (as well as other activities like recruiting petition signers and working local
events). A strong team will have 25 dedicated volunteer activists that can be counted on
to help when needed.

● Build a personal relationship with your district's state legislators (usually a state senator

and a representative). Determine your legislator’s position on COS and record this and
other contacts you make with your legislators in our system. If your legislators have

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background image questions or concerns, you or a state team member should work to answer them and
provide the information they need.

● Expect to spend 4-5 hours weekly as a District Captain. If you can spend more time,

your district will grow faster. These hours include participating in the weekly DC and\\ state team calls.

● You will be invited to join your state Slack workspace and the national DC Slack

workspace. In your state workspace, you will interact with other state leaders to
brainstorm, encourage each other, and participate in conversations about your state and
its progress with the Convention of States. On the national DC workspace, you can
network with other DCs nationwide to learn what is working for them.

● Download and use the COSAction app to create reports and participate in TelePatriot call

missions with your state team.

Becoming Part of Your Team
You are now part of a unique and growing team in your state. The best teamwork can’t be
developed in microwave time; teams grow strong in a crock pot. The time and effort required to
develop team members don’t change the team overnight, but developing them always pays off.

It is vitally important that you be in frequent contact with your state team and respond to
communications as appropriate. Please let your state team know your preferred contact method
(phone, text, Slack, etc.) so they can reach you when needed. Here is a directory of your state\\ team and the members available to help you.

As a District Captain, you are part of a state team but also the team leader of your district as you
build a team within a team. As a member of your state team, your state leadership will contact
you to welcome you into your state COS family and schedule your training. If they don’t reach
out to you, reach out to them. If they don’t respond, please contact Ginny Rapini, Vice President
of Grassroots and Mentoring, at <grapini@cosaction.com, >or Jason Girard, Director of Grassroots,
at <jgirard@cosaction.com.>

You will be trained in the following tools that will enable you to do your job.

● CitizenBuilder (CB)
● Follow Up Tool (FUT)
● District Dashboard (DD)
● Legislative Management System (LMS)
● Slack

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background image You must participate in your state’s regularly scheduled conference calls. These calls will also
update you on your state’s grassroots growth status and progress toward passing the resolution.

Another form of communication is provided to you through a tool called Slack. As mentioned
above, this is like an instant messaging system with your state team and DC’s nationwide. You
will receive an email invitation to join Slack. Please sign up immediately to connect with the
state and national teams.

Growing your District
Thousands of new supporters join our movement every week. These supporters are placed in the
database in your district so that you can contact, teach and activate them into volunteers under
your leadership. Nothing excites and motivates people more than receiving a personal phone call
from those in an organization where they can put their efforts to work. Training on how to
access and use these tools is covered in the COS University course for District Captains.

As quickly as possible, you will start working to educate and activate those who have signed the
petition. Personal contact (face-to-face or on the phone) is essential to building a relationship
with them. The goal is to turn petition signers into knowledgeable citizen activists who will do
their part to contribute to our mission. You will find that many people only want to sign the
petition, but others are willing to become very active if they are contacted. You will need help in
growing your district, so you are encouraged to develop volunteers who can assist you. Here are
some proven ideas that will help you:

Local Meetings
Schedule a “meet and greet” type of meeting to answer questions that people may have about
Convention of States. You can get together with a few supporters in your home, at a library,
coffee shop, or any location that offers a free meeting room. It is good to have consistency by
holding meetings every month. When you start, the numbers are unimportant, so do not worry
about getting a crowd to come. A nearby District Captain or other state team member can help
you get started with your first few meetings.

When hosting a group meeting like this, you want it to last about 45 minutes (no longer than one
hour). We encourage you to use our “Introduction to Convention of States” presentation. Refer
to the “Organizing Rallies and Events” Manual for additional resources.

Welcoming New Petition Signers
As new supporters sign the petition in your district, call them (or a personal email if no phone
number is available) to thank them for their support as quickly as possible. Offer to answer any
questions and invite them to your next meeting. You can develop some good volunteers if you
contact them soon after they sign the petition.

Your team should include volunteers to help make phone calls, facilitate contact with legislators,
handle media/communications, help with meetings and events, give presentations, etc.

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background image Events
After you have contacted the supporters who have already signed the petition, start spreading
awareness in your district. There are many ways to do this, but some proven methods include
setting up a table or booth at events such as gun shows, fairs, festivals, etc.

Coalitions

● You can also seek out local groups and clubs that will allow you to present.

● When talking with people or giving a presentation, do not spend too much time

discussing the problems in our country. Everyone knows about the problem, so tell them
about the solution and give them hope!

● A 30 minute presentation is perfect, with a Q & A following. For an example of a 20

minute presentation, you might want to sign up for the Introduction to Convention of\\ States webinar.

Getting to know your legislator
Meeting or calling your legislator is much easier than you may think! It's vitally important to let
your legislator know that you support Convention of States. One person can often make the
difference in how a legislator votes, so pay attention to your impact. Phone calls to your
legislator are helpful and necessary, but face-to-face visits are priceless. Handwritten cards are a
very effective way to communicate and are highly valued by your legislator.

When calling or visiting, your first point of contact will likely be a staff member. Remember to
consider the person's role in whether you can speak with the legislator and the success of your
meeting. Staff play a significant role in shaping a legislator’s agenda and position. Cultivating a
positive relationship with the staff will tremendously impact the success of your contacts with
the legislator. We always want to be polite and respectful to the legislator and staff, even if they
disagree.

Always schedule an appointment ahead of time rather than walking in. Arrive on time and dress
appropriately (casual business).

Prepare what you will say in advance. Do your best, but feel free to say every word perfectly.
You are simply asking them to support the Convention of States. In your own words, give them
several personal reasons why you support COS and feel it is important. For example, a parent or
grandparent may be concerned about the debt; a farmer might mention the negative impact that
the EPA has on his farm, or a business owner may be concerned about the overreaching federal
regulations imposed on businesses.

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background image If the legislator or staff has questions, answer them if you can. If you don’t know an answer, tell
them you will be happy to find out and get back to them (be sure to take a business card to know
who to email or call). A member of your state team will be happy to help you provide the
answers you need.

When you get home (before you have time to forget), write a brief thank you note and mail it to
the office. As stated above, a handwritten note will be impactful and be noticed much more than
an email. Thank your legislator for taking the time to meet with you regarding Convention of
States. If a staff member was constructive, you might compliment them by name. They will hear
about it, and you will likely win a friend in the office!

Keep personal notes after any phone call or meeting and enter a report detailing your meeting
into the Legislative Management System (LMS) or COSAction app. Pay particular attention to
describing any comments the legislator made to indicate concerns or support and pass this
information along to the appropriate members of your team (e.g., your Legislative Liaison (LL).

If your legislator does not support Convention of States, do not give up! Keep going back, and
invite others to join you. Many legislators will eventually help when they hear from enough
supporters in their district. If your legislator does support, you still need to remain in frequent
contact to let him/her know that you would appreciate the support and encourage the legislator to
advocate with other legislators. Always speak to them as you would want to be spoken to.

Legal Limits On Your Volunteer Activity
Convention of States represents a significant threat to the established powers in Washington,
D.C. They would love nothing better than to shut us down and silence our voices. We need to
keep our activities clean under the law to ensure they can't do that. As part of this, COS requires
all state leaders to complete the Legal Training Course at COS University.

Organizational Information
Who Are Citizens for Self-Governance, Convention of States Foundation, and Convention
of States Action, and How Are They Related to Convention of States?

Mark Meckler, a co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, founded Citizens for Self-Governance
(CSG) to promote the ideals of the Tea Party beyond the partisan divide. CSG encourages the
principle of self-governance by educating citizens about their constitutional rights and defending
individuals and groups unjustly targeted by the government.

In August 2013, CSG founded the Convention of States Project to educate citizens about a
little-known but very potent power in Article V of the Constitution. Convention of States Action
(COSA) was created a little over a year later in late 2014 when it became clear that Convention
of States would require a massive legislative effort to get applications passed in 34 states.

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background image In 2018, CSG filed to operate under the name Convention of States Foundation (COSF) to
establish more consistent messaging and make it clear how CSG was connected to the
Convention of States movement. CSG and COSF are just two names for the same organization.
CSG/COSF continues to be involved with COS by promoting the idea of a convention and
educating citizens about their constitutional power in Article V. Most of the COSis now under
COSA, which works to get the COS application passed in 34 states.

Why Have Two Different Organizations?

We have two different organizations because of how the IRS regulates nonprofit organizations.
The IRS allows different types of nonprofits to engage in different kinds of activity. According
to the IRS, COSF is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization, which means that it can educate people
about their constitutional rights but can’t promote legislation to protect those rights or get
involved in supporting or opposing candidates. COSA is a 501©(4) nonprofit organization
which can promote legislation and support or oppose some candidates as long as it does so in
accord with state and federal laws .

There are all kinds of technical differences between 501©(3) organizations like COSF and
501©(4) organizations like COSA. However, the main one you need to understand is that COSF
can’t promote legislation and absolutely can’t promote or oppose candidates, but COSA can.
COSA can talk to legislators about the COS application, collect petitions, host legislative
strategy sessions, and engage in other activities to promote the COS application. COSF cannot.

How Does This Affect You?
Most of your volunteer activity will be for COSA, so you won’t have to worry about the limit on
promoting legislation most of the time. But every so often, you may be asked to support or assist
with an event or activity sponsored by COSF. When working on a COSF event or activity, you’ll
need to remember that you can’t collect petitions, discuss legislative strategy, display COSA
materials or banners, or otherwise try to persuade people to support COSA’s specific application.
When working for COSF, you can educate people about their constitutional rights, including
those in Article V, and respond to frequent objections like claims that a convention would “run
away.”

One More Limit: No Campaigning under COSF!
Promoting or opposing political candidates is strictly prohibited for COSF and is only allowed
for COSA if specifically approved by the COSA National Legal Team. COSF cannot do any
campaigning ever. COSA can only campaign if it complies with many state and federal laws and
regulations governing campaign activity. As a COS volunteer, you can only tell people how they
should vote in the next election if you receive explicit permission from the national legal team.
You can’t send out an email to our volunteers in your district asking them to support a candidate,
oppose a candidate, volunteer for a candidate’s campaign, or join a political party. You should
not do anything even close to the line–don’t do anything that could be construed as supporting a
particular candidate or political party without checking with COSA’s Legal Team. The

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background image prohibition against expressing a political view is an absolute rule that we strictly enforce because
any violation will jeopardize the organization’s nonprofit status.

If you want to do a limited campaigning effort in your state through COSA, please contact your
RD. The COSA Legal Team will check the laws in your state and determine if you can proceed.
If the Legal Team approves campaigning in your state, they will issue detailed instructions about
how to comply with the law. Make sure you carefully review these instructions before engaging
in any election-related activity

This restriction only applies when you actively volunteer for COS or use COS resources
(including the CitizenBuilder database). You are entirely free to support any candidates or
political parties you wish with your own time and resources.

Who Do I Contact If I Have Questions?
If you would like to get in touch with our legal team about specific questions, please reach out to
your State Director or Regional Director, who will be able to direct your inquiry to the right
place.

Continuing Education
We have many resources available. Here are a few to get you started:

● Our Resource Page is the best source to learn more, and we encourage you to visit often.
● Here are a series of short articles on various topics.\\ ● We have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos available on our YouTube

Channel.

● COSUniversity offers online training courses.
● Hundreds of research articles and historical documents can be found on our Wiki site.\\ ●

COS Briefing Book.

●

The Law of Article V by Robert G. Natelson

Personal Development
“If you want to grow and become the best person you can be, you’ve got to be intentional about
it. Many unsuccessful people who try to lead others have the mistaken belief that people will
follow them because their cause is good. But that’s not the way leadership works. People will
follow you when they believe in you.” - John Maxwell