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background image Welcome to the Team
Congratulations on being selected as a State Director (SD) for Convention of States. Your
willingness to step into this important role and become part of a state executive-level leadership
is deeply appreciated. Your work will help fulfill the mission of COS as you recruit and activate
a District Captain in every district of your state.

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

Your efforts will help 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 strive to see a
nation where self-governance and liberty flourish. This will only happen if good people like
you get involved in the political and cultural battle. We will provide you with training that
will enable you to do this as effectively as possible.

As a State Director, you have been entrusted with a vital role in the fight for liberty. With your
leadership, you will grow a grassroots team in your state to see the Federal Government reined in
by the first-ever Article V Convention of States. Fellow patriots will stand side by side and be
eager to help you every step of the way!

If we fail to pass the resolution one year, we just keep growing the grassroots team and training
more activists 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.”

This is not done by one. It is a team effort. You will be working closely with your state-level
team and other team members in your state.

This manual contains a wealth of information to equip you to handle most situations. It is not
intended to be all that you need. Rather, it should give you basic guidelines and principles to
create a plan that suits you and your leadership style while still fitting within the mission of the
Convention of States, which is to build and maintain a grassroots army.

There are three aspects to your training:

● Personal mentoring. This will come from your Regional Director and other national

leaders.

background image ● Written and recorded training consists of this manual and other files, videos and

documents.

● Training in our COSUniversity on topics such as leadership, team building, technology,

legal, and operations.

Responsibilities
As a State Director, you will be leading your state in all areas. You are like the orchestra
conductor. All positions look to you for direction and leadership. While the conductor of the
orchestra doesn’t necessarily play all of the instruments, he or she knows how they are intended
to sound and perform and will direct them in such a way that they all work harmoniously
together to produce a beautiful symphony. Your direction will make a well-functioning team that
works together to create an engaged, activated citizen army.

Basic responsibilities:

Training:

● Complete the State Director Leadership Training course in COS University within 2

weeks of being assigned. It is recommended that you go through the other courses in
COSU in order to have an understanding of the roles of each member of your team.

● Attend the monthly State Director and Grassroots Coordinator call to learn from special

guests and collaborate with other leaders across the country.

● Learn the basics of using each technology tool in order to oversee the training and

development of your team.

Communication:

● Work closely with your Regional Director. When your Regional Director reaches out,

respond back within two business days unless you have made prior arrangements.

● Work with your Regional Director and your State Leadership team to develop a state

strategy with specific goals. These goals will then become the focus of your entire team's
effort in accomplishing our mission.

● Host regularly scheduled state conference calls to communicate with your team.

● Actively participate and lead your state Slack Team. Interact with other leaders to

brainstorm, encourage each other, and participate in conversations related to your state

background image and its progress. Participate in the national SD Slack Team. On this team, you will be
able to network with other SD’s from across the nation to learn what is working for them.

● Speak at events to raise support and rally efforts across the state.

Grassroots:

● Work to fill out a full roster of all statewide positions and inspire, educate, and activate

those leaders of your team. You or a member of your team personally go through the
training manual for each new recruit.

● See that members of your team complete the COS University course for their role, as well

as other courses as appropriate.

● Work closely with your Regional Director to analyze and improve grassroots activity in

your state.

● Ensure that applicants in the Leadership Management Tool (LMT) are processed by the

appropriate member of the team in a prompt manner and that each applicant receives
contact from the team at least once a week throughout the application, vetting, and
onboarding process..

● Teach each member of your team to develop a personal relationship with the state

legislators for their district (usually a state senator and a representative). If they do not
know who their legislators are, click here, scroll to the bottom, and select your state flag.

● Make sure that your team knows how to enter reports about meetings with their

legislators into the Legislative Management System or COSAction app.

● You or someone on your team should provide a regular webinar, blog post, Facebook

post, or email newsletter to all supporters to try to draw in those who are not yet
volunteers. Giving them updates will pique their interest to become involved. Your goal
is to encourage those who have signed the petition to become an engaged volunteer.

● See that each District Captain (within a reasonable travel distance) hosts an annual field

trip to the state Capitol to visit their state legislators and give them information about
Convention of States. The Legislative Liaison should also be included in this project.
Those who do not live close enough to the Capitol should organize visits to the local
office.

background image ● With the support of your Regional Director, plan an annual statewide surge day at the

Capitol. This will involve your entire team and should be promoted throughout the state
through personal phone calls, email and text blasts, social media, and Slack.

● Expect to spend approximately 18 - 20 hours per week as a State Director. Building and

maintaining a team takes time and effort.

Building and Leading Your Team
You are now the leader 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. Time and effort are required to
develop a strong team. People don’t change overnight.

As you develop your team, think of it as an ongoing process, not something you can do one time
and then be done. It will be an investment of your time that will pay off as you raise up strong
leaders. Get to know and develop personal relationships with your entire team.

● Make sure every member of the team has been personally guided through their manual.

● Facilitate technical training.

● Frequent follow-up phone calls to provide encouragement, and check on progress.

● Introduce your team to COS University and the courses for their role.

It is important that you conduct regularly scheduled conference calls (ideally, these should be
either a short weekly call or every other week - you don’t want a lot of time to go by between
communication). These will inspire and bring all of your members up to date on the status of
your state’s growth and progress towards building your grassroots army and passing the
resolution. This will also give your team members the opportunity to share what they are doing
and to inspire others. As State Director, it is your responsibility to notify them of these state
calls and encourage their attendance.

Here is a suggested agenda:

● Welcome, and review of the agenda items.

● Brief report/update from each member of the statewide team (i.e., State Director,

Grassroots Coordinator, Media Liaison, Legislative Liaison, State Information Analyst.)

background image ● Feature one or more District Captains and let them share what they are doing in their

district to fulfill the mission (be sure that they are notified that they will be called on).

● Discuss any upcoming events, whether local or statewide.

● At the end of the call, announce when the next call will be held. Even if they are regularly

scheduled, they will need a reminder of the regularity of your state calls.

Let your state team know your preferred contact method (phone, text, Slack, etc.) so that they
can reach you when needed.

Training and Equipping Your Team

As a State Director, you are the leader of a statewide team. As team leader you will be trained
to use the tools that will keep you and your team engaged and growing. Your Regional Director
will provide training in the following tools which will enable you to do your job.

● CitizenBuilder (CB)

● Follow Up Tool (FUT)

● District Dashboard (DD)

● Leadership Management Tool (LMT)

● Legislative Management System (LMS)

Every month, we hold an exclusive webinar for State Directors, Grassroots Coordinators, and
Regional Captains. These will include special guests and topics related to your role. Invite your
Grassroots Coordinator(s) and Regional Captain(s) to join you on the webinar. In the rare event
you cannot attend, please work with your Regional Director and assign another member of your
Executive Team to attend in your place.

We are a unique organization with many new supporters joining every week. The supporters in
your state are placed in a database so that you can reach, teach, and activate them and then
recruit them into leadership positions. Nothing excites and motivates people more than receiving
personal contact from those in an organization where they can put their efforts to work. You will

background image be trained on how to access the database and use our tools to help you and others personally
reach out to each supporter in your state. Keep in mind that we want to reach wide and teach
deep so that all are successfully activated.

As quickly as possible, start working with current members of your state team. Personal contact
(face-to-face or on the phone) is essential to building a relationship with them. This cannot be
accomplished through email or similar technology. The goal is to turn members of your team into
knowledgeable, self-governing leaders who will do their part to contribute to our mission.

You have a State Leadership team that will consist of the following members and their teams:

● State Grassroots Coordinator (SGC)

● Legislative Liaison (LL)

● State Communications Coordinator (SCC)

● Event Coordinator (EC)

● Coalitions Director (CD)

background image ● State Media Liaison (SML)

● State Tech Assistant (SIA)

As State Director, your mission is twofold: to oversee the recruitment and activation of a
growing team of engaged District Captains in your state and to pass the resolution (in that order).
We know from experience that we cannot be successful in passing our resolution without a
strong, activated grassroots army behind us.

You or a member of your team should personally work with each District Captain to develop a
customized strategy for their district. Take into account the natural strengths and talents of the
District Captain, the position of their legislator towards COS, etc. This plan will help the District
Captains direct their efforts most effectively. Once the strategy has been developed for a District
Captain, it is important to see that a member of your team (usually the Grassroots Coordinator or
Regional Captain) continues to personally follow up regularly to make sure that the District
Captain is following through on the plan. Personal relationships with the team will be key to
your success. The time invested in training and developing a District Captain will result in a
strong district.

Onboarding New Team Members

You will oversee the interviewing and onboarding process for new applicants but you can
delegate all or part of the responsibility to your Grassroots Coordinator or other leaders on your
team.

Since these applicants have volunteered to help your team, it is vitally important that they be
personally contacted immediately after they apply. Ideally, they should be called within 24 hours
and no longer than 3 days after submitting their application. Start interviewing and talking to
them about volunteering while their enthusiasm is at its peak.

When making the first connection, always contact them by phone. Emails are not reliable. The
national average open rate for email is less than 18%. Personal phone calls and/or texting are the
most effective ways to communicate.

● If you make a phone call and they do not answer, leave a voicemail and then try

again later. In addition to leaving the voicemail, send a follow-up text and email.
Always leave a note in Citizen Builder documenting every attempt to make
contact.

background image ● Make a second call within 2-3 days. If necessary, leave another voicemail,

followed by a second text message and email if you are unable to reach them

● We recommend you make a third and final attempt to reach the applicant, after

which you should send a final text and email. “Reject” their application.t

●

Always document all attempts for communication as well as the results of the

communication.

If someone is already serving in the position they applied for, consider assigning the applicant to
the team position for the role. Unless problems arise during the interview, generally, anyone who
has a desire to help should be assigned to a team.

Leading an all-volunteer team will require skill and patience. It is important to learn how to deal
with challenging people. As a volunteer organization, we can not ‘dismiss’ or overlook these
individuals without trying to work with them. With rare exceptions, they have much to give and
can be a huge asset to a team when managed properly. The solution to most problems lies in
developing a personal relationship with the volunteer. Once the relationship is established, it is
much easier to lead them where they need to be in order to be an effective volunteer.

It is always best to handle problems early before they grow. Keep the team communicating.
When people are working alone, they come up with their own plan, which is usually not
productive. Passionate patriots tend to have very strong ways of communicating, which can be
intimidating. Learn how to use their passion for the cause. Everyone has a gift. Find out what it
is. They will be happiest and most fulfilled when you put them to work using their gift/talent.

On those rare occasions when a team member needs to be moved to a more suitable position or
removed from the team altogether, be sure to consult with your Regional Director on the protocol
for asking a volunteer to step down. You never want to go it alone when working through a
situation like that.

How To Deal With Difficult People
John Maxwell says, “Good attitudes among a team won’t guarantee a team’s success, but bad
attitudes guarantee its failure.” Attitudes have the power to lift up or tear down a team. A
talented person is not enough to fill a position on a team. If the attitude is bad, or if they are “me”
driven and not “mission” driven, they will hold your team back. If you want outstanding results
in growing your grassroots army and winning the hearts and minds of the citizens and legislators,
you need good people with great talent and awesome attitudes. You can teach people the skills,
but you can’t make or change their hearts.

background image People always project on the outside how they are on the inside. Attitude is really about how a
person is. Here are some bad attitudes that can ruin your team:

● Inability to admit wrongdoing. Nobody is perfect, and the person who thinks that they are

is the wrong person for your team.

● Petty jealousy. This is an attitude that will work against your team and is demonstrated in

the person who points out the wrongs and mistakes of everyone else so that they look
better.

● “My way or the highway.” This is a dangerous attitude in which one places themselves as

more important than the mission. It all revolves around them.

● A critical spirit. This is much like the attitude of the jealous person, only worse. To them,

no one on the team is worth their salt. They see only what is wrong or missing, and not
what was done right.

● A credit hog. The person who does this is also like the “me” person. This person will

simmer in the background and create dissension, and will step into the spotlight to take a
bow, even if they didn’t do the job. They view themselves as more important than the
team.

Bad attitudes must be addressed. You can be sure that they will always cause dissension,
resentment, combativeness, and division on your team. If you are committed to helping all of the
players on your team, you can’t ignore a bad attitude.

It’s never easy to have a “moment of truth” with a team member, but to not address an attitude
problem is to value their bad behavior over the other members of your team. Your first goal
should be to try to rehabilitate them so that they become a team player once again. With some,
this may not be attainable, but it should always be your first effort.

Here are some hints to help you talk to a team member:

● Never approach them in an aggressive way that will put them on the defensive. Your

goal is to get them to see and admit their own bad behavior.

● Try to have a face-to-face meeting. If they are too far away, arrange for a phone call - a

video call, if possible, is the best.

background image ● Start with asking questions regarding their behavior, such as, “I’m getting the feeling that

you are dissatisfied with….am I right”? Or, I heard you say….and I was wondering if
you really feel that way”? Ask what you can do to help them to re-engage with the team.

● If their behavior actually involves them saying or doing something to someone else that is

inappropriate, you would start off by saying, “When you did….do you feel that was the
proper response to….”? “What do you think you should do to correct this….”? Are you
willing to go to….and apologize”?

If after this they improve, you have just won a heart back to the cause. If the behavior continues
then it will be necessary to bring in someone else on your team and perhaps your Regional
Director to hold a video conference call to address it in a firmer way. You may have to ask them
to step down. Always have witnesses with you if that is the step that you have to take.

In the unfortunate event you find it necessary to remove someone from your team (or if they step
down for personal reasons) here is the protocol you will need to follow to be sure that all access
to our site and tools has been removed:

COS Off-Boarding Protocol

● Remove the role assignment in CitizenBuilder.
● Remove permissions from:

○ Slack - all groups (state and national) - deactivate their account (contact your RD

for help with this).

○ FaceBook - Contact Garrett Humbertson if the person had COS FB access
○ X (Twitter) - Contact Garrett Humbertson if the person had COS Twitter access

● If the person is hostile, they should be ‘banned’ in Citizen Builder.
● Decide if an announcement should be sent out to the team or the state, depending on the

position.

These are just a few brief scenarios and suggestions. Please ask your Regional Director for
assistance in situations like this.

● Suggested reading: “The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork” by John Maxwell

background image Growing your State
Growing your state is an intentional, daily effort that requires acting, learning and adjusting.
When we act, we learn from that action, we make any adjustments needed for a better outcome
and then move forward. We are always acting, learning and adjusting. We never quit or give up.

Without a plan, you will surely fail. Goals show us what to do. They determine priorities which
will then determine whether or not those goals will be reached. Goals also draw out our sense of
purpose. Work with your Regional Director and team while planning the strategy for your state.

Educational Outreach
Below you will find proven methods that are helpful.

● Encourage and assist the District Captains in hosting monthly informational meetings.

They can get together with a few supporters in their home, at a library, coffee shop, or
any location that offers a free meeting room. They should strive to start having meetings
every month. When they are getting started, the numbers are not important. A nearby
District Captain or other state team member should be encouraged to help new District
Captains as they get started. All District Captains should be invited to attend meetings in
their area.

● Opportunities to Speak - When you speak at an event, always take someone with you.

This provides a two-fold purpose. First, it gives you backup if needed. Second, it
mentors and equips someone else who will be able to speak to a group so that your efforts
will be multiplied.

○ When you are asked to speak at an event, be sure that you know your topic well.

○ When you are communicating with the general public, avoid using acronyms such

as COS for Convention of States, SD for State Director, etc.

○ Be prepared for objections.

○ Take hand-out materials to reinforce the message you have brought to them. Use

this form to order materials.

○ Be respectful by being on time. Start when you are expected to start and end when

they have asked you to end. It's best to leave them wanting more; not glad you're
finally done!

background image ○ Always end on a positive note. When talking with people or doing a presentation,

do not spend too much time talking about the problems in our country. Everyone
is familiar with them. Tell them about the solution, and give them hope!

○ Always leave them with a Call to Action.

■ Ask them to sign the petition.

■ Ask them to become a volunteer, supporter, or District Captain.

● Host an annual Surge Day at your state Capitol. Work with your Regional Director to

determine the best strategic timing for the event and arrange for a guest speaker. This
event will require planning and promotion within your state in order to be successful.
Your Regional Director will help, and will likely attend and participate. This is an
inspiring event for your entire team, so be sure to include them in the planning and
execution. Be sure to refer to the Organizing Rallies and Targeted Events Manual for
help.

● Organizing Rallies or Targeted Events

If you have an Event Coordinator on your team, you can delegate many of the
responsibilities to them.

It takes money to put on any of these events. The size of the event will determine the
budget. For larger events, you will need the approval of your Regional Director and work
with him/her to develop your timetable. Allow an eight week timeframe for planning
large events.

● Fill out this event request form:
● If you need a speaker, all requests are submitted through your Regional Director.

You never want to go solo on these things. You need your team to help share the
responsibility. However, be certain that your team members are reliable, capable and in
agreement with the goals of your event.

For hosting tables at shows or fairs, you will not need to go through your RD but you will
need to fill out an event request form at least 3 weeks prior if you wish to request
approval for funding. If a volunteer pays for something and did not have prior approval,
they cannot be reimbursed.

background image For more information on event planning, refer to the Organizing Rallies and Targeted\\ Events Manual and work with your Regional Director.

Working With Your Legislators
Work With Your State Team to Develop and Execute an Annual State Strategy.

Your Regional Director will be passing strategic projects to you throughout the legislative
session from our national Legislative Strategist. Meet with your other state leaders to implement
a cohesive, overall strategy for building the grassroots and winning your state. This strategy
should identify key legislative districts in the state and include a game plan for how to recruit
and mobilize grassroots volunteers in those districts.

Key legislative districts should be determined first by looking at which legislators hold
leadership positions within the state. Next in importance are the leaders and members of the
committees our Resolution will have to go through to make it to the floor. Finally, look for
influential legislators whose support can make a major impact on the floor.

It is also important to prioritize districts by how supportive the legislator is. If a legislator already
supports COS, that district will be less important than a committee chairman who is on the fence.
The grassroots should continue to communicate, support, and encourage legislators who are
favorable for COS. They still need to hear from their grassroots supporters.

Always bear in mind that the primary job of the Legislative Liaison is not to single-handedly win
all the support needed to pass the resolution but to assist the team in gathering and recording
information about the legislators’ positions and to assist District Captains and volunteers in
engaging their own legislators for COS. Your LL is your “liaison” to your state legislators. They
should also be familiar with the District Captains so they can mobilize them when needed.

Your Regional Director will work with you to issue calls to action during the legislative session.
Each call to action provides a report when supporters respond. This information is then used to
identify active supporters that will help you build your team.

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.

background image 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.

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

background image 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
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

background image 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