SGC Role Manual 2024

SGC 3/20/24

Attachment: 4151/SGC-manual-2024.pdf

Welcome to the Team

Congratulations on being selected as a Grassroots Coordinator (GC) for Convention of States.
Your willingness to step into this vital role and become part of the state leadership team will help
fulfill COS's mission.

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 the political and cultural battle. We want to train you
how to do this as effectively as possible.

As a Grassroots Coordinator, you have been entrusted with a vital role in the fight for liberty.
You will recruit and train the grassroots team in your state in the fight to see the Federal
Government reined in by the first-ever Article V Convention of States. Fellow patriots will be
standing side by side in this fight and will be eager to help you every step of the way!

Since it usually takes several attempts to pass our resolution in a state legislature, we 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 is
one person closer to victory! We often say, “There is no political problem that more grassroots
can’t fix.”

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. Rather, it should give you basic guidelines and principles for
you to use. Some other sources of support and training you can use are

1.

COSU University

. There is a course for SGCs here and another on grassroots leadership

here.

2. 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.

3. Our

website

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

give you ideas and examples of content that is being used across our organization.

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Important:

As you start, take it one step at a time. When you have never done something like

this, learning to be an influential activist can initially feel overwhelming. Make sure you stop and
enjoy the feeling of being a part of something historic and monumental. You are helping save the
country for yourself, your loved ones, and generations of Americans.

Make COS part of your weekly routine. Set aside the time you have for COS and invest that time
week after week and month after month and you will look back and be amazed at all you were
able to accomplish.

Responsibilities

As a Grassroots Coordinator, you are responsible for leading the grassroots growth in your state.
You will work closely with the State Director to lead and activate the volunteer teams in your
state. Frequent contact with your Regional Captains will be essential to assist them in working
with their District Captains to be sure they have everything they need to grow support within
their district. If you do not have any Regional Captains, work directly with your District
Captains. Helped welcome, onboard, and train new volunteers. Here are some of the areas that
you will work on as a Grassroots Coordinator:

●

Recruit:

Oversee the recruitment of District Captains and a full roster of all statewide

positions. You will want to manage the Leadership Management Tool, overseeing the
onboarding of volunteers in your state. Please be sure that applicants in the Leaders
Management Tool (LMT) are personally contacted by phone within 3 days of applying
and that all contact information is documented in the LMT.

●

Work with your State Director to fill out a full roster of statewide positions and inspire,
educate, and activate the volunteer leadership team. You should become familiar with the
job descriptions for each position to assess your team's effectiveness.

○

Go through

each Manual

for the positions you will work closely with.

○

Go through the

COS University course

for each position you will work closely

with.

●

Regularly assess the grassroots growth and activity within each district and make
adjustments as necessary.

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●

Oversee the regular log-in activity of your District and Regional Captains.

●

Ensure that members of the team have completed the course(s) for their role in COS
University

●

Learn about Article V and the Convention of States Project to educate and build
awareness with your Regional and District Captains. The more they know, the more
confident they will be as they work within their districts to grow their grassroots army.
One way to do this is to go through the four public courses at

COS University.

●

Support your State Director in hosting state conference calls to lead, inspire, and inform
your state team.

●

Attend the monthly

State Director/Grassroots Coordinator/Regional Captain webinar

to

collaborate with other state leaders nationwide. If you have Regional Captains, invite
and encourage them to participate.

●

Work closely with your State Director and Regional Director. When your SD or RD
reaches out to you, respond within 24 hours on workdays unless you have made prior
arrangements or he/she knows you will be unavailable for a certain time.

●

Team up with the State Director and/or Regional Director to develop state grassroots
growth goals.

Become proficient in using the COS tech tools.

●

Train the Regional and District Captains on how to build and develop personal
relationships with the state legislators for their district (usually a state senator and a state
representative ). To help them know who their legislators are, you can

look them up here

.

They are provided with educational material to take to their legislators when visiting.

●

Download and use the

COSAction app

to create reports and participate in TelePatriot call

missions with your state team.

●

Ensure that your Regional and District Captains can record meetings with their legislators
in the

Legislative Management System

(LMS) or

COS Action App.

●

Expect to spend approximately 8 - 10 hours weekly as a Grassroots Coordinator.

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●

Become part of your state Slack workspace, the national GC Slack workspace, and the
national COSDC Slack workspace. In your state workspace, you will interact with other
leaders in your state to brainstorm, encourage each other, and participate in conversations
related to your state and its progress with Convention of States. On the national
workspaces, you can network with other leaders from across the nation.

●

Assist the District Captains in hosting an annual field trip to the state Capitol to visit their
state legislators and give them information about Convention of States.

●

Work with your State Director to plan and hold an annual statewide rally at the state
Capitol. This will involve all of your Regional and District Captains and their volunteers.
This should be promoted throughout the state primarily through personal phone calls,
emails, social media, and Slack.

Building and Leading Your Team

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
creating them always pays off. You are now a part of a unique and growing team in your state.

Here is a

directory of your state team

.

One of your most important activities will be frequent personal contact with your team. As you
get to know each team member and build a relationship with them, you will be able to help them
set goals and create a personalized plan for success. You will also be able to identify and fill
training needs. Every team member is unique, but as a general rule, plan on a personal phone call
at least once every two weeks to check in and see how they are doing. Leave a brief note in their
LMT profile whenever you contact a team member.

As a Grassroots Coordinator, you are part of a statewide team and the team leader of your state's
regional captains and district captains. Contact the District Captains frequently to help train,
equip, and mentor them. The training for new District Captains should be started immediately
after they are assigned so they maintain their interest and motivation.

Training in the following tools will enable them to do their job.

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●

CitizenBuilder (CB)

●

Follow Up Tool (FUT)

●

District Dashboard (DD)

●

Legislative Management System (LMS)

As mentioned above, another form of communication is provided to you through Slack. This is
like an instant messaging system with your state team as well as GC’s across the nation. You
will receive an email invitation to join Slack. Please sign up immediately to connect with the
state and national teams.

●

Invite your new DC’s to your State Slack workspace and COSDC, the national DC
workspace. They will benefit from the communication within your state and will have the
opportunity to network with other DC’s nationwide.

Growing your District Captain Team

We are a unique organization with many new supporters joining every week. These supporters
are placed in a database for your state and each district for your DC’s to access. This enables
them to contact, teach, and activate those eager volunteers under their leadership.

Nothing excites and motivates people more than receiving personal contact from those in an
organization where they can put their efforts to work. Train your DC’s on how to access the
database and personally reach out to their district's supporters, volunteers, and petition signers.

Your training for the tools will come from your State Director or the individual delegated to do
training from your team. It will include using the Leaders Management Tool (LMT) to help you
find those who have applied for a role. The LMT should be checked at least four times a week.
New applicants should be contacted within two business days, preferably within 24 hours, of
applying for their position. Capturing them when they are excited and motivated is essential to
their success and yours.

When making the first connection, always contact them by phone. Emails could be more reliable.
The national average open rate for email is less than 18%. Personal phone calls and/or texting are
the most effective communication methods.

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●

If you make a phone call and they do not answer, leave a voicemail and then try again
later. Always leave a note in Citizen Builder documenting every attempt to make contact.

●

Make a second call within 2-3 days. If necessary, leave another voicemail, followed by a
text message.

Log a note in CB for every contact or attempt that is made.

●

If you are still waiting for a response after two calls, follow up with a text and email
telling them you are reaching out to discuss their application. Ask for a good time to set
up a phone interview.

Again, be sure to make a note of this in CB.

●

If there is still no response, send a second text and email. Thank them for their
application, and let them know that since you have not heard from them, you assume they
cannot volunteer. Let them know they can reach out to you when things change. Then
“reject” them in the LMT.

Always document all attempts for communication as well as

the results of the communication

.

When you reach out to existing District Captains, they may have yet to receive much or no
communication from their state team. You may have to win them back by assuring them they
will receive the help they need and the encouragement and support required for their success.

Personal contact (face-to-face or on the phone) is essential to building a relationship with your
District Captains. When you spend personal one-on-one time with your DC’s, you will build
confidence in yourself and your leadership.

Your job as a Grassroots Coordinator is to reach out by recruiting, teach by personal contact, and
activate by guiding, directing, and encouraging them. Your job is to equip and develop them.
There is a difference. Equipping them is imparting information, the how-to’s of their job.
Developing them requires investing time in them with personal one-on-one help and
encouragement. You become their mentor. You raise them to do more than they ever thought they
could.

Always end a conversation with a call to action. Give them something to do. The best way to
ensure that they will do it correctly is for you to do it with them and allow them to watch you.
Then, you watch them do it. Then, they do it alone.

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Always follow up with any assignment you have given them. Don’t assume they will come to
you for help if they have a problem. People often fail to ask for help because they do not know
what to ask or feel insecure about what they don’t know.

Your District Captains will look to you for their vision and understanding of the mission. Their
goal is bigger than they are. They are participating in something greater than themselves. Keep
that before them, and they will fly!

Teaching District Captains How to Talk To Their Legislators

It will be necessary for your DC’s to know how to start building a relationship with their
legislator. Some will come to you with experience, but most will need training and guidance on
making that connection.

It would be ideal if you meet them at the capitol and go with them for the first time. In most
states, that is unrealistic, so your instruction will be vital to their success. Here are some helpful
hints for them when they talk with their legislator.

●

Meeting, calling, or sending a handwritten letter to your legislator is much easier than
you think! Let your legislator know that you support Convention of States. One person
often makes the difference in how a legislator votes, so appreciate the impact that you can
have. Phone calls to your legislator are helpful and necessary, but face-to-face visits or
handwritten letters are priceless.

●

Your first point of contact will likely be a staff member. The staffer will play a significant
role in whether you can speak with the legislator and the success of your meeting. Staff
help shape a legislator’s agenda and position on issues. Cultivating a positive relationship
with the staff will tremendously impact the success of your contacts with the legislator.
Always be polite and respectful to the legislator and staff, even if they disagree.

●

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 Convention of States. Give them several
personal reasons in your own words why you support COS and feel it is essential. For
example, a parent or grandparent may be concerned about the debt; a farmer might

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mention the negative impact of the EPA on his farm; a business owner may be concerned
about the overreaching federal regulations imposed on businesses.

●

Most legislators respond well to concerns about fiscal issues and overreach from the
federal government. Stay on topic and only discuss Convention of States. Some
legislators who oppose Convention of States can cleverly change the conversation to
other issues.

●

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. A handwritten note will be very 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 in the COSAction
app or LMS detailing how your meeting went. Pay particular attention to describe any
comments the legislator may have made to indicate concerns or support.

●

If your legislator does not support Convention of States, do not give up! Keep going
back, and teach others to join you. Most 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 appreciate the support and
encourage the legislator to advocate with other legislators.

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

Suggested reading/resources:

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●

We highly recommend you join an online small group study of the book

“Servant

Leadership

” by David Kuhnert which is the cornerstone of our leadership training.

○

To receive more information and learn about the classes being offered, please
email Ginny Rapini:

grapini@cosation.com

●

“Mentoring 101” by John Maxwell

●

More Information about

Servant Leadership

used by our organization.

Tips on Messaging

Remember to always be nice. No matter how infuriating someone's argument might be, we need
to rely on facts and calmly point them back to the truth that lies in the Constitution. The facts are
on our side. There’s no need to resort to name-calling or foul language. Doing so only hurts our
credibility. We stand on the strong foundation of the Constitution, partnered with thousands of
pages of research and the consensus of our nation’s top Constitutional minds.

As you speak to people about the Convention of States, make sure that you never refer to it as a
“Constitutional Convention.” We are not seeking a constitutional convention. It is a convention
of states to propose amendments to limit the power of the federal government. The
Constitutional Convention was where the Constitution was drafted and ratified. When people use
this term, hearers are often concerned that we seek to rewrite the Constitution. This is incorrect.
We are seeking to amend the Constitution through one of the two methods that the Founding
Fathers unanimously approved in Article V of the Constitution. You want to refer to it as a
“convention to propose amendments.”

You will find some good resources for dealing with this and other objections

here.

Here are some documents that will help you communicate the Convention of States message,
whether in a conversation or when making a presentation:

●

A Solution as Big As the Problem

by Michael Farris

●

The Process of An Article V Convention for Proposing Amendments

Additional Help

If you have a question or need assistance with something that is not covered in this manual,
please reach out to your State Communications Coordinator or State Director. If they are unable
to help, contact the

help desk

.

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.

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3/20/24

●

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

Commonly Used Acronyms

Positions

SD

State Director

RC

Regional Captain

GC

Grassroots Coordinator

FUT

Follow Up Team

LL

Legislative Liaison

DC

District Captain

ML

Media Liaison

VCD

Veterans Coalition Director

SIA

State Information Analyst

RD

Regional Director

SCC

State Communications Coordinator SMW

Social Media Warrior

VCD

Veterans Coalition Director

FBEditor

Facebook Editor

EC

Events Coordinator

DD

District Dashboard

CD

Coalitions Director

CB

Citizen Builder

SV

State Videographer

Tools

CB

Citizen Builder

FUT

Follow-up Tool

DD

District Dashboard

LMT

Leadership Management Tool

LMS

Legislative Management System

COSU

Convention of States University

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3/20/24

General

CTA

Call to Action

COSA

Convention of States Action

COSF

Convention of States Foundation

JBS

John Birch Society (opposition group)

EF

Eagle Forum (opposition group)

BBA

Balanced Budget Amendment

NAGR

National Association for Gun Rights
(opposition group)

Your Signature

You should receive an email link to this manual from your state team. Be sure to sign it
electronically.

Additional Help

If you have a question or need assistance with something that is not covered in this manual,
please reach out to your State Communications Coordinator or State Director. If they are unable
to help, contact the

help desk

.

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