[Lnc-business] LNC goals for 2018 and the 2018-2020 term

[Elizabeth Van Horn]

An excellent read! A great many good ideas.

James Lark, are you able to put this into a pdf or word doc? Or, maybe 
even a google doc?

I'm going to move this email into it's own folder, so not to lose it in 
the plethora of emails.  But, another format would be welcome.

Thank you for working to create so many items for the LNC to consider!  
: )

EVH


---
Elizabeth Van Horn

On 2018-07-09 18:39, James Lark via Lnc-business wrote:
> Dear colleagues:
> 
>        I hope all is well with you.  I am writing to initiate a 
> discussion
>    of LNC goals for the rest of 2018 and the 2018 – 2020 term.
>        In what follows, I offer some comments and suggestions about
>    selecting our goals for 2018 and the 2018-2020 term, in addition to
>    comments about some projects and outcomes I would like the LNC to
>    consider.  I hope you find my comments to be helpful.  (Those who
>    served with me during previous LNC terms may recall that I sent 
> similar
>    messages concerning goals for those terms.)
> 
>        Allow me to emphasize that the purpose of this message is to
>    initiate a discussion of goals.  While I have enclosed below some
>    prospective goals for your consideration, I have not offered
>    suggestions concerning the specific strategies, tactics, and 
> resources
>    required to achieve such goals.  I believe we should prepare a list 
> of
>    reasonable goals for consideration, determine the ones for which
>    suitable strategies and tactics exist (given our resource 
> constraints),
>    and then select and prioritize the goals we deem most appropriate.
>    I.  Assumptions and Preferences
> 
>        In offering these comments I have the following preferences and 
> use
>    the following assumptions:
>    1)  Based upon information provided at the initial LNC meeting by
>    treasurer Tim Hagan, I believe it is possible the LNC will conclude 
> the
>    2018 fiscal year with a net operating surplus.  However, since I 
> prefer
>    to be very conservative in estimating revenues, I shall assume for 
> the
>    purpose of discussion that the LNC will conclude the 2018 fiscal 
> year
>    with a net operating deficit between $50,000 and $125,000.
>    2)  At this time, I believe it is not unreasonable to assume the LP
>    will have between 15,000 and 17,000 sustaining members by Dec. 31,
>    2018.
> 
>    3)  I have a very strong preference for selecting goals involving
>    matters over which the LNC has the ability to control or to 
> influence
>    substantially.  For example, the quality of LPHQ service to our 
> members
>    and the suite of goods and services available to our members are
>    matters over which the LNC has effective control.
>        Although I have this preference, I have suggested below 
> membership
>    and fundraising goals for the 2018-2020 term; these goals are in 
> some
>    sense exceptions to this preference. That is, to a substantial 
> degree
>    our membership and fundraising levels are influenced by events 
> outside
>    our ability to influence substantially, much less control.  For
>    example, actions taken by President Trump may generate substantially
>    increased interest in the LP.  In addition, an endorsement of the
>    Libertarian Party and its candidates by a prominent celebrity with 
> no
>    previous connection to the libertarian movement could help us 
> greatly.
>    4)  At the risk of belaboring what may be obvious, I believe it is 
> very
>    important for the LNC to ascertain to the extent possible the
>    preferences of our members and affiliate organizations.  In 
> particular,
>    I hope my fellow regional representatives are soliciting information
>    about such preferences from their state affiliates.
>    II.  Goal Categories
> 
>        For the purpose of exposition, I shall use the list of 
> categories
>    below; they are listed in no particular order of importance.  I hope
>    you find this categorization method to be helpful.  I realize there 
> are
>    other ways of categorizing our activities; you are welcome to 
> recommend
>    other ways for our consideration.  Please note that these categories
>    are not mutually exclusive; many goals can be included under several
>    categories.
>    1)  Financial Resources
> 
>    This category concerns issues associated with raising funds for our
>    operations.  Specifically, we should determine our financial needs 
> in
>    relation to our goals for the year and term, and identify the means 
> by
>    which we obtain funding for those needs.  As part of determining 
> goals
>    in this category, we should consider the following:
>    * How much do we need during the 2018-2020 term to accomplish our
>    goals?
>    * How do we attract new donors (including those who are not LP
>    members)?
>    * How do we encourage current donors (including LP members) to 
> increase
>    their donations?
>    * How do we recognize and reward donors for their generosity?
>    * Are our current methods of fundraising appropriate?
>    * Should we increase the amount we allocate to a reserve fund (e.g., 
> a
>    "rainy day fund")?
>        I believe we should continue to enable our donors to select more
>    easily the budget categories (or perhaps specific projects) they 
> want
>    their donations to fund.  While LP.org already provides special
>    webpages for affiliate support, ballot access, the building fund,
>    historical preservation, the Legal Offense Fund, and the State CRM
>    project, it may be helpful to provide a larger menu of choices 
> (e.g.,
>    candidate/campaign staff development, youth outreach) to which 
> donors
>    can direct their donations.
>    2)  Member and Affiliate Support
>        This category involves several areas of activity.  I consider 
> these
>    issues to be of particular importance:
>    * Do we have an acceptable level of performance in providing service 
> to
>    our members?  In what ways can we improve our service?
>    * In what ways can we improve our support to our affiliate
>    organizations?  This support can occur in many ways, such as funding
>    ballot access activities and/or outreach activities, providing 
> advice
>    on improving organizational structure (e.g., filling potentially
>    dangerous lacunae in organization bylaws), and providing legal 
> advice
>    on dealing with government regulations (e.g., campaign finance
>    regulations).
> 
>    * How do we help our members become better activists and candidates?
>    In particular, what educational and training programs should we
>    sponsor?
>    * In what ways can we improve the process of recognizing and 
> rewarding
>    our members?
>    * In what ways can we improve LP.org, LP News, Liberty Pledge News, 
> and
>    our social media webpages to provide useful information to our 
> members?
> 
>        If I understand correctly, the work performed by Andy Burns 
> (State
>    Affiliate Development Specialist) has been very well received by 
> many
>    state affiliates.  The LNC should consider in what ways the program
>    supporting Mr. Burns can be improved.
>        During my service as national chairman (the 2000-2002 LNC term),
>    executive director Steve Dasbach and I considered the possibility of
>    funding a "regional director" to assist the state affiliates of New
>    Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.  We thought a "regional 
> director"
>    might be able to take advantage of economies of scale to improve the
>    ability of these affiliates to respond to prospect inquiries, to
>    generate media coverage, to monitor important legislation, and in
>    general to make the affiliates more effective in their efforts.  The
>    LNC may wish to consider a similar idea.
> 
>        I am investigating ways in which to fund "field organizers" to
>    assist with building Libertarian groups on college campuses, perhaps 
> as
>    part of a broader program to provide assistance to affiliate
>    organizations.  The LNC may also want to consider the possibility of
>    funding "field organizers" as part of its support to affiliate
>    organizations.
>        Incidentally, the LNC has funded such programs in the past.  For
>    example, Joe Knight of New Mexico served as a "field organizer" to
>    assist in building campus organizations during the early 1990s.  If 
> I
>    remember correctly, by 1993 the LNC had discontinued the program.  I
>    believe the LNC decided that the program did not produce results 
> that
>    justified the cost.  I believe the LNC also funded a position of 
> "field
>    organizer" for Marla Bottemiller during roughly the same time 
> period.
>    Again, the LNC eventually chose not to continue the program.  I 
> suspect
>    the position was not continued for the same reason the campus field
>    organizer program was not continued; however, I do not know this 
> with
>    certainty.
>    3)  Membership Recruitment and Retention
>        This category involves issues of how we recruit new members and
>    retain current members.  Of course, our ability to recruit and 
> retain
>    members depends upon many factors, such as the success of our
>    candidates and the quality of our service to our members.  Some
>    questions for our consideration include:
>    * Should we target specific population segments for recruitment
>    efforts?  For example, should we emphasize outreach to college
>    students, owners of small businesses, members of certain demographic
>    groups, etc.?
>    * In what ways should we seek new members?  These ways could include
>    direct mail (both postal and Internet), advertising in various media
>    (including radio and cable TV ads, YouTube videos, Google ads,
>    billboards), and outreach efforts at conventions of various
>    organizations.
>    * In what ways can we improve our literature, website, and social 
> media
>    to facilitate our recruiting efforts?
>    * In what ways can we improve the process of recognizing and 
> rewarding
>    our members?  (This issue is common to several categories.)
>        As you may know, I am involved in various ways in libertarian
>    outreach to high school and college students.  In addition, some of 
> the
>    funds I have donated to the LNC are under my control as the campus
>    outreach coordinator.  Also, I am a member of the board of directors
>    (and member of the board of advisors) of libertarian organizations 
> that
>    promote outreach to college students.
>        Thus, I may have conflicts of interest with regard to the 
> approval
>    of LNC goals involving campus outreach.  Should I believe such
>    conflicts exist, I shall bring them to the attention of the LNC and
>    refrain from voting on such matters.
>    4)  Influence/Impact
>        This category involves issues of how we can influence the 
> political
>    landscape, and how we can increase the impact of our activities.  
> Some
>    questions for our consideration include:
>    * In what ways can we improve our influence with various news media 
> and
>    information channels?  (I use the term "information channel" to
>    describe entities such as blogs.)  For example, should we issue more
>    press releases?  Should we devote more effort to finding interview
>    opportunities for LP members and candidates?  Should we invest more
>    resources in “social media”?
>    * In what ways can we improve our ability to mobilize our members 
> and
>    friends to support specific projects?  For example, if we need to
>    mobilize our members to support/oppose a specific piece of 
> legislation
>    in Congress, how can we best achieve this?  (One important aspect of
>    this may involve how we recognize and reward those who respond to 
> our
>    calls for action.)
> 
>    * In what ways can we establish and improve relations with 
> "libertarian
>    movement" organizations (e.g., Cato Institute), "friend of the 
> family"
>    organizations (e.g., National Taxpayers Union), and issue-oriented
>    organizations (e.g., Marijuana Policy Project)?  For example, should 
> we
>    make a greater effort to obtain speaking invitations for LP members 
> at
>    conferences sponsored by the aforementioned organizations?  Should 
> we
>    invest more resources in sponsoring information booths at such
>    conferences?
>    * In what ways can we benefit by working with other organizations on
>    specific projects, such as promoting good legislation/defeating bad
>    legislation in Congress?
>    * Should we consider participating in litigation to achieve specific
>    results?  For example, should we consider additional challenges to
>    campaign finance regulation?
> 
>    *  Should we increase our participation in organizations that seek 
> to
>    make redistricting less partisan?  Should we be more involved with
>    efforts to move toward voting methods such as ranked choice voting?
>    (Note:  Our distinguished colleague Bill Redpath serves as treasurer 
> of
>    the Board of Directors of FairVote.  In addition, former LP stalwart
>    Paul Jacob serves as vice chair of the Board.)
>        I believe an important component to our increasing our
>    influence/impact is for the LNC to improve its capacity for 
> strategic
>    thinking and long-range planning.  In particular, I believe we must 
> do
>    a better job of anticipating opportunities for the LP to make a
>    positive impact on the political landscape.
>    5)  Candidate Support
>        This category involves issues of how we can best support our
>    candidates at all levels.  Some of the questions in this category
>    include:
> 
>    *  In what ways can we support candidates for election this year?
> 
>    *  In what ways should we support the 2020 presidential campaign?  
> For
>    example, in what ways can we generate support for inclusion of the 
> 2020
>    LP presidential ticket in the debates?
> 
>    * What programs should we sponsor to train our candidates and 
> campaign
>    personnel?  These programs should include not only training in the
>    "nuts and bolts" of running successful campaigns, but also helping
>    candidates to develop platforms that are both Libertarian and 
> appealing
>    to voters.  (Note:  It may be appropriate for us to outsource 
> certain
>    types of training to organizations such as the Leadership 
> Institute.)
>    * In what ways should we publicize our candidates, both inside and
>    outside the LP?  In what ways should we recognize and reward our
>    candidates?
>    * In what ways should we support our elected and appointed 
> officials?
>        As part of candidate development and support, I believe we need 
> to
>    develop and maintain a high-quality repository of information about
>    prior campaigns, both to provide information about what ideas have 
> been
>    tried and to compile a list of "best practices" for campaigns.
>    6)  Operations Issues
>        This category includes various issues involving the operations 
> of
>    the LNC and our responsibility to conduct the affairs of the
>    Libertarian Party.  Some of the issues we should address include:
>    * What are our goals for the 2020 national convention in Austin, 
> Texas?
>    * How should we evaluate prospective national convention sites for 
> 2022
>    (and perhaps 2024)?
>    * Do we need to review our internal rules and procedures?  For 
> example,
>    do we need to conduct a review of the Policy Manual?
>    * Should the LNC adopt a more formal (or perhaps, more extensive)
>    committee structure to assist us in our efforts?
>    * Should we conduct a formal evaluation of the LP Bylaws and 
> Convention
>    Rules, with the purpose of offering suggestions for improvement to 
> the
>    2020 Bylaws Committee?  (Various problems associated with the LNC
>    at-large and Judicial Committee elections at the 2018 national
>    convention suggest that an evaluation of the Bylaws and Convention
>    Rules could be helpful.)
>    * Should we evaluate the current organizational structure of the 
> LPHQ
>    staff?  (Of course, such an evaluation would require the 
> participation
>    of Wes Benedict in his capacity as Executive Director.)
>    III.  Suggested Goals
>        Allow me to suggest that we consider adopting goals along the
>    following lines.  They are listed in roughly a descending order of
>    importance.  Please do not hesitate to offer comments and 
> suggestions
>    about the goals we should consider.
>    G1:  The LP will have at least 20,000 sustaining members as of May 
> 1,
>    2020.
>    G2:  The LNC will take action to see that each state has an 
> operational
>    affiliate party by July 1, 2019. I suggest that "operational 
> affiliate
>    party" be defined in the following manner:
>    * There is a properly maintained website for the affiliate (perhaps 
> the
>    website is paid for and maintained by the LNC).
> 
>    * There is at least one LP member in the state who actively serves 
> as
>    an official contact for the affiliate in its dealings with the LNC, 
> and
>    there is at least one LP member in the state who actively serves as 
> a
>    contact for the affiliate in its dealings with the state government.
>    * LPHQ has a copy of the current bylaws and associated documents for
>    the affiliate, along with a copy of the relevant laws of that state
>    regarding political parties and ballot access.
> 
>    (We may wish to add to the definition something along the lines of
>    "Inquiries to the affiliate receive a response in a timely manner.")
>    G3:  The LNC will raise at least $3.5 million from July 1, 2018 
> until
>    May 1, 2020.
>    G4:  The LNC will develop and approve new and revised outreach
>    literature, to be available no later than Dec. 31, 2018.  Some of 
> the
>    literature (e.g., issue pamphlets) should be available in the form 
> of
>    PDFs that can be downloaded from LP.org.
>    Note: I believe the LNC should pursue this goal as part of a more
>    general process of literature development and evaluation.  In a
>    separate message I shall send you some suggestions concerning this 
> more
>    general process.
>    G5:  The LNC will sponsor a series of seminars/workshops in 2019 at
>    various locations around the country.  The workshops could be
>    structured largely along the lines of the "Success '97" and "Success
>    '99" seminars (instruction on the basics of affiliate development 
> and
>    candidate development).  Note:  Approval of this goal should be
>    contingent upon the degree of interest demonstrated by our members 
> and
>    affiliates.
>        As far as I can remember, the LNC did not vote to adopt goals 
> for
>    the 2016-2018 term.  I believe it would be appropriate to discuss
>    prospective goals for the term (along with goals for the remainder 
> of
>    2018) between now and the next LNC meeting (probably to take place 
> on
>    Sept. 29-30), and to adopt goals during that meeting.
> 
>    IV.  Additional Considerations
>        In addition to the suggested goals, I hope the LNC will 
> accomplish
>    the following during the next several months:
>    * Develop a well-maintained calendar of the events at which it is
>    desirable to have an LP presence (e.g., speaker, information booth,
>    literature distributed to attendees, advertising in conference
>    program).  For example, the calendar would include the dates of the
>    national conferences of "friend of the family" organizations.
>    Presumably the calendar would also include information as to event
>    location, contact information for event coordinators, etc.
> 
>    * Utilize LP News and LP.org more effectively to recognize and 
> reward
>    quality activism.  For example, I would like to see an article in 
> each
>    issue of LP News that recognizes an outstanding effort by an LP
>    activist, affiliate organization, and/or candidate.  Similarly, I 
> would
>    like to see at least one article per month on the website that
>    recognizes such outstanding efforts.
>        As an aside, I realize the work required to identify and 
> recognize
>    outstanding efforts can be substantial.  Moreover, I realize that 
> such
>    recognition can actually cause problems.  (Some members may believe 
> the
>    honorees do not deserve such recognition.  Other members may feel
>    slighted by the fact that their efforts have not been recognized.)
>    However, all things considered I believe we shall benefit by 
> including
>    more material in our "house organs" about fine work by our members.
>    * After analyzing the results of the 2018 elections, develop and
>    approve a plan by Feb. 15, 2019 for dealing with ballot access 
> issues
>    during the 2019-2024 time period.
> 
>        I shall greatly appreciate any comments and suggestions you have
>    concerning LNC goals and projects for this year and this term.  In
>    addition, I would be grateful if Mr. Benedict and his staff 
> colleagues
>    would review this message and offer their comments.
> 
>        I consider it likely that I have omitted some issues you will 
> deem
>    worthy of discussion.  Hence, I may send a revised version of this
>    message in the near future, along with a revised list of goals for
>    consideration.
>        Thanks for your work for liberty, and for your consideration of
>    this message.  Best wishes to you in all your endeavors; I look 
> forward
>    to seeing you in late September, if not before.
>        Take care,
>        Jim
>        This should give us motivation and a consensus to
> charge how we do both.
>        Professor, Dept. of Systems and Information Engineering
>        Professor, Applied Mathematics Program, Dept. of Engineering and
>    Society
>        Affiliated Faculty, Dept. of Statistics
>        University of Virginia
> 
>        Advisor, The Liberty Coalition
>        University of Virginia
>        Region 5 Representative, Libertarian National Committee