The Obama campaign’s organizing model was based on the theories of Professor Marshal Ganz. He said “Volunteer efforts often flounder due to a failure to develop reliable, effective, and creative individual local leaders.” On both the Obama 2008 and 2012 campaigns, trained supporters were grown into local leaders who enhanced the reach of the campaign.

The most effective campaigns empower their volunteers to take on leadership roles. Part of what keeps people coming back is the ability to feel and see their impact. Volunteer team leaders -- when trained and supported with structure -- will bolster the campaign apparatus.

With Empower Engine’s Power Maps of field data, organizers can see what’s going on across their district, and volunteer team leaders can see progress within their turf. Organizing is how President Obama won in 2008 and 2012. Belief in the power of organizing is a core part of the Empower Engine founding story.

Defining organizer turf and neighborhood team turf is a time consuming and painful process for the campaign’s data director, often taking days when first done and then hours to modify. Our Click & Color maps make defining turf much easier -- and empower the data director to create better custom districts. With the campaign’s data loaded into the system, they’ll see the number of voters, targets and volunteers change with every assignment.

Our clients have spoken plainly about what our platform meant to them:

“Click & Color Maps saved our life on turfing. It took a several week process to a several day process”

— Max Brown, Campaign Manager

But the impact is felt well beyond a quote, it’s felt in the reach of the campaign, the motivated and empowered volunteers, and the ultimately the votes on election day. This is what wins campaigns.

Data visualization ensures everyone understands the data most relevant and motivating to them. Empower Engine makes that easy.

Empower Engine: A Tool for Organizing