This training does not need to be done all at once. If you feel overwhelmed by this information, break it up and do one or two sections at a time.
If you need help with working through any of the sections, contact your Regional Captain or the State Grassroots Coordinator. They are happy to help you through your training. You will be the leader of your district but you have people ready to help you too.
Learning the Acronyms & Setting up your Technology
- Full list of COS Acronyms
- If you haven't done so already please confirm your COS Account:
- Find and open the email asking you to confirm your new COS email account and click the link inside. If you cannot find the confirmation email, please use the link directly below with instructions to resend it. You must NOT be logged into the COS website to use this link: https://conventionofstates.com/users/confirmation/new
- Remember the confirmation email MAY be in spam or junk.
- Download the COS Action App to your phone:
- Watch the App Introduction Video and then sign in:
- Watch the TelePatriot Training Video:
As a District Captain it will be your responsibility to encourage your TelePatriot Volunteers to be involved with Calling missions.
COS uses Slack to easily communicate and pass on information to Team Members.
Slack Tutorial on Use and Download on Android/IOS/Desktop:
DC 100 District Captain Leadership Training (1hr, 40min)
Know your State Legislators and your House & Senate District Numbers.
This Colorado link is easy to use and reference. Enter your Address or zip and both your State Senator and Representative will load along with their district numbers:
Find Your Colorado Legislators
Citizen Builder
Citizen Builder (also known as Dashboard) is where we contact volunteers and petition signers, keep track of volunteer activity, and report interactions with legislators.
District Captains have 4 specific responsibilities in Citizen Builder:
1. Processing Volunteer Applicants
2. Processing Followups (This is when we reach out to Petition signers)
3. Maintaining a Potential Volunteers List
4. Submitting Action Reports
Processing Volunteer Applicants
When someone applies to be a volunteer, the application appears in the Leadership Management Tool (LMT). District Captains are responsible for processing applications for Volunteer Activists submitted by people living in their House District.
Processing Followups
When people sign the COS petition, their name appears in the
Followup Tool.
District Captains are responsible for sending a followup email to all new petition signers in their house district and calling petition signers that have indicated that they want to learn more about volunteering.
- Watch Basic Followups Tutorial Video
- Watch How to remove the Volunteer Video
- Read How to process a Followup with Volunteer Interest
Maintaining a Potential Volunteers List
When people sign our petition, get a followup email, and come back later to tell our computer system that they are interested in volunteering, the only place they will appear is in a specially crafted list. It is the responsibility of a District Captain to have a Potential Volunteers list and to followup with any individuals who appear on it.
- Watch Essential Lists Tutorial Video (on Rumble)
- Create both these Lists for your House District
Submitting Action Reports
Action Reports are a critical part of uniting our individual efforts into one focused movement. They can be made through the COS Action App or the COS Website.
- Watch Action Reports from the COS Action App Video
- Watch Action Reports from the COS Website Video
- Read Action Report Instructions Download
- Read Citizen Builder Link for submitting New Action Reports
You learned how to do it all - now put it to action!
After learning all the parts of a District Captain job it can seem very difficult to break it down into an achievable list of tasks, but never fear, we've been there, done that, and made the list for you already!
Every Week do these 5 things 2x (or more)
- Check Followups
- Check your Potential Volunteers List for new potential volunteers
- Check your cos email
- Check slack via app or website
- Check for Applicants in the LMT (Leadership Management Tool)
Every month do these 5 things at least once
- Meet with or contact Volunteer Activists in your district.
- Contact your Senator and Representative. If you're able and willing, set up an appointment to meet at the State Capitol in Denver.
- Make action reports regarding your contact with your legislators.
- Discuss goals for your House District with your Regional Captain.
- Attend the Statewide Meeting Free Conference Call every other Monday (1st and 3rd) at 7pm. You will get an email invite from our State Director, Laura Neimeister.
Every year:
- Participate in at least two petition gathering events.
- Can be events generated in your house district or helping with a state or region wide event like:
- a local gun show, state fair, county fair, political party event
- Can also be a self-created event, like:
- an educational talk with a group
- petition gathering outside a retail store, convenience store, gun store, etc. (with have management/owners permission)
- presentation at a library, in home, etc.
- organize a block walking event in your neighborhood
- Can be events generated in your house district or helping with a state or region wide event like:
Feel free to return to this training to refresh your memory and access resource links.