A Good Canvass Recipe

Jarrek Holmes
Oct 14
4 min read

If you’ve ever tried to cook for a crowd, you know that a great meal doesn’t happen by accident. It takes time, ingredients, preparation, and teamwork. The same is true for a great canvass.

In many ways, canvassing is simple: clipboards, doors, and a few friendly volunteers. But behind every successful canvass is a recipe that combines strategy, art, and a lot of love.

At Trust Brigade, we are building the kind of organizing kitchen that can serve up real change. Here’s how we make it happen.

(Content warning: there is a fridge-full of cooking puns ahead!) 🍲

The Canvassers: The Kitchen Crew

Even the best recipe relies on good cooks.

That is why we spend as much time building community as we do knocking doors. Recruiting and supporting volunteers takes patience and consistency. We celebrate milestones and help people grow from first-time canvassers into captains, trainers, and coaches. We stick with you as you figure out where you feel most effective in the crew.

Each conversation builds skill and confidence. When volunteers return week after week, the work begins to feel less like a job and more like a shared project among kitchen staff at a family restaurant.

And it is always more fun to cook together.

The Training: Prepping the Ingredients

Deep canvassing requires more care than a traditional campaign.

Before every canvass, we host a 90-minute workshop where volunteers learn how to tell their own stories, practice active listening, and explore how people change their minds. On canvass day, we provide a short training that covers safety, technology, and live roleplays to build confidence.

By the time they head out, our volunteers are not just prepared… they are hungry to connect!

The Turf: Choosing the Cuisine

In cooking, your choice of cuisine influences your ingredients. In canvassing, that choice is your turf.

We spend hours selecting which doors to knock. Each route must balance three priorities:

Walk time. The less time you spend walking, the more time you spend talking.
Strategic impact. Some voters are easier to reach than others. Infrequent left-leaning voters often only need a nudge to turn out.
Community reach. Urban neighborhoods are dense and efficient, but they do not reflect the whole district. We also reach those who live farther out so we can listen to everyone and learn from the full community.

A good canvass, like a good meal, starts with choosing what’s likely to satisfy your audience.

The Script: The Base of the Dish

Every great meal starts with a solid base. It might be the broth, the sauce, or the main protein. In canvassing, that base is the script.

Our script is not a checklist of talking points or clever lines. It is a recipe for connection.

Deep canvassing is built on story exchange. Each conversation begins with openness and curiosity. We share something real about ourselves and invite the voter to do the same. We listen carefully, learn what matters most to them, and build from there.

When it works, it does not feel like persuasion. It feels like two people talking about the people and values that give their lives meaning.

That design is intentional. Every question, every reflection, and even the silences in our script are built from years of practice and research. The structure gives room for empathy and honesty. It is the base that gives the whole canvass its flavor. Without it, the rest of the work would fall flat. With it, ordinary conversations become moments of deep connection.

The Location: Setting the Table

Where we stage our canvass shapes the experience.

We choose launch sites that are easy to reach, welcoming, and close to the voters we hope to meet. A good canvass feels like walking into a warm kitchen. There is a touch of organized chaos, but everyone knows what they are there to do. Volunteers gather, share stories, and get fueled up for the day, often with coffee in hand.

It is the kind of atmosphere that reminds people why they showed up. They came to make something together.

The Technology: The Tools of the Trade

Even the best chefs rely on the right tools.

Most of our technology is simple: pens, clipboards, name tags, vegetable peelers, etc. When it is time to step up, we use MiniVAN to track conversations and record data. It helps volunteers find homes, record stories, and share information quickly and accurately.

When technology supports people without distracting them, the real work happens at the door.

You can sharpen your chef’s knife now by downloading MiniVAN and creating a login!

The Debrief: Tasting and Refining

Every canvass ends where it began, with people gathered together.

We take time to share stories and reflect on what worked and what did not. We celebrate big wins, laugh off small mistakes, and encourage one another after tough conversations.

That reflection is how we keep improving the recipe. It is where volunteers gain confidence, new leaders emerge, and a real sense of community grows.

No dish is ever perfect, but every meal teaches you something new.

How You Can Help

Building a strong canvassing kitchen takes resources, time, and attention. When it all comes together, it creates something rare: a program that changes hearts, habits, and outcomes.

Our goals are ambitious but simple:

15,000 deep canvassing conversations by Election Day
1,000 volunteers trained and engaged
$400,000 raised to power the fieldwork, data, and logistics that make it possible

If we reach these goals, we will close the margin of victory in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District. We can do it, but only if we start now and only if we do it together.

Sign up to volunteer: trustbrigade.org/signup

Donate to support the work: trustbrigade.org/donate

Together, we can change hearts and cook up a victory in Congressional District 8!