What is the minimum we ask of members?

We ask that you attend one meeting a month, either in person or remotely. If you cannot make the meeting, we ask that you listen to the recording. We also ask members $10 a month in dues, which help fund our events and organizing efforts. No one is getting a salary or anything off of these dues. Members vote directly, or indirectly through leadership elections, on how money is spent.

What else can members do?

Members have the option to join committees and attend smaller meetups with fellow committee members. These will be once or twice a month in person and/or on zoom.  Below are the committees needed to fulfill the “building power” part of the mission: 

• Political committee - This group researches prospective candidates and initiatives to endorse and prepares to put them up for a vote with members. It also builds relationships with endorsed candidates and initiatives, tracking developments and communicating how members can support. This is great for folks who are already reading about local politics or are interested in following it more closely. 

• Events committee - This group creates the concept and plans the logistics of all in-person events and virtual that serve the needs of the organization. Members of this committee figure out the location and lineup of our events. This is great for folks who already put on events or are interested in learning how.

• Digital Media committee - This group focuses on digital content creation - from designing promo materials to photo/video assets to producing podcast episodes. It then promotes this content on our social and email channels to engage our members and grow our movement. This is great for creatives who want to collaborate with members from across the organization. 

• Membership committee - This group engages members and volunteers proactively to listen to their needs and help them get involved in events and committees. It also focuses on recruitment efforts and ways to grow our movement using cutting edge political technology. This is great for social folks who want to get to know other members and develop those relationships.

• Infrastructure committee - This group is in charge of IT and financial systems needed to sustain the organization. They also work with other groups to ensure they have the tools and resources they need to achieve their goals. 

How are committees structured? 

Typically there is a “chair” of a committee and “vice chair” who are elected. The chair is expected to solicit input from members of the committee before making a big decision, but is the ultimate decision maker when they’re not there. The “vice chair” works closely with the chair and takes over for the chair when the chair is unavailable. Chair positions are to be voted on at some to-be-defined interval and process. Certainly open to calling these different names if “chair” is too dry! The leaders of the committee are expected to organize with the members of the committee at regular meetings with clear agendas. They may also lead projects.

There will also be a chair and “vice chair” of the organization. As of the time of this writing, I (Peter) will be putting my name in as “chair” as I can commit a lot of time to this project and have a lot of relevant skills and experience. However, I think it’s important that all chairs, myself included, practice non-attachment to their positions. I and every other chair must feel that it would be a great outcome for another chair to come along who is better qualified, is a better leader and has a better story. It’s important that all chairs remember that while they are doing this in service to the organization’s mission, they are not “owed” anything by the organization. 

What is our approach for recruiting members? 

Show them that being involved in activism can be fun through public music events that incorporate it in one of many ways. Given the broad and diverse coalition we’re shooting for, integrating the musical tastes and expectations is both a challenge and an opportunity. Getting people out of their musical and cultural bubbles is also an opportunity for the cross pollination of musical and political ideas. However, you're not going to attract everyone with the same kind of music and speakers. Having diversity in our membership will ensure that we understand different constituencies well enough to book the right lineups to engage them. 

Every public event will have a specific strategy in the musical and speaking lineups to appeal to certain demographics. Activating LatinX families in Woodburn will require different music than activating white Gen-Z indie-pop fans in Portland. You won't be able to fully activate everyone with every event, but events could certainly bring together multiple kinds of music. The response to the last couple Rhythm Nation events, which have featured a mix of electronic dance music and hip-hop / trap, has been largely positive. 

There will be a focus on recruiting local, influential and politically-aligned artists to become members of our organization and play our events. Generally, every booking decision for public events should be put through the lens of "who is this activating". While members should keep in mind that these public events are not necessarily there for their own musical enjoyment, there will be other ways to network and celebrate commonalities in musical taste at members only events and otherwise. As the organization matures, there may be opportunities to book major out-of-state artists at a free or discounted rate who can significantly raise our profile. There's quite a bit of precedent for this (for example my friend got Chaka Khan to play her PAC's online fundraiser this year). 

Lastly, every member is empowered to recruit friends into the organization. It can be as light as “you should come to this show, you’ll love it” or as deep as “I need you to know as my friend how important these issues are to me”. That’s how a grassroots organization like this will really scale. Having these kinds of conversations is a skill we ask our members to try and learn.