By Brett Schenker on 05/12/09 @ 11:50AM

I’ve said it before; this campaign will be built from the bottom up by the hard work so many of you do every day.  Organize Virginia is one of the most visible forms of that.  It’s a social networking system like Facebook allowing supporters of Brian to connect.  You can see communities being built in groups, connections happening between supporters, money being raised, and events being thrown.  Through all the hard work there’s a little fun going on too.

Every action you do gains you points, allowing you to compete with supporters and volunteers across the Commonwealth.  Creating a profile, throwing events, raising money, writing blog posts, commenting, and especially inviting your friends, are some of the different ways for you to gain.  You can measure your hard work, and the hard work of so many other Virginians.

Challenge the current leaders, challenge your friends, set a goal to be the best fundraiser, or best blogger on the site.  Set a goal and challenge yourself and track how active you are in the community.

Join Organize Virginia, and work towards a win on June 9^th and on the November!

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By Brett Schenker on 05/11/09 @ 11:37AM

Joel McDonald has written up a great piece covering the opening of our Virginia Beach office.

Brian Moran spent Saturday in Virginia Beach, first speaking at the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee breakfast and then later opening a campaign office in the city. It was certainly an exciting day for supporters of Moran as they turned their sights on working toward electing him as the next Governor of Virginia.

I've heard Moran speak on many occasions at events throughout the Virginia, and have heard the same stump speech segments, in various forms, time and time again. Still, the most impressed I've ever been with Moran was the first time I met him at a reception held in his honor here in Virginia Beach last December.

What struck me then, as someone who was just getting his feat wet in Virginia politics, and still strikes a chord with me today, as sometime who is barely ankle deep in it, was how he laid out the accomplishments of Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and made the argument for why, and how, he would continue that Democratic tradition in Virginia. Today, I was once again impressed with Brian Moran's experience, record, and vision for Virginia and was reminded of why I started supporting him in the first place.

There's more »

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By Brett Schenker on 05/10/09 @ 03:58PM

Saturday saw the open houses of our Virginia Beach and Arlington campaign headquarters.  In the first sunny day in a while I ventured out to see the going’s on in Arlington, say "hi", shake some hands, and catch up with old friends.  Around a hundred turned out throughout the day in Arlington, to enjoy some burgers and hotdogs, along with some canvassing and phone banking.

It’s been a while since I have had the chance to step foot in the Arlington office, but always stepping through the door there’s a sense of excitement and warmth.  A team working towards a common goal, to get Brian Moran elected our next Governor.  I encourage you to stop by any of our offices and join in on the team effort.

You can find a schedule of the phone banking and canvassing opportunities at, http://brianmoran.com/events.

The addresses and phone numbers of our campaign offices, http://brianmoran.com/help/. 

And if there isn’t something going on in your neighborhood, give us a call at 703-300-9508, and we’ll help you get set up with canvassing and phone banking in your neighborhood.

It was great to see everyone again.  We’ll win June 9^th and then on to November!

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By Brett Schenker on 05/09/09 @ 01:19PM

Today is one month until the June 9^th primary and we need all the help we can get to make sure Brian Moran is our nominee.  Here’s what you can do right away to help make sure that happens:

1. Sign up to volunteer – we need your help to make sure Brian wins.  You can sign up to volunteer at http://www.brianmoran.com/action/volunteer
2. Phone Bank or Canvass – there’s numerous opportunities between now and election day to get into one of our offices and help out.  You can find a listing of everything that’s going on at, www.brianmoran.com/events.  If there’s not an opportunity near you to volunteer and you want to canvass or phone bank, email us at info@brianmoran.com
3. Join Organize Virginia – connect with other Virginians across the Commonwealth and organize yourselves, you can join at organize.brianmoran.com
4. Every Dollar Counts - Organize Virginia not only allows you the ability to connect with your friends but also raise money using ActBlue.  $5, $10, $15, every dollar counts this election.  Make a page today and challenge your friends to pitch in and compete with others on the platform.
5. Become a Fan on Facebook – some people prefer to organize and hear news on Facebook, become a fan of Brian’s to get updates and help spread the word to your network
6. Every Vote Counts – if you can’t make it to the polls on election day, you can vote absentee.  You can find a copy of the absentee form here, http://brianmoran.com/assets/2009/4/27/VA_Absentee_ballot_application.pdf.  If you know someone who won’t be able to make it to the polls help them out by printing out a copy and giving it to them.
7. Spread the Word – the campaign can send emails, mail literature, put up ads, but the most powerful thing to persuade a voter is their friend’s opinions.  You have the power to make sure Brian is elected, and we need you to tell as many people as you can why Brian is the best person to take on Bob McDonnell this November.

These are just some of the things you can do right away to make sure Brian is our nominee.  Now let’s win in June, and on to victory in November!

Brett Schenker

Internet/Database Director

Virginians for Brian Moran

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By Brett Schenker on 05/08/09 @ 01:35PM

The rise of the Democratic Party has been made possible by the hard work of the grassroots and this campaign will be won with their hard work.  That’s why we’re excited so many grassroots Democratic activists have announced their support of Brian Moran for Governor. These leaders have worked with Brian to turn Virginia from red to blue. They are many of the key Democratic activists who were integral to the successes of Senator Jim Webb, Senator Mark Warner and President Barack Obama’s campaigns.  They know what it takes and are ready to mobilize for Brian.

There's more »

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By Brett Schenker on 05/07/09 @ 02:11PM

It’s less than 5 weeks to the June 9^th primary and thousands of individuals are gearing up to make sure Brian Moran is our nominee to take on Bob McDonnell this November.  So many people are working hard to make this happen.  The outpouring of enthusiasm online and offline has been amazing. 

Numerous communities have sprung up, Organize Virginia, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, have seen thousands of people take up the call to arms.

There's more »

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By Organize Virginia on 04/25/09 @ 09:08AM

We are excited to announce this great list of grassroots leaders who have endorsed Brian Moran so far. Over 170 leaders from around Virginia are standing with Brian Moran to continue the hard work of moving Virginia forward.  These are many of the people who have made the phone calls, knocked on doors, registered voters, signed up volunteers, organized events and done the hard work to turn Virginia blue and move our Commonwealth forward. Many of them are you.

This list was put together by grassroots volunteers and, as with many things, was a little more complicated than expected. I would like to apologize for any mistakes or omissions. This is just the beginning and we will continue to improve this list.

Please go to the link below and read through to find people you know and click on the links to read written statements, describing why they support Brian. We hope you will join us in this expression of strong grassroots support and join Brian’s campaign to become the next Governor of the great Commonwealth of Virginia.

Brian Moran Grassroots Endorsements

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By Organize Virginia on 04/14/09 @ 11:35AM

Today marks 8 weeks to the primary. We’re in the right position and ahead in the polls. We have a tremendous campaign, built from the bottom up, with more local supporters than anyone in a primary like this. But now we need you.

Can you make a contribution of $50, $25, $10 a week for the last 8 weeks of this campaign? --- Even $5 a week?

Can you donate 8 hours a week of volunteer time to the campaign?

Can you recruit 8 friends to join Organize Virginia, our online organizing platform?

That’s what’s going to make the difference. That’s the fuel for this campaign. $50 a week gets us 400 yard signs. $25 a week and we can buy newspaper or blog ads. $10 a week gets more canvassers on the doors.

This is a grassroots campaign and that’s why I need you.

My opponents may have more offices, but our office in each community is the local Mayor’s living room. That’s how campaigns should be. That’s how they were when I started knocking doors for Democrats, holding my father’s hand as a young boy. That’s how I believe Democracy works best – from the bottom up, not the top down.

I know times are tough that’s why I’m asking you to give what you can -- whether it's cash, time at the campaign HQ or time at your home computer working for the campaign -- each week between now and June 9th. That’s what’s going to make the difference. That’s what’s going to let us win this nomination. And if we win this nomination, we will
win in November.

Thank you for everything you’ve done. 8 weeks to go!

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By Brett Schenker on 04/06/09 @ 03:10PM

As of today, the first 500 grassroots volunteers have signed up on Brian Moran’s new, innovative online organizing system, continuing to build momentum for the campaign. The system was launched less than 10 days ago to build an online platform where Virginia Democrats can organize to elect Brian Moran, similar to the my.BarackObama.com that was successfully used in the presidential election.

Brian Moran's organizing platform, organize.BrianMoran.com, allows volunteers to form networks among friends; organize through groups and events for canvassing, phone banking and other activities; and create personal fundraising pages. All of these activities build local organizations for the campaign.

If you haven't done so already join Organize Virginia today and become part of the next 500. More about the system after the jump.

CNN featured the launch of Organize Virginia saying “Democratic hopeful Brian Moran has become the first candidate of the 2009 cycle to launch an online social network — and it doesn't stray far from President Obama's winning model.” http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/03/23/virginia-democrat-aims-to-replicate-success-of-obama-social-network/

Moran has built a tremendous base of support with local elected and Democratic party leaders all across the Commonwealth backing his campaign for Governor. A full list is available at http://www.brianmoran.com/public-endorsements

“…the Moran campaign has taken a page from Obama in developing a custom site featuring supporter profiles and groups. However, just like Obama's site, Organize Virginia allows users to create their own events and fundraise; allowing for significant grassroots action across Virginia.”
- Joel McDonald, Virginia Beach Progressives (http://vbprogressives.com/2009/03/14/brian-moran-starts-organizing-online/)

“New Obamalike organizing platform for @Moran4Governor, could be online gamechanger www.OrganizeVirginia.com #VA-Gov”
- VAGovernor on Twitter

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By Jerome Armstrong on 03/26/09 @ 11:39AM

The fundraising pages on Organize Virginia have been enhanced. If you haven't already created a unique fundraiser for Brian Moran, go ahead and do it now, here's the link.

Once you create a fundraising page, it will be listed alongside other fundraisers that have been created for Brian Moran. When you've made a donation on your page, or anyone else has, it will then be listed on the ActBlue fundraiser page for Brian Moran as well (which has been nicely redesigned).  You'll also find the fundraising page listed within your "profile" tab, and if you've linked it, on the group page.

After you've created your fundrasing page, you can click on the "spread the word" link on that page, to send out an invite to your email contacts, asking them to donate on the page.

One more thing, on the 'leaderboard" page of Organize Virginia, we are now listing the top fundraiser individuals and groups, via the points they have earned from their fundraising pages.  Thanks for all your support.

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By Brett Schenker on 03/20/09 @ 12:33PM

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By Brett Schenker on 03/20/09 @ 12:23PM

I wanted to thank all of you for joining Organize Virginia and joing other supporters across the Commonwealth who support Brian Moran.  There's much to be done, but this new tool will help get us there.  Along with the groups, events, and actions here in this network we've been reaching out to supporters across the web.  Take some time to not just connect with friends and fellow supporters here, but also connect with others on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and where ever else on the web you might hang out.

Here's the links to make it easier to connect with Brian and his supporters across the web.

Facebook:

Brian's profile: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1009826282&ref=profile

Brian Moran for Governor Fan Page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brian-Moran/11421991895

Twitter - http://twitter.com/moran4governor

LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/in/brianjmoran

YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/brianmoranchannel

Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianmoran

If you yourself are part of, or know of, another community out there, please feel free to let us know. 

This isn't just about connecting and organizing with other supporters here or other sites, it's also about spreading the word to your friends, co-workers and family as to why you agree with the rest of us that Brian is the best candidate for Governor.

Brett Schenker

Internet/Database Director

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By Andrew Roos on 03/12/09 @ 09:00AM

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By Jerome Armstrong on 03/12/09 @ 08:22AM

We've been working with Brian Moran to create a netroots organizing platform for many months, and it's finally arrived. The netroots organizing platform is an online tool that empowers supporters to become activists. The platform was built as a way to integrate social networking, community user-generated content, and activism. And throughout use of the entire platform, from inviting a friend to commenting on a blog post to signing a petition, users attain points for any actions taken. Here is an overview of how to jump in and become active.

After creating an account, you will have a dashboard from where you can see all of the latest updates from those in your network. You can also view the latest announcements from groups that you belong to, blog posts that have been promoted, and any messages that have come your way. While creating an account, you are asked a number of questions that will fill out your Profile. By going to the Profile tab at any point, you can edit or update your profile, including adding photos, files, and seeing who shares your profile choices. In addition to the Dashboard and Profile, there are 4 other tabs: Groups, Events, and People. You can either join existing groups, or form new ones. A group has admins, which can be assigned to its members, so that things like blog posts can be attached to the group, or events created, or actions taken.

Under the people section, you can find out whose most active, and invite other people to the network. At anytime, you can click on another members name, and request that they join your network.  Once others are in your network, you can share private messages. You can also invite them to groups you belong to, events you are attending, and actions (such as polls and petitions) with which you have participated. On your profile page, everyone is able to create a personal fundraising page for Brian Moran, through a partnership with ActBlue. You can set a goal, and use the page as a link to invite others to contribute to the campaign. Group leaders can also set up group fundraising pages.

Finally, you'll notice that there's a point system in place. Everything you do here on the site gets you points (even logging in every day). This is meant to encourage participation and give those who are most active a bit of recognition. We hope to use this feature in uinique ways soon, integrating it with additional action campaigns (including grassroots volunteering). Hopefully, the above serves as an intro enough to get you going inside the platform. Yes we can, with Brian Moran.

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