SSDP's Campus Campaign

Update 12/29/14: An anonymous donor from California is so excited about the Campus Campaign that they pledged to match every dollar raised for the 2015-2016 campaign, up to $50,000! Make your gift online today to double your impact and support the Campus Campaign! In the fall of 2014, Students for Sensible Drug Policy began testing a new method to grow our network, and our impact, with geographically targeted recruitment selected for strategic opportunity. We saw what a powerful motivator the marijuana ballot initiatives were in 2012, but hypothesized that with a small investment, we could turn short-term excitement into long-term advocacy. So we hired full-time coordinators in DC and Florida to recruit students on campuses, support new and existing chapters, and guide students’ activities both before and after election day. We’ll be releasing a complete report of the first phase of the campus campaign soon, along with detailed plans for 2015 and 2016. In the meantime we can tell you that so far, the program has been a resounding success!

Outcomes through November 4, 2014

Next Steps

Leveraging the attention, excitement, and advocacy opportunities associated with ballot initiatives and other drug policy reforms provides us with with unique opportunities to connect with students on campus and introduce them to the power of changemaking. Increasing staff engagement in discrete regions lays the foundation for future engagement in future policy reform through active campus-based recruitment, facilitated cultivation of advocacy, and thoughtful transitional activities following completion of the targeted activity. You can view our original program overview and goals here, and stay tuned for further updates in January 2015.