STRATEGIC PLAN 2017-18

APPROVED BY THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

NOVEMBER 2016
PRESENTED TO THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL JANUARY 1, 2017
BRYANTA BOOKER-MAXWELL, PRESIDENT

915 Lady Street, Suite 111 | Columbia, SC 29201 | youngdemssc.org | facebook.com/youngdemssc | 843.900.1319

January 1, 2017
YDSC Members, Friends, Allies, and Supporters:
The Young Democrats of South Carolina is an organization powered by its members. We, an affiliate of
the Young Democrats of America and in partnership with the South Carolina Democratic Party, are a
network of Young Democratic organizations from every corner of the Palmetto State. Our goal is to train,
educate, advocate, and empower the next generation of progressive leaders.
After years of youth-led, youth-centered organizing with our partners, young voters have turned out in
record numbers nationally, delivering the margin of victory in electionsespecially in 2008 and 2012.
Moving forward, political engagement and voter turnout will continue to be the cornerstone of Democratic
success in South Carolina.
We cannot wait. Our time is NOW.
In South Carolina, every year is election year. When Congress and the General Assembly arent up for
election, the City Council and the School Board are. The choices South Carolinians will make in midterm
elections will not reverberate any less than those Americans just made in November.
Candidates up and down the ballot are depending on the Democratic Party to deliver, and the Party
depends on young voters. 2008 and 2012 were not anomalies: when Young Democrats vote, all
Democrats winand America does too. Long term investment in youth voter turnout and year-round
outreach are critical to YDSCs mission at every level, and that investment must start in 2017 for local
elections now, and for 2018.
YDSC intends to focus on five key components in 2017 and 2018:

Training
Education
Advocacy
Outreach
Financing & Fundraising

The Young Democrats of South Carolina intends to invest not just in training South Carolinas leaders of
tomorrow, but empowering South Carolinas leaders of today. Whether that person is in a congressional
campaigns war room in the Upstate or on county council in the Lowcountry, the Young Democrats of South
Carolina intend to offer what Democrats need to succeed.

________________________________
Bryanta Booker-Maxwell
President, Young Democrats of South Carolina

915 Lady Street, Suite 111 | Columbia, SC 29201 | youngdemssc.org | facebook.com/youngdemssc | 843.900.1319

Mission Statement
The Young Democrats of South Carolina works to educate, advocate, and empower the next
generation of progressive leaders.
Leaders at the Young Democrats of America identified several key values driving their work at
the national level: boldness, professionalism, community, inclusion, collaboration, and sustainability.
The Executive Board believes these values also apply to us, and will direct our work here in the
Palmetto State.
The Plan
The below outlined components will allow the Young Democrats of South Carolina to become a
stronger outlet for young Democratic South Carolinians.
I.

II.

III.

IV.

Training
a. We will plan trainings on the following: organizational social media,
parliamentary procedure, fundraising, campaign management, grassroots
organizing, recruitment, advocacy, networking, digital organizing (i.e.: VAN/NGP).
See glossary for breakdown of trainings.
b. What does this look like: We will take professional trainings to regional chapters
provided by professional/certified individuals to help expand knowledge on
various subjects relevant to chapter and/or community training needs.
Education
a. We will educate on the following: political processes, community issues, party
differences, and governmental structure. See glossary for breakdown.
b. What does this look like: We will host frequent educational sessions to help
provide communities and chapters with the basic knowledge needed to become
engaged or further engage themselves in the political process.
Advocacy
a. We will advocate for: issues pertaining to YDSCs caucuses and/or chapters, in
addition to issues pertinent to South Carolina and/or its communities. We will also
provide techniques in advocating for these issues. See glossary for breakdown.
b. What does this look like: We will ensure that caucuses and/or chapters and
communities receive proper support in order to effectively and efficiently navigate
and resolve community and state issues.
Outreach
a. Our outreach efforts will be: to bridge the political gap between YDSCs current
members, young Democrats working in politics, county parties, and organizational
partnerships while creating a welcoming atmosphere for new members.
b. What does this look like: We will implement quarterly meetings with young
Democratic elected officials, political professionals, and organizations. We will

915 Lady Street, Suite 111 | Columbia, SC 29201 | youngdemssc.org | facebook.com/youngdemssc | 843.900.1319

V.

implement a Mentorship Program of our own design. We will implement quarterly

welcoming socials; regional chapters may host them on their own, but we will
ensure that this happens.
Financing & Fundraising
a. Our financing and fundraising efforts will be: to continuously solicit funds for the
strategic building of YDSC. We will raise enough to pay for our activities, and
report said fundraising to the FEC and the State Ethics Commission when required
to.
b. What does this look like: We will submit a budget to the Executive Council for
approval. This budget will be used for YDA travel, convention costs, chapter
support, and state operations. See glossary.
Tying It All Together

Building a viable Statewide organization is often hard work, and requires commitment and
diligence from all involved.
For the Young Democrats of South Carolina to thrive as a viable statewide organization, we must
increase our membership across the state and raise enough money to pay for our operations.
Essentially everything we do in 2017 and 2018 will be for these ends.
Existing members need to stay engaged. Relevant and engaging trainings, our Mentorship
Program, regular statewide socials, and a revamping of our statewide chartering and
membership dues will be the beginning not the end of showing our members the value of being a
member of YDSC.
At the same time, we must expand chapters, create new chapters, and bring new members into
the fold. To do this, we must stay active and relevant in our communities. Issue advocacy,
especially in the new administration, will become more important than ever. Support for likeminded organizations and causes will continue, but YDSC will get its own members to committee
meetings and protests as well. It is no accident that active advocacy will help us with our
fundraising as well.
This Strategic Plan exists to facilitate the budgeting and programming needed to ensure YDSC
remains viable in 2017, 2018, and beyond. Join us as we fight for American values. No less than
the Republic itself is at stake.

915 Lady Street, Suite 111 | Columbia, SC 29201 | youngdemssc.org | facebook.com/youngdemssc | 843.900.1319

The Glossary
I.

Training
A. Organizational Social Media: Social media is a key factor in all things in life
today. This training will consist of: how to use targeted marketing skills on social
media, how to attract persons that do not currently exist within your social network,
how to ensure you get the best bang out of your post and the differences in
personal social media and business ran social media accounts.
B. Parliamentary Procedure: Most meetings, conventions, etc. within the Democratic
Party are ran with the use of Roberts Rules of Order. We want to ensure that
people understand the how to of Roberts Rules and feel more comfortable at
county meetings, YDSC meetings, conventions, etc.
C. Fundraising: There are many ways to fundraise for your chapter or organization,
there are also rules in place as to what can and cannot be done. These trainings
will show you how to set up a successful fundraiser and ensure you bring in funds
for the organization and chapter. In addition, this training will show you how to
build relationships with donors and the community.
D. Campaign Management: Running a campaign can be difficult at times, especially
if it is your first time. This training will go over the Need to Know about running a
campaign. It could be a campaign for a cause, for a candidate, etc.
E. Grassroots Organizing: Grassroots organizing has been proven effective in many
different campaigns. Reaching out to your community is a great way to build
relationships and ensure success. No matter what candidate or cause you want to
help with, you will need to have relationships with the community. This training will
cover community outreach, how to organize a grassroots campaign, and building
relationships with the community.
F. Recruitment: It can be hard to recruit new people to your chapter; however, growth
is a key factor in success. Recruitment is not only about having more members, but
also it is about building relationships with others. This training will review
recruitment strategies and marketing techniques to gain new members and
enhance/retain current members.
G. Advocacy: Being an advocate is so much more than signing a petition, knocking
doors or making phone calls to voters. This training will highlight the different styles
of advocacy and teach the techniques of advocacy.
H. Networking: Networking is not just sharing a business card or adding each other on
social meeting. Chapter networking helps build relationships within the local
community. This training will not only review proper networking techniques but also
the importance of follow up.
I. Digital Organizing: This training will cover using the tools that the party has
created for organizing campaigns. This includes but is not limited to: Votebuilder,
ActBlue, Nation Builder, etc.

915 Lady Street, Suite 111 | Columbia, SC 29201 | youngdemssc.org | facebook.com/youngdemssc | 843.900.1319

II.

III.

IV.

V.

Education
A. Political Processes: This will cover the process of the formulation and administration
of public policy or legislation usually by interaction between social groups and
political institutions or between political leadership and public opinion.
B. Community Issues: Each community has different needs, wants, strengths and
weaknesses. This will teach people about local community issues in their own
backyard. It will educate not only members of the chapters but persons in the
community as well.
C. Party Differences: There are more than two political parties in the United States. In
addition, there are many different types of subcategories of the political parties. It
is important to educate the community on the different parties and different
subcategories of each party. By having knowledge about the different parties, it
will be easier to work together towards a common goal.
D. Governmental Structure: There are many forms of Government in the county and
many differences: National, State, and Local. It is important to be educated on the
different structures of government, not only for those in chapters, but for everyone
in the community.
Advocacy
A. YDSC Caucuses
1. Minority Caucus
2. Womens Caucus
3. LGBT Caucus
4. Environmental Caucus
Outreach
A. Political Gap: the perception of a cultural divide between active members and
professionals who could be potential members (i.e.: elected officials; strategists)
B. [Quarterly Meeting]
C. [Mentorship Program]
Financing & Fundraising
A. YDA Travel: Every two years, YDSC must send a delegation to the YDA National
Convention, and is responsible for sending two representatives and the President
to its national meetings. Normally, YDSC does not pay for registration to these
meetings or miscellaneous expenses.
B. Convention Costs: This deals directly with the costs of holding the YDSC State
Convention, including but not limited to convention space, printing, food and drinks,
training, etc.
C. State Operations: This is our in-state budget. This will include the cost of holding
events (including training) in the regions, operations costs (including the website,
emails, and printing costs), costs attached to voter registration and GOTV efforts,
etc.

915 Lady Street, Suite 111 | Columbia, SC 29201 | youngdemssc.org | facebook.com/youngdemssc | 843.900.1319

D. Chapter Support: YDSC cannot fully fund chapters. We will do our best to help
chapters where we can, but financial support is subject to the budget. Where
needed, we will assist in providing fundraising tools and techniques to chapters,
but chapters are ultimately responsible for their own funding.

915 Lady Street, Suite 111 | Columbia, SC 29201 | youngdemssc.org | facebook.com/youngdemssc | 843.900.1319