Home › Start a Chapter

Start a Chapter

CONGRATULATIONS!  You’ve already taken the first step in starting a new chapter by taking the initiative to find out what you need to do.

  • Talk through a “start up plan” with a national organizer.  This can be really helpful when you are taking your first steps in starting a chapter.  Contact Lily Hughes at nodeathpenalty.org or call her at 512-494-0667 to set up a call.
  • Buy a chapter "starter kit" for 10 dollars.  Send a check or money order to CEDP, PO Box 25730, Chicago, IL 60647.  You will receive a bundle of newsletters, brochures, buttons, factsheets and petitions – all you need to help get you started on being a full blown ABOLITIONIST!

HERE ARE SOME POINTERS FOR GETTING STARTED:

FIND MORE PEOPLE  Do you have other people around you that are interested in helping you to get a chapter started?  If not, think about people you already know who might want to be involved with this project.
You can also send out emails to other group list serves and on social networking sites asking people who are interested to get in touch with you.

HOLD A START-UP MEETING  Once you’ve got a group of interested people (even just a few!) hold an introductory meeting so that folks can talk about the issue and learn more about the Campaign to End the Death Penalty.

If you’re a student, you probably want to hold this meeting on a campus.  Otherwise, this meeting could be at your apartment/house, a local library or community center, or you can meet with others over coffee to brainstorm ideas on getting started.

Structure this meeting so that everyone can talk about why they want to fight around this issue and what activities they would like to help plan and be a part of.  Make sure to facilitate this first meeting and all subsequent meetings so that everyone can participate in the discussion and volunteer to help out with upcoming plans.

It is helpful to establish fairly quickly a regular time and place to meet.  Most chapters meet every two weeks, but some meet weekly and some monthly.  Your chapter members will need to decide what is the schedule for you chapter.  One size does not fit all.  Also a chapter can decide to meet more frequently in the midst of an important struggle, and then return to less frequent meetings later. 

Meetings should always have a goal of being very participatory with all those in attendance giving their input and helping to make plans.  Subsequent meetings should be a place where members can talk about the issues, assess the progress of the chapter, and discuss new ideas.

GET THE NEW ABOLITIONIST  Make sure to place an order with the national office for a bundle of the CEDP’s newsletter.  Our chapters are tied together nationally by The New Abolitionist, which features writings from prisoners and former prisoners and family members of prisoners – many of whom are active in our chapters.  The newsletter also publishes contributions from local chapter members about individual cases and about broader issues related to the death penalty and is a great resource within chapters to educate and train new activists and writers.  People can submit reports or articles to the newsletter by contacting Marlene at marlene@nodeathpenalty.org

ORGANIZE A PUBLIC EVENT  Decide what kind of event you want to hold to introduce your group to the community, raise awareness and attract new members.  Here are a few ideas:

  • Show a movie about the death penalty.  The Exonerated, Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story, and Dead Man Walking are just a few ideas.
  • Invite a former death row prisoner to speak at your school or in your community.  The personal stories of men and women who have survived the horrors of death row are incredibly powerful and moving.  Their stories put a human face on the death penalty.  Get in touch with the national office to help you find a speaker.
  • Host a CEDP “Open House” or “Potluck” and invite interested folks to meet you and others who are starting up a new chapter.  The open house can take place at your home, at a church (you can work with the church’s pastor or social justice committee), or a neighborhood bar or restaurant.

SET UP AN INFORMATIONAL TABLE  One of the best ways to publicize events and meet new people is to set up an informational table or a petitioning.  Choose a place where lots of people pass by like your neighborhood grocery store, a busy street corner, or at a church or synagogue during coffee hour.  At the table have copies of The New Abolitionist; a petition or a sign-up sheet for people to request more information; and flyers for your upcoming public event.  You can also sell anti-death penalty buttons and pass out fact sheets.  Display a splashy poster displaying a slogan like “Stop all Executions” or “Join the Fight to End the Death Penalty.”

OTHER ORGANIZING IDEAS FOR YOUR CHAPTER  The ideas listed above are some basic ways to both start to educute your community about the issue and to begin to build up membership in your chapter.  As you get established, here are a few more ideas for how to take your chapter forward.  These are just a few ideas, and many more are listed in the Get Involved section.  You may  have other ideas for organizing too, and our chapter organizer listed above is available to offer any help and guidance you may need.

  • Make a connection to death row prisoners and family members. Write and/or visit a death row prisoner in your area.  Invite their family members to attend meetings.
  • Organize a campaign around a specific death row case.  Your chapter can help build support for a death row prisoner in your state or in another state (e.g. the case of Mumia Abu Jamal).
  • Start a petition drive for a moratorium in your state or assist with circulating an existing petition.  The national office can provide assistance with these efforts.

DUES FOR NEW CHAPTERS AND MONTHLY SUSTAINERS  The Campaign to End the Death Penalty is primarily funded through our Monthly Sustainer program, where members and supporters give a small monthly donation directly from their bank account or on a credit card.  All chapter members are encouraged to sign up for the Monthly Sustainer program.  In addition, each CEDP chapter is responsible for annual chapter dues.  New chapters are asked to pay $50 for the first year, and then 100 dollars for each subsequent year (if hardship exists, dues can be negotiated).  Chapters are primarily self-funded - chapters engage in a variety of fundraising activities to raise money for both the yearly chapter dues and local activities.  It is helpful for chapters to have a responsible person be designated the “treasurer” for their chapter.

CHAPTER CONFERENCE CALLS  We hold chapter conference calls every 6 -8 weeks and chapters are encouraged to participate in these calls.  It is a great way to share information and find out what other chapters are doing around the country.  We welcome all new chapters to be a part of these calls.

NATIONAL CONVENTION  Every year the Campaign to End the Death Penalty holds a national convention in Chicago IL.  Every chapter is allowed 2 voting delegates for the convention (everyone is invited to participate in the convention but only delegates are allowed to vote).  At each convention we get inspired and reinvigorated to continue the fight.  We encourage every chapter to be represented at the convention.  Chapter delegates vote in our initiatives for the coming year as well as vote on our board of directors.

JUST A FEW TIPS  These are just a few tips to get you started.  Some of these tips will be useful to your new chapter, some things you might want to do a bit differently.  The main thing is as our mission says to “educate and to agitate” in the community because without these efforts we will not abolish the death penalty.

BE CREATIVE  Come up with your own ideas to raise awareness and build the movement to end the death penalty!  Remember, big things start small.  Be patient.  Step by step, you can build a healthy, active chapter.  Onwards to Abolition!