Ready To Be A Mentor?

 Our candidates will bring the raw materials, energy, and community-based knowledge and you’ll bring the expertise and know-how, teaming up to ensure we see progressive wins at every level of government.

Whether you’re a messaging expert, an innovative technologist, a fundraising savant, or an organizing phenom, we have candidates we’d like to connect you with to help them be the best candidates they can be.

Here’s how it works:

1. You fill out a (very) short form to be added to our Mentor Directory. Tell us a bit about your experience and areas where you’d be willing to advise a candidate.
2. Our candidates reach out to us and let us know what they need help with. If your skills meet the candidate’s needs, RFS will email you — connecting you to the candidate to set up a 30-minute phone call.
3. RFS will give you specific information about what the candidate is looking for advice on, so you can prepare ahead of time.

When you commit to being a mentor, you promise to:

1. Set aside some time for a candidate meeting (and, if mutually agreeable, additional meetings to help the candidate).
2. Answer candidate questions respectfully, honestly, and to the best of your ability.
3. Provide feedback to RFS staff on how things are going and how we might improve.
4. Provide advice on a purely volunteer basis.

To be clear, you’re not expected to:

1. Build a long-term relationship with each and every candidate you speak with. If there are certain people you meet along the way that excite you, feel free to pursue a continuing relationship. This is at your discretion.
2. Be able to answer everything. Please feel free to defend your time and let a candidate know if a question falls outside of your purview.

Want more info? Read our mentorship companion guide.