Frequently Asked Questions

Base Builder is a progressive firm that runs canvassing programs and provides payroll and HR services for like-minded campaigns and organizations across the country. We were founded in 2014 by organizers with decades of field experience, and we work with progressive campaigns, unions, and advocacy groups.

We run three integrated services: door-to-door and phone canvassing, employer-of-record payroll and HR for field campaigns, and custom programs like union organizing, leadership training, and message testing. Our work supports elections, ballot measures, issue campaigns, and worker organizing.

Base Builder was founded in 2014 by Michael Blanch, a longtime progressive organizer with over 30 years of experience across environmental, labor, LGBTQ+, and electoral movements and David Zwick, the founder of Clean Water and Clean Water Action. Michael serves as Founder and Executive Director, alongside Associate Director Kirby Torrance and Director of People & Operations Maggie Ludlow.

Base Builder operates nationally, with field and phone canvassing programs running across more than 100 metropolitan areas. Our team supports campaigns in every region of the country, including multi-state programs and battleground operations during major election cycles.

Yes. Base Builder works exclusively with progressive campaigns, unions, and advocacy organizations. Our values — values first, accountable to the movement, diverse by design, built to win — shape every partnership. We’re values-driven, not vendor-driven.

We partner with progressive organizations: electoral campaigns, ballot initiative committees, labor unions, issue advocacy groups, and member-based organizations. Past partners include the Working Families Party, People’s Action, and UnidosUS, alongside dozens of state and local campaigns.

Three things our partners can’t easily find elsewhere: capacity, experience, and shared values. Our team brings over 70 combined years of field experience. We don’t overpromise and we build infrastructure that supports both the campaign and the people doing the work.

Both. Our door-to-door programs combine field outreach with site- and event-based canvassing for flexibility. Our phone canvassing supports voters who are harder to reach at the door, including independent expenditure and patch-through programs where message discipline matters.

We support electoral campaigns, ballot measures, issue advocacy, worker and union organizing, fundraising, membership drives, and voter registration. Our programs are designed for both short-cycle campaigns with tight timelines and long-term organizing efforts that build lasting power in communities.

Yes. GOTV is core to our work. We run large-scale door-to-door and phone GOTV programs in battleground states and competitive districts, including multi-state efforts like our 2024 field program with the Working Families Party that reached 1.4 million voters.

Yes. We run Spanish-language field operations led by experienced bilingual field directors. Our programs are designed to reach communities in their primary language, with canvassers who reflect the communities they organize in.

Yes. We run large-scale petitioning programs to qualify ballot initiatives, with secure petition handling, quality control, and locally-rooted field teams. Our specialized petitioning experience covers signature gathering and ballot access work across multiple states.

We invest in real training, fair wages, and a supportive campaign culture. Our staff development includes leadership coaching, in-person and remote training, and curriculum used across our partner network. We don’t burn through staff — sustainable pace and dignity are the foundation.

We run a robust verification program. Quality control is built into every program, alongside experienced field leadership, performance analysis, and close coordination with partners on messaging and targeting.

Base Builder runs door-to-door, phone, site, and hybrid canvassing programs. Our work includes GOTV, persuasion, voter registration, membership drives, fundraising, ballot initiative petitioning, and deep canvassing on complex issues. Programs scale from local campaigns to large multi-state operations.

Base Builder hires canvassers, field directors, and operations staff for campaigns across the country throughout the year. Open roles and application information are listed at basebuildercanvassing.com/careers.

We pay accurately and on time, every week. Fair pay isn’t a perk — it’s the baseline. Workers’ comp, tax compliance, and dependable weekly payroll are built into how we operate. We don’t burn through staff to hit a number.

We invest in our staff: real training, fair pay, leadership pathways, and a supportive culture. Our teams reflect the communities they organize in. Canvassers are treated as skilled organizers, with sustainable pace and dignity as the foundation of how we work.

Yes. Base Builder provides employer-of-record payroll and HR services built specifically for field campaigns and progressive organizations. We process accurate weekly payroll, handle workers’ compensation and tax compliance, and onboard new campaigns quickly — even on tight launch timelines.

An employer of record (EOR) handles payroll, taxes, workers’ compensation, and HR compliance. Yes, Base Builder acts as the employer of record for partner campaigns, so organizations can run field programs without building their own payroll infrastructure.

Yes — it’s what we’re built for. Our payroll systems are designed for the realities of field work: weekly pay cycles, fast scaling, seasonal staff, and the kind of compliance complexity that standard payroll providers often won’t take on.

Yes. We handle workers’ compensation, wage and tax compliance, safety practices, and HR policy for canvassing and seasonal staff. We also work alongside in-house HR teams to establish canvass-specific employment policies that reflect shared values.

Quickly. We’re built for rapid setup — campaigns often come to us when funding just landed or a deadline just moved. We can onboard new campaigns and organizations onto payroll fast, without cutting corners on compliance.

Yes. Through surveys, voter education, and message testing, we help organizations understand what people actually think and respond to. These projects test strategy in real conditions, so campaigns aren’t operating in an echo chamber.

Special projects cover work that doesn’t fit a standard program: union organizing models, consulting and training, message testing, surveys, leadership development, recruitment support, in-house program design, and short-term staffing for hard-to-fill roles. Each engagement is shaped around the partner’s goals.

Yes. We design and support union and worker organizing programs rooted in respect for workers, shared accountability, and long-term movement building. Field staff are treated as skilled organizers, with systems built for ethical labor practices and sustainable growth.

Yes. We offer consulting, training, and embedded support for organizations running their own canvass operations. This includes leadership training, operational advising, curriculum development, and program design — grounded in real field experience, not theory.

Reach out through the contact form at basebuildercanvassing.com/contact-us. Tell us what you’re trying to achieve, your timeline, and your constraints. We’ll talk through the program and what’s needed to get started — including for last-minute or fast-moving campaigns.

Yes. We’re built for fast launches. Campaigns often come to us mid-cycle, after late funding or a shifted deadline. We can mobilize a team and onboard payroll quickly while maintaining quality and compliance — we’ve done it many times.

Yes. Recent multi-state work includes a 2024 field program with the Working Families Party across battleground states that drove 1.4 million voter contacts, and a deep phone canvassing program with People’s Action averaging 600 conversations per day in swing states.

Recent results include 1.4 million voter contacts across battleground states with the Working Families Party, 600 conversations per day on a deep phone program with People’s Action, and ongoing partnerships supporting electoral wins, ballot initiatives, and union campaigns nationally.