User:Maustinjames/AmericanMajority

American Majority is a political training group that recruits and trains conservative politicians and activists at the state and local level. Registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the group describes itself as "a non-partisan political training institute whose mission is to train and equip a national network of leadership committed to individual freedom through limited government and the free market."

American Majority was founded in 2008 by Ned Ryun, the son of former U.S. Congressman Jim Ryun, with an initial investment by the Sam Adams Alliance. Currently headquartered in Purcellville, Virginia, the organization has state offices in Arkansas, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Texas. In 2009, American Majority conducted over 150 trainings in 26 states, training 485 candidates for public office, and 4,288 activists. The organization trained a total of 478 candidates and activists in 2008. The organization's training translated into political victories for many trainees in April of 2009 when alumni from their program ran city council races in Oklahoma and both city council and school board races in Kansas. In Kansas, American Majority alumni won 23 of 54 races, and in Oklahoma the record was 17 of 27. Of those 17, 16 were first-time candidates.

Services
At the core of the American Majority organization are their training courses. Through its courses American Majority is trying to create a broad deep bench of future leaders who have a good perspective on the proper role of government, providing them the tools to implement those policy ideas effectively.
 * American Majority offers several training programs:
 * Candidate Training, which covers getting your name on the ballot, communication, fundraising, GOTV, and new media.
 * Activist Training, which covers building coalitions, planning events, learning about government procedures, holding government accountable, volunteering in campaigns, and new media.
 * Campus Majority, which claims to teach campus activism, campaign activism, and media activism.
 * Fellowship Program, which the website refers to as, "designed to educate, train and connect liberty-minded business and community leaders through a one-year, state-based program" has yet to be released.

The use of online media is an increasing focus of the organization. In 2009 American Majority became one of the most followed conservative organizations on Twitter, prompting the organization to put forth their Twittivism Guide, a guidebook to using Twitter as an activist tool.

In addition to on-site trainings, American Majority unofficially partners with state-level conservative think tanks to create site-specific manuals about how to serve in public office: what the jobs entail, what policies are at issue, how the system works. American Majority says "its staff stays in touch with trainees after their training sessions, serving as a sounding board and knowledge resource, as well as providing continued encouragement and moral support."

2009 Projects
Active in the Tea Party movement, in 2009 American Majority launched AftertheTeaParty.com to provide guidance to the tea party protestors by offering training on effective organizing, filing Freed of Information Acts, and using social media. In addition, the organization sponsored RecessRally.com as a way to organize additional protests during the congressional recess in August. In 2009 American Majority launched its Online Training and Campus Majority programs. According to the organization's website, the Campus Majority program teaches college students the "proper approaches to advocacy and activism on and off campus. In addition, students will learn about the fundamentals this country was built on." American Majority also produced a Twitter Guide.

A Non-Partisan Organization
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, American Majority is required by law to remain non-partisan. Thus the organization does not endorse or support any party or candidate, though it openly identifies conservative candidates and activists.

American Majority's training sessions and leadership programs are open to all citizens regardless of party registration. During the training the instructors may reference multiple political parties and share examples and anecdotes from varying points on the political spectrum. Ryun believes his brand of conservatism often gets lost in the pragmatism and compromise of everyday Republican Party politics, saying, "Part of the fight we are having right now is more with the Republican side than with the Democrat side."