Dare to Run Women's Leadership Training Program

Dare to Run was created in 2017 to address the dearth of women candidates who run for public office in certain states around the country.  Dare to Run launched its first Cohort of the Women’s Leadership Program for Political Candidates in August 2019, 6 months after we received our nonprofit status in the state of New York.  We acquired a partnership with the Girl Scouts of Greater New York which enabled us to host our classes at their HQ in lower Manhattan. As part of the cohort, we had 8 women participating from all 5 boroughs across New York City.  All 8 candidates were able to complete the first semester, move onto Semester 2 of the program, and complete that as well.  They have been inducted into the Dare to Run Alumni Network.  One of the original members of the first Cohort has also joined the Board of Dare to Run: Nayma Silver.  We are so proud to have Nayma on our Board of Directors. 

As partners with the Girl Scouts of Greater New York, Dare to Run created an adapted version of the Women’s Leadership Program for Girls ages 14-18 that was held at St. Francis College in January – February 2020.  Dare to Run Instructors came on 5 weekends and lead seminars for these girls, and they really appreciated it.  This was an extraordinary partnership for Dare to Run and the girls in the program really learned a lot from it.

• Dare to Run Virtual Women’s Leadership Program:  Candidates participating in the program will be enrolled in an online platform called Thinkific where all the courses will be uploaded, along with assignments, discussion boards, etc. Students can access the platform at any time to watch courses, view and submit assignments and complete lessons.  

 Program Expectations for the Virtual Program

1. The Virtual Program will feature individualized video presentations of each seminar and will also have bi-weekly zoom calls incorporated for each seminar so that instructors and students can network, answer questions, and share ideas about the seminars for that week. 
2. Assignments will be submitted to our program director at info@daretorun.org.The assignments will then be shared with the instructor and instructors will be expected to provide feedback for students via email within a reasonable period of time. 
3. All assignments will be due by a particular date and access to all video seminars via the online platform will end by a particular date so that students can ensure that they are keeping pace with the program. 
4. All students will be expected to complete a pre-evaluation survey and a post-evaluation to measure their skills growth at the beginning an and end of the semester.

Cohort 1: Dare to Run benefits a particularly marginalized population of women across New York State.  In our first cohort, 60% of the participants in the program were Latina women of a particular income background, with more than 2 children.  They came from the Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan and Queens and represented New York in all of its diversity.  We also had two Black women and two white women participate in Cohort 1.  

Cohort 2: Our second Cohort of students was comprised of a total of 30 women from a total of 7 states, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Arizona and Florida.  Candidates in the second cohort also reflect the diversity that is built into the mission of Dare to Run.  Our second cohort consisted of 37% Latina Women, 21% Black Women, 26% Indian Women, and 16% White Women.  

Cohort 3, 4 and 5: Dare to Run was proud to welcome 6 new women of color across the past three cohorts of the program.  Additionally, we developed partnerships with over 30 new nonprofit organizations, at least 65% of whose focuses surround diversity, equity and inclusion as the core foundations of their partnerships with external organizations.  

How Dare to Run Works with Its Partners in the Community

Dare to Run has a board of three members including Rachelle Suissa, Josephine Bosco and Zlata Baldekova who are all currently working to recruit more individuals to ruin for public office.

The Girl Scouts of Greater New York: Dare to Run launched its first Cohort of the Women’s Leadership Program for Political Candidates in August 2019, 6 months after we received our nonprofit status in the state of New York.  We acquired a partnership with the Girl Scouts of Greater New York which enabled us to host our classes at their HQ in lower Manhattan. As part of the cohort, we had 8 women participating from all 5 boroughs across New York City.  All 8 candidates were able to complete the first semester, move onto Semester 2 of the program, and complete that as well.  In addition, Dare to Run was able to renew this partnership for 2023 and we hosted two amazing events at the Girl Scouts of Greater NY HQ in lower Manhattan: Our International Women’s Day on March 8, 2023, and our Dare to Run, NYC! Networking Night which was held on June 7, 2023.  Both panels featured female legislators from the local and state level coming to speak to audiences of Dare to Run supporters and our community about why it’s so important and critical to run for public office at all levels of government. 

In exchange, Dare to Run created an adapted version of our Leadership Program suitable for young ladies participating in the Girls’ leadership Institute, who ranged from ages 14-18.  In addition, we provided 5 of our instructors to facilitate each of these workshops for the Girls’ Leadership Institute which takes place from the end of January through the end of February.  At the end of the Institute, the girls participating in the program prepare their final presentations for a competition at the end of June.   

We have been in operation for the past 7 years and are currently experiencing the growth stage of our nonprofit organization.  To date we have trained over 50 women how to run for public office, for everything from Civil Court Judge to New York State Assembly.  We are very proud of the work that we have accomplished thus far and look forward to training more women in the future.  

To see a list of all the women who've run campaigns after completing the Dare to Run Program, please visit this link: https://www.daretorun.org/pres...

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Our solution provides a comprehensive 1 year academic training program for women who want to learn more about the ins and outs of running a successful campaign for public office.  We provide it in both a virtual and in person program in order to suit the needs of women who want to launch their campaigns but may not be quite ready to do so.

In addition, we provide internships and mentorships for women who complete the training program beginning in May after the program ends.  Internships usually last 2-3 months and give our candidates the chance to see what it's like to work in a district office first hand on a day to day basis.  Alternatively, they can participate in a mentorship with the candidate, where they can meet them 1-3 times per month for a conversation over lunch or dinner where the candidate can ask questions and get answers to the training they need.  

Finally, upon completion all candidates become a part of the Dare to Run Alumni Network where they can meet and network with past candidates who have completed the training program.  They also get added to our mailing list and invited to activities specifically intended for Dare to Run Alumni to increase awareness, knowledge and engagement with mentors and other women in the community with similar aspirations.  

Project Goals

Goal #1: Hire New Instructors to be able to facilitate programming in all three states.  For this, we would like to spend no more than $3,000 per state, which would come to a total of $9,000 for three states.  Instructors would be hired as independent contracts for the program and would be asked to develop curriculum and conduct virtual and in person presentations for 2-3 seminars. 

Goal #2: Hire an external agency to assist with conducting marketing and PR outreach in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Delaware.   Dare to Run would have a part-time marketing/PR person that would be paid a stipend of $1,000 per month for four months to conduct outreach in the following markets: colleges, graduate schools, major companies, law firms, schools and other areas of interest as fit for the program.  Particular focus would be made on college and graduate students, as they are younger and may have a more focused interest in completing the program and integrating it with their long-term professional plans. 

Goal #3: For the Dare to Run Virtual Women’s Leadership Program, we would have to hire a videographers to conduct the filming processes in three states, which would cost about $2,000 per state.  We also have to pay for an online learning platform, which we estimate to be $150/month, given the number of courses that will be uploaded to the platform, users participating in the program, etc.  In total, for programming, we estimate the expenses to be around $10,000. 

Goal #4: Host a Leadership Retreat in November/December 2025 for Members of Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 of the Dare to Run Virtual Women’s Leadership Program.  The Leadership Retreat would feature speakers, panelists and breakout sessions for women who want to network with other women in the program and future candidates of the program as well.  

We have at team of three people:

Rachelle Suissa - Founder and Board President  917-923-4657

Josephine Bosco - Board Secretary - 718-873-5988

Zlata Baldekova - Board Member - 917-929-0751

We have been working together as a team for the past 7 years, since June of 2017.

We ensure diversity, equity and inclusion by adhering to the values posted on our website, which can be found at this link: https://www.daretorun.org/abou...

We also have our updated bylaws which ensure diversity, equity and inclusion by adhering to values of an equal opportunity board.  We provide equity by offering opportunities to become a member of our board, advisory council, team of instructors, and general volunteers.  All opportunities are available to everyone according to their abilities and interest in providing service to the organization.  

Dare to Run prides itself on being inclusive to our board, advisory council, team of instructors, and students who complete the program.  We offer ongoing educational, networking and interpersonal development opportunities for all of our candidates long after they have graduated from the program.

Growth Plan

 According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, women make  up 24.4% of state legislatures nationwide.[1] When broken down at the state level, a majority of states seem to have achieved 20% or more of female state legislators. There are a number of states that severely lag behind in these numbers.  Dare to Run chooses to make these states a focal point.  They include: Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.   

 Phase #1: Strengthening and Planning

The objective of Phase One is to build an organization capable of supporting its growth plans.  This phase also serves as a planning period for Dare to Run’s two major growth phases: developing programs in 12 states and training approximately 20,000 women to run for public office during its first year of inception.

Phase 2: Full Execution of Growth Plan

The objective of Phase Two is to reach at least 5,000 women in each of three clusters by 2019.  During this phase, Dare to Run expects to open 2-3 training institutes every 6 months. Dare to Run has identified the following key milestones that must be achieved before moving from Phase #1 to Phase #2.  To read more about key success factors and potential risks that Dare to Run may face, see Appendix D.  

The Dare to Run Board of Directors is responsible for establishing broad policies that affect all Dare to Run Training Programs, advocating Dare to Run’s mission, and providing strategic guidance for the organization.  Dare to Run will hire two program directors to develop the curriculum for its program participants.  In addition, Dare to Run will hire two communications directors who will develop marketing and social media materials for communications associates working in each of the 12 states.  

Long-Term Strategies for Funding the Dare to Run Program

 The Long-Term Strategies for funding the Dare to Run Program do certainly extend beyond the receipt of this grant.  Our primary methods of fundraising for FY 2023 include, but are not limited to the following:

• Corporate Grants – we are aiming to receive at least $20,000 in additional external corporate grants throughout the year.
• Social Media Fundraising – we are aiming to have at least 10-12 online fundraisers throughout the year that are hosted by board members, advisory council members and other supporters in the Dare to Run Community.  In 2022, we had at least 7 online fundraisers that performed very well throughout the year.
• Cultivation of Monthly Givers– our goal this year is to cultivate at least 100 new monthly donors for Dare to Run.  We will do this by making connections online and encouraging people to support the program in a virtual capacity through online fundraising. 
• DTR Program Revenue – We are also aiming to have 100 participants in the 2023 Virtual Women’s Leadership Program and an additional 25 participants in the 2023 In Person Women’s leadership Program.  Altogether, that generates an additional $100,000 in revenue for the program in the first semester and an additional $25,000 in revenue for the second semester beginning in January 2024. 
• Board Member Annual Contributions – Ideally, all board members will be able to fundraise at least $500 annually for the program.  We were very successful in doing that last year.  Multiple board members held fundraisers online and were able to bring in good amounts of revenue.  That is definitely a long-term strategy for 2023 and beyond.  

I think it could add value by encouraging us to expand our models surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion for all of our staff and students and also encouraging us to look at new ways to bring this program to the women who can stand to gain from it in a long term capacity. I think those are just some of the many ways in which Dare to Run can benefit from this program