Running on better communication? Prove it.
Almost every HOA challenger runs on the same platform: nobody tells us anything. It is a good platform, and it is hard to believe from a flyer taped to a mailbox. So demonstrate it during the campaign.
Lantern gives HOA board candidates a free community space for their campaign. Post priorities, answer questions in the open, and host events with RSVPs. The space is labeled community-run, so it never looks like official HOA communication. If the board adopts Lantern later, everything carries over.
Who this is for: Homeowners running for an HOA board seat who want to show better communication, not just promise it.
Flyers do not demonstrate transparency
The standard HOA campaign is a flyer, a reply-all email chain, and maybe a Facebook post. All three are exactly the communication style you are running against.
A board election is one of the only moments when a community genuinely reconsiders how it operates. If your pitch is that residents deserve to be informed, the campaign itself is the demonstration.
How it works
Three steps, and you are running. No procurement, no implementation project.
Post where you stand
Your priorities, in plain language, on a page neighbors can read on their phone at the mailbox.
Open a real Q&A
Let neighbors ask questions and answer them publicly. Being willing to do that is most of the argument.
Host a meet-the-candidate
Put it on a calendar with RSVPs so you know whether to bring twelve chairs or forty.
What you get
Everything below is included from the start.
Questions and real answers
Neighbors ask, you answer, everyone sees both. The format itself makes your case.
Updates that get delivered
Post an update and it goes out, instead of hoping people scroll past it in a feed.
Meet-and-greets with RSVPs
Real headcounts for coffee mornings, driveway chats, and forums.
Make the documents readable
Post the reserve study or budget with your plain-English summary next to it, so residents can follow the argument.
Slate-friendly
Running with others? Share one space so residents see a coherent group instead of three separate flyers.
It outlasts the election
Win and you already have the tool you promised. Lose and the community still has a working channel.
Play this straight
Your space is clearly labeled community-run and not official HOA communication, which is exactly what you want during a campaign. Nothing here lets you send anything that looks like it came from the association, and the current board can request removal at any time.
That constraint is a feature. Running a transparent campaign on a channel that never impersonates the HOA is a much stronger position than the alternative.
Common questions
Is this allowed? Can the current board stop me?
You are communicating with your neighbors, which residents are generally free to do. Your space is explicitly labeled community-run and cannot send official HOA communication or use association records. The sitting board can request removal, and we honor those requests.
What does it cost?
Nothing to run your campaign space.
What happens if I win?
You already have a working communication channel and the residents who used it. If the board then adopts Lantern officially, the association unlocks dues, documents, and gate access on top of what is already running.
What if I lose?
The space keeps working as a neighbor coordination tool: events, a marketplace board, Q&A. Plenty of communities end up adopting Lantern later because that habit stuck.
Can I get the homeowner roster or email list?
No. Association records belong to the association. Neighbors join your space themselves through a link or QR code you share.
Can I run as part of a slate?
Yes. Multiple candidates can share one space so residents see the group and its priorities in one place.
Set up your campaign space
Tell us about your community and your race, and we will help you get set up, free.
- Help building your candidate page and Q&A
- A link and QR code for door knocking
- Event RSVPs for meet-and-greets
- It keeps working after election night
Ready in about a minute. Prefer we set it up with you? Leave your details instead:
Other ways neighbors start
Same platform, different starting point. Pick whichever problem your community feels most.