Equality California is rolling out a big grassroots organizing and media campaign called “Win Marriage Back: Make it Real!” aimed at moving public opinion toward acceptance of same-sex marriage.

The first television ads, featuring LGBT couples talking about why marriage matters to them, will hit the airwaves Monday; EQCA executive director Geoff Kors told reporters on a conference call just now that it’s a “significant” statewide ad buy, though he wouldn’t give specific dollar amounts and markets lest he tip the campaign’s hand to same-sex marriage opponents.

But it’s not all about ads. EQCA marriage director Marc Solomon said that in the next 100 days, his group intends to deploy 25 full-time field organizers across California to provide support to thousands of grass-roots activists conducting a door-knocking public education campaign; they’re looking to train 100,000 “equality ambassadors” to spread the word.

And EQCA coalition coordinator Andrea Shorter said they intend to identify and recruit a coalition of at least 1,000 clergy members to talk with their congregations and peers about marriage equality.

“We’re not preaching to the choir – we want to have a broad-based representation of all faith traditions,” she said, not just the progressive “welcoming congregations” already on board with same-sex marriage. They’ll be looking among Baptists, Methodists, Catholics and, yes, even Mormons for clergy and congregants “who are standing up to what they’ve been told about marriage equality and are saying, ‘No.’”

More details, after the jump…

“The budget for this effort is several million dollars and we’re committed to raising the money it takes to do the work it takes,” Kors said, noting he’ll be on a conference call with major donors later today. “We have raised significant money and we need to raise a lot more.”

“Now that we have a plan and a program for moving forward, it makes it possible to raise some real significant dollars, and we’re committed to doing that,” Solomon added.

The California Supreme Court in the next few weeks will issue its ruling on the constitutionality of Proposition 8’s same-sex marriage ban; Kors said he hopes the court will invalidate the measure, but EQCA is “committed to moving public opinion no matter what the court says.”

That could mean a 2010 ballot measure to repeal Proposition 8 if the court doesn’t, Kors and Solomon said. After eight town-hall meetings across the state, Solomon said, “our evaluation is that its clear that the community here doesn’t want to wait” for 2012 “based on what we’re hearing and based on the momentum in the country” (Iowa! Maine! New Hampshire!) “so our inclination is 2010, but that’s not our decision, it’s not EQCA’s decision – it’s a decision the community at large needs to make together.”