Category Archives: Grassroots Organizing
11 Strategy Questions You Have to Answer Before You Build Your Grassroots and PAC Capacity
I am seeing a lot of turn-key tools for grassroots professionals who need to give their grassroots volunteers something to do. I agree that volunteers need to have clear direction on the best activities to build awareness of your issue and your organization before elected officials and opinion leaders. However, doing that in absence of a strategy simply takes us farther along the “activity without results” road.
People tend to make strategy harder than it needs to be. Nevertheless, the reality is that strategy is about future-oriented vision and it’s also about actionable, tactical things. There are several questions that move logically from the first to the last that can help you develop strategy which leads to appropriate grassroots advocacy plans…
Get Fresh Insights on Your PAC and Grassroots Challenges at the I2M Town Hall
Do you want instant feedback on your PAC and grassroots program challenges? Then join us at Innovate to Motivate’s® D.C. Town Halls on June 30.
Innovate to Motivate® (I2M) is an annual conference for veteran political involvement professionals. They challenge themselves through a rigorous conference curriculum of PAC and grassroots productivity topics, the science of influence as it relates to PAC and grassroots, and professional development content. A hallmark of the annual I2M conferences is information sharing among the nation’s most experienced PAC and grassroots professionals thought our Grassroots and PAC Town Halls.
How does a Town Hall work? Why should I attend?
Town Halls are candid discussions and idea sharing among your peers where…
We’ve Been Thinking…
Here’s our take on the draft of ethics as created by Stephanie Vance, Anne Darconte, Les Francis, Chris Arterton (GWU Graduate School of Political Management), Tim Hysom (Congressional Management Foundation) and others.
The Checklist for Your Next Grassroots and/or PAC Change Initiative
Anytime we are attempting to increase grassroots involvement or PAC participation, we need to be (if you are doing it correctly) aware of change management principles. Although we think of change management as gargantuan programs promoted by senior management, new PAC and grassroots initiatives also fall into this category.
Resistance is a natural phenomenon, so we must stop asking ourselves,” Why don’t they get it?”, and start doing the things that will help them “get it.”
The main issue is not the program proposal in the graphically appealing Power Point presentation, it’s usually in the implementation, or lack of it.
Here is my quick checklist for successful implementation of your change initiatives:
1. Sponsorship. This is the single most critical factor. Do the implementers…
From Resistance to Resources: How to Gain Internal Support, Status and Money for Your Grassroots and PAC Programs: Part Four
Emphasis on Results Rather than Activity
One of my Fortune 100 corporate clients wanted to expand their broad-based and key contact grassroots network. However, rather than taking a numerical approach to measuring their success, they were more concerned about finding the right employees with the right legislator relationships.
They did not care if an employee was best friends with the chairman of the Agriculture Committee. They wanted people with contacts on the Ways and Means and Appropriations Committees, and that is where we focused our efforts.
Did it take longer and require more phone calls and research than simply taking a “WB” (Warm Body) approach? Yes, but now they have employees who are willing and able to meet with key Members of Congress.
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