Giving Political Thanks

We make a lot on this blog that there is so much more that can be done with the level of political discourse, civic engagement, and strategic thinking when it comes to getting involved in politics. 

For a minute, let's look at all we have to be thankful for politically -

- We have the right to complain about what is happening
- We have the ability to make changes to what is going on
- We can freely work together with others who are like minded and want change
- We can take issues that aren't popular, aren't fully understood, and make them important
- We take our opportunities that we make in the industry
- We take the time to learn about our system and how to change it
- We make a difference in our communities
- We make our leaders listen to us

Not every country has those rights, and we should be thankful we have them.

And the best way to show our thanks to those who came before us to help ensure that we had those rights is to NEVER surrender them to government control.

FOLLOW US
Facebook
Twitter

5 Quick Ideas - Outreach to Community Leaders

One of the most overlooked components of an organization's success is its perception and support within the community.  This goes for both the community it represents, and the community where it is located.  This is an important distinction, however the process of being engaged and effective in these communities is the same.

The best way to address this opportunity is to follow these steps -

1) Ask yourself - What opportunities exist in your communities?  What spaces do you need to be in, in order to be effective?  Who do you need to know in the community?  Who will be important in making those connections and opportunities for you?

2) Start With Elected Officials - They are probably the easiest group to identify and contact.  Your city council, local school board (don't overlook them), your state representatives, your members of congress - whomever is elected in your area - they are your first group to outreach to.  More importantly, they can recommend who else you should speak with.

3) Reach Out To Community Organizations - Fraternal organizations, business organizations, the chamber of commerce, local philanthropic organizations and the like typically house the community leaders in some capacity.  Knowing how to engage with them, and where to engage with them, is an important aspect of building that rapport with them.  Also consider church groups as many have greater influence than you've previously considered in the communities.

4) Talk To Your Affiliates - Whether that is a supplier, a business organization, an affiliated industry, or just people you've worked with in the community.  Bring them in to help you figure out where you need to connect.  They can also be helpful in making those connections.

5) Have An Offer - You don't want to start any relationship with an ask.  So instead plan to have something you can offer.  A business offering, a community resource, or just an opportunity to help.  Starting with an offer helps make your approach seem much more communal than self serving.

Reaching out to community leaders is simple, it's just taking the steps to officially do it that will matter.  Make sure your efforts are engaging, interesting and easy to support.

FOLLOW US
Facebook
Twitter

5 Quick Ideas - Gathering Data with a Focus Group

One of the more overlooked opportunities for gathering information by associations is the Focus Group.

Whether you call it a "roundtable" a "discussion" or a "focus group," a small group format of discussing issues is essential to getting more feedback than you can get in many other forums.  The reason is simple - its in person.

A Temperature Taking Survey gives you self selected participants who have an interest.  A poll gives you a random sampling - but with a distance between you and the poll taker.  A focus group puts the respondent in the room, comfortable, and in front of you.  So how do you do it correctly?

PLAN THE CONVERSATION AHEAD - One of the biggest mistakes that people make while doing focus groups is that they don't effectively plan ahead for the conversation.  Sure you've got your questions, but what are the ways that the answers can go?  How can the conversation get derailed? How can you get the group back on track?  And what should you allow exploration of when discussing these issues?  There are lots of opportunities that you can take to make sure you get the best responses necessary.

SEGMENT YOUR GROUPS - Know who the audiences are and try to group them together.  If you want to gauge the reaction of age groups, put them in separate age ranges.  If there are certain market segments you want to test, put them together.  Whatever you are trying to look for, get those people together, the organic discussion grows better together.

PLAN FOR CRAZY - No matter how well you screen, there are things you just can't be totally sure of until you're in the moment.  There will be someone who dominates the conversation - plan how to politely include others.  There will be someone who wont come out of their shell - plan how you are going to engage them.  There will be something that happened to someone in the room that is clouding their thoughts - plan how to get them off of their personal or singular experience and get them back on topic.  Some talk show host will have said something that day that resonates with someone on a level you can't begin to imagine having ANY impact on your issue, but in their mind "it's all related" - plan how you disassociate from their crazy train.

GET MULTIPLE OBSERVATIONS - You will be focused on the conversation, and you may be able to get a good handle on the discussion, but there are things you wont catch.  Have other people there to catch the participant who "bristles" at your suggestion, or the participant who gives non verbal cues as to what they are thinking.  This is more about gauging reaction than getting Quantifiable Data.  Focus groups are what is called Qualitative Data.  You test your quantifiable with the qualitative.  And together you can compare the notes.  However a quick warning - too many people in the room becomes overwhelming.  That's why you see the rooms with the one way mirrors.

CONSIDER A FOLLOW UP SESSION - You may have a few people who are very passionate in their responses.  However their responses may not match what the responses were from a different segment.  Sometimes it is useful to see how the groups work these discussions out.  Often you can refine broader messages by getting the reactions of cross sections of respondents.

These efforts are essential for getting your direction and messages right.  However more often than not, they are under-utilized by organizations seeking clarity on their actions.  Data is the key to making the right moves with the right acceptance levels.  use the research methods available to you to become more successful and you will be glad that you did.

FOLLOW US -
Twitter
Facebook

5 Quick Ideas - Gathering Data Taking a Temperature

Every issue you undertake requires a background knowledge about a given issue, topic, or idea.  Knowing what to do in response to an issue, requires information to make a correct decision.

This section of 5 Quick Ideas will include information about different types of information to gather, but this post in particular focuses on getting a basic read on an issue - the gut reaction, or the temperature - from given audiences.

How to take this quick temperature is more art than science.  However knowing how to artfully broach a subject that is challenging for many is an important step for getting meaningful reactions.

IDEA 1 - KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO ASK
Before you ask anyone, give some thought as to what you want to ask, ways to ask it, and test it out with a few individuals to get their reaction to how you ask a question.  Spend a little time refining your question so that when you go to get a read it is a true reflection of the audience opinion.

IDEA 2 - KNOW WHO YOU ARE ASKING
The better you can parse the groups you are taking the temperature, the better.  Whether there is a geographical divide, a partisan divide, a business sector divide, etc. on an issue, know that before you go in and figure out how to read the reactions

IDEA 3 - ASK FOR FOLLOW UP
A temperature read isn't something that will give you a clear cut indication of support or position on an issue, but instead a reaction.  It will reveal thoughts, concerns and questions.  Whenever possible, offer ways for people to follow back after further reflection.

IDEA 4 - KNOW WHY YOU'RE ASKING
What is the next step?  A survey, a poll, focus groups, cluster groups, etc.  The purpose of the temperature gauge is to refine further data gathering so you get useful information.  Guide your efforts towards that.

IDEA 5 - LET PEOPLE KNOW WHAT IS NEXT
People don't want to feel like their input is going into a void, but that there will be more follow up, make sure the people you ask know about what to do next, and what to look for next.  They may also prove to be a great resource for the right group to follow up with for additional respondents or participants in your issue research.

The Pew Research Center has a great primer on how to gather survey data - which is often what taking a temperature is - that could help you further understand in greater depth how to move towards useful and valid data.

FOLLOW US:
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

The Devils in the Details

One of the hottest issues hitting local government right now is addressing the issues of short term rental housing.  Or - how cities can regulate VRBO, AirBnB, HomeAway, etc.

The issues are more or less the same in every community.  Too many parties.  Too many cars.  Too loud too late.  Too many on my block.  Or some combination / variation thereof.

There are a number of arguments that we can go through here from Property Rights to Community Integrity.  Not the purpose of this post.

On the October 20, 2015 city council agenda the City of Anaheim decided to address this issue through extending their moratorium on issuing any new permits related to any vacation rental homes.

Sounds innocuous enough right? I mean sure, it's anti-business, but its a measure to take while you are studying the issue and impact and figuring out the best course for the city moving forward.

There is just one small problem with their proposal.  There are plenty of these rentals that already exist.

And if you read in the details of the proposal, they plan to deny any of the permits related to such businesses - INCLUDING the renewal of business licenses, existing conditional use permits, or any permits for planning building or construction.

Let me translate that -

• If your annual business license is up for renewal in the next six months - you just lost your business
• If your conditional use permit is up for renewal - you just lost your conditional use permit and your business
• If your water heater breaks and you need a permit to put a new one in - you just lost your business

You read that right.  In an attempt to stop any NEW businesses while they address this issue, they effectively said all existing ones would be shut down if they come up for any work with the government in the next six months.

The question you have to ask yourself is - what little things like that are being snuck in on you and your business?

5 Quick Ideas - Project Planning

Just as with Long Term Planning and Short Term Planning, projects demand their own plan.  The thing about project planning is it is the best opportunity you could have to build your involvement base.

As has been mentioned elsewhere, volunteerism is down... everywhere.  And while there have been many theories posed as to why this is, nothing has really been offered as a way to solve this.  Project Planning is your best bet, and here's why -

A project has a specific task, requires people to be involved, gives them defined and accomplish-able tasks, and best of all... it ends.

So being successful with project means you can bring more people in long term to meet the demands of larger more involved aspects of your organization.  If you do it right.

This means -

IDEA 1 - HAVE A CLEAR OBJECTIVE
Every undertaking should have a clear objective.  Spend time knowing exactly what the outcome you want is, and all of the elements of that.  For instance, if you are putting on an educational forum, you want to test:

• How many people should attend
• How much money you should raise from tickets
• How much money you should raise from sponsorships
• What kind of publicity you want to get out of your effort
• What takeaways do you want people to have from your effort
• What objectives you can accomplish in relationship to your overall plan

Knowing your desired outcome not only allows you to figure out your plans of how to get there, but allows you clear understandable expectations for people to accomplish.

IDEA 2 - CREATE CLEAR RESPONSIBILITIES
Assuming youve set your clear objective, and all the sub-objectives you can consider, your path to success should be easier because you will know what the metrics for success are, as well as what you can accomplish.

Use this opportunity to break down what needs to be accomplished into pieces that others can take on.  Give them CLEAR directions of what you expect, as well as ideas of how to accomplish those goals, and move them forward from there.

IDEA 3 - CHECK IN REGULARLY
Clear objectives are great, as long as someone follows through.  People are more apt to achieve their goals if:

• You provide them clear expectations
• You provide them the tools to accomplish those expectations
• You make sure you are checking up on them so that they know they need to meet those expectations

No one wants to say "I didnt do it" publicly.  Capitalize on that fact.

IDEA 4 - GIVE UP CONTROL OF EVEN SOME BIG THINGS
Face it, your role is to manage here.  So give up control of things to others.  They will perform if you keep on them.  Give up control of some BIG things too.  The trust you place in others will come back ten fold.  And trust that it will get there.

IDEA 5 - NOTHING IS EVER PERFECT, BUT ONLY YOU WILL NOTICE
We've all heard stories about brides breaking down because of some miniscule detail being overlooked at their wedding.  The cake was too tall, we used the wrong silverware, the flower arrangements werent perfect.

Yeah they happen, and it wasnt what you expected.  But no one else knows that.  And they never will unless you make them.

Project planning is an incredible opportunity to test those involved with your organization.  Dont let these opportunities pass you by.

FOLLOW US:
TWITTER
FACEBOOK

5 Quick Ideas - Short Term Planning

In any Long Term Plan, you realize the need for some short term plans to achieve goals.  Doing so means bringing in a focused plan to meet a specific need in the short term.  Short term planning as a result is different than long term planning because it focuses on steps toward a destination.
Developing your short term plans becomes easy:

IDEA 1 - KNOW YOUR GOAL
Not just what are you trying to accomplish, but what should it look like, how will it work, what opportunities are likely to arise, how are you going to be able to capitalize on those opportunities, when will you know if you've been successful?

Each of these elements will determine how your short term plan will take shape

IDEA 2 - KNOW YOUR TIMING
Where does this fit in with the overall plan, and are there other activities going on that could conflict with your plans?

IDEA 3 - INCORPORATE OTHER ACTIVITIES
One of the reasons that organizations feel over burdened is because they work in silos too often.  However if you can expand your presence and bring in more departments, activities, efforts, communications, outreaches, etc., then you can start to encourage more success and participation from other areas of the organization.  And they may be doing things that work well with what your goals are in your short term plan.

IDEA 4 - BUILD AND PREP
What was the short term plan just before this?  What is the next one likely to be?  How can you build smart transitions between these efforts?

The idea is that once you are gaining success and support from other efforts, it is only natural to build upon that and bring them in to other works you are doing.  Building your plan on the foundation of what came before, and setting up the efforts that are going to come next is what makes you the most successful.

IDEA 5 - RECOGNIZE YOUR HELP

Often we remember to recognize people at the end of the year.  Start moving your recognition up to projects, events, short term, and other points where people can see that there is a great team on a regular basis making things happen.  This also gives you the opportunity to make sure your volunteers are still engaged.

Short term planning is what makes long term planning successful.  Be sure to incorporate these strategies on the short term to make sure your long term efforts work.

FOLLOW US
TWITTER
FACEBOOK

5 Quick Ideas - Planning for the Long Term

Finding success comes after having a long term plan and figuring out the steps to get there.  The long term plan also helps your organization navigate the sudden immediate distractions.  However planning can be a very esoteric thing.  Here are some quick ideas to keep you grounded in your planning.

IDEA 1 - ALWAYS START WITH A DESTINATION IN MIND
What do you want to be?  The best, the biggest, the most effective, the most talked about, the most exclusive... what?  Setting your sights will help you figure out the best way to get to where you need to go.

IDEA 2 - CLARIFYING YOUR MISSION STATEMENT vs. YOUR DESTINATION
Most organizations get caught in the difference between these two.  Its very easy to know / tell the difference.

Your mission statement is what you do
Your destination is knowing where you want to take what you do

Example:
Mission Statement - "To represent my members and be the voice of the industry."
Destination - To be recognized as the leading authority in our industry with the media, the public, and elected officials.

IDEA 3 - ESTABLISH INTERIM STEPS / GOALS TO GET TO YOUR DESTINATION
Each effort you undertake in your process should have goals that can be measured, and metrics that need to be met.  However these goals / steps should build off of one another and reinforce the ultimate destination.

IDEA 4 - SET REASONABLE TIMELINES
Expecting overnight success is unrealistic.  Setting your priorities on successfully navigating toward your goal will help bring everyone along through the process.  Otherwise you run the risk of disappointment and lost momentum.

IDEA 5 - SET CLEAR EXPECTATIONS
Simply put your efforts can not be that of one person, or the entire organization will fail you.  Instead make sure there are clear responsibilities for everyone to accomplish - and make sure those responsibilities are ones that those people are able to accomplish.  Assigning responsibilities needs to be reflective of the different skills and influences that people have.  Doing so ensures that everyone succeeds in these efforts together.

Everyone says volunteerism is way down everywhere.  It is, but one thing that is way up is the most common response given when asked why people didnt do something - "Because No One Ever Asked."
Granted you may have asked, but what this tells you is your ask isn't being heard.  Make the asks as direct as you can so there is no way they can say "I was never asked."

The more you are able to successfully engage more people in a given process, the more they will buy in to its success.  The right plan will bring all of those elements together to make sure your plan has success.

Follow Us:
TWITTER
FACEBOOK

5 Quick Ideas - Addressing the Prioirites of Others

One of the interesting things you run into after defining your issues in your efforts and knowing what is most important to your organization is the fact that you've got some great ideas, well narrowed down, and ready to go... but which one do you start with?

Here's where the Government Affairs Program loses control over its success somewhat - because it is subject not just to what is important to you.

So here are some quick questions and ideas to re-harness that control -

WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY PRIORITY? - More importantly, where do your issues coincide with those priorities?  Simply put, finding success through partnership is more valuable than fighting the tide, especially early on in the process.

WHAT ARE THE PRIORITIES OF THE DECISION MAKERS? - If you are working against your elected officials - or the people who are making the decisions on your issue - you are going to have a difficult path.  Is there an issue you can work on with them, or convince them on, to become more successful in your efforts?

WHAT PRIORITIES DO YOU SHARE WITH OTHERS? - Are there partner organizations, affiliates, or advocates that are also looking to promote ideas similar to yours? Can you work with them on this?  Can you share resources?

WHAT ARE YOUR OPPONENTS PRIORITIES? - Knowing where those on the other side are coming from - and if possible the amount of resources they are ready to commit to this issue - will help you figure out if you are ready for that fight, or if you need to build up success in other areas?

HOW WELL DO PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES? - Face it, you are in the mix of this issue.  You know it inside and out.  You've studied it, researched it - you almost feel you've beaten it to death.  Here's the thing... no one else has that level of familiarity with this issue.  Knowing whether or not people even understand your issues is essential in knowing you need to put your issue forward.

These quick thoughts will help you define and promote your issue.

 Previous Posts About Issues and Priorities:
ISSUES THAT DEFINE YOU
SETTING YOUR POLICY PRIORITIES

Follow us:
Facebook
Twitter

5 Quick Ideas - Setting Your Policy Priorities

Now that you know what you are working on, knowing how and when to work on them is even more important.  It is about setting priorities, and knowing how to do it is key.

A great place to start a quick and easy understanding of how to set priorities is the Center for Creative Leadership's guidebook on Setting Priorities.  From there you can look at the issues you have and start your process -

1. Start with what is most important to your members - What is the core issue that matters to them?  if you don't know, do some outreach - surveys, questionnaires, one on one interviews... get feedback.
2. Figure out if one issue depends on another - Finding out if one issue will have better success if something else is in place is an important piece in finding success.  Putting the pieces in order will help you accomplish this goal.
3. Determine if the issue needs to be broken down into pieces - Some issues are too big to be taken all at once.  And without a lot of clout behind your organization - or success in the past - you aren't going to be able to tackle the big initiative with ease.  That isn't to say you can't do it, but maybe its better to break it down into pieces and tackle them one at a time.
4. Is it "Core" to your mission? - Slightly different than what is most important to your members is the relationship your issues have with your mission.  In other words, how central is the issue to what your organization accomplishes?  Is it essential to move that to the front?
5. Flexibility will determine your success - In the next installment we cover some of the things that may change what is possible priority wise.  But for now, think about how flexible you can be on your issues.  Can you reorder them based on what is possible?  Being able to do so may help you find real success.

Move the Ball

Keep in mind, what is important to your organization is still important.  And the mission critical and member demanded items are your first priority publicly.  Remind people what your goal is constantly, even if its not what you are currently working on.

Success doesn't mean that your issue is passed in the manner you expect in a time frame you dictate.

Success is measured by your ability to move the ball.

Recapping September

September, as you've probably seen, has marked somewhat of a re-commitment to sharing what we've learned at Government Affairs Strategies while working with local, state, and national and international organizations in their advocacy efforts.

Here is a quick run down of what we've published this month -

• How Quickly You Can Change Your PAC Culture - one of the most integral pieces of your advocacy program is your Political Action Committee and how your organization treats that committee.
• Protecting the Trust People Give Your Organization - without the support and trust of the community, your work will always be suspect.
• Managing Your Contact Database - In this era of inter-connectivity, mass communication, and social media, contact interaction has changed, and there are many tools to assist you in managing yours.
• The Future Of Advocacy - the changing landscape of advocacy is such that if you do not evolve into new directions, you are just swallowed up by the noise of it all.

In September, we also introduced a new series we are publishing - "5 Quick Ideas", aimed at assisting associations in the development of their government affairs programs.  Hoping for this to be a twice-weekly update, this series is intended to give you a quick 5 ideas that can build upon your program, and hopefully direct you in different resources and thoughts on accomplishing those goals -

• Building Your Government Affairs Program
• Courting Lasting and Influential Leadership
• Defining Your Issues

 As we move into October, if you have any ideas of what you'd like to see in these updates, please share them with us -

Chip Ahlswede - chip@gastrategies.com
Meredith Weisel - meredith@gastrategies.com

Have a great start to your month, and don't forget to follow us -

TWITTER
FACEBOOK

How You're Going To Lose Your Future Advocacy Efforts

Advocacy has fundamentally changed.  We've all seen it.  What worked even 2 years ago, isn't necessarily effective anymore.

• Letter campaigns are now screened for harmful substances and are not timely.
• "Call Your Congressman" campaigns result in ticks for an up or down vote only.
• Email campaigns are almost ignored if they look like they are mass-produced.
• Congress members and staffers are less trusting of advocacy groups.
• Fly-ins are costly, difficult to manage, and only a few people are there.

However this is how just about every organization addresses their advocacy.  You need to keep doing this and add to the discussion. Your effort is an important addition to the noise, but its not enough.

Some have some creative alternative ideas -

• Meeting their elected officials "in their districts" meaning at their local offices.
• Working with local staff to get the message delivered back to capitol staff.
• Attending local events in support of the elected official.

These are all examples of a great next step.  The problem is most organizations stop there.  And it STILL isn't enough.

The problem honestly is, they are only hearing from YOU.  Your issue, your problem, your message.  The more organizations fill the space talking about only themselves and their own issues, the less impacting your advocacy efforts are going to be.

Being effective in the future will mean bringing in groups that aren't your members, your peers, your industry, your influence group.  Being effective will mean bringing in other groups to speak on your behalf:

• Coalitions
• Affiliated groups
• Leaders outside your core group

Truth be told, in a few years that too will not be enough, because everyone else will be doing that.

If you are going to stay the same, you are going to lose as you get swallowed up by the noise.  You need to change, evolve, and be two steps ahead of the pack.

Money will only be able to go so far in politics.  Efforts can only be so effective.  If you want to truly succeed long term, you need to be planning now for what your effort will look like in several years.

5 Quick Ideas - Building A Government Affairs Program That Lasts

Getting a government affairs program off the ground is a challenge.  Undoubtedly the people you have involved are invested - which is mostly great.  The part where it isn't great is where support could challenge your program's success.

The following ideas should help you figure out how to properly start -

1. CHECK THE EGOS AT THE DOOR - The biggest threat to the program is the personalities of those involved.  The goal is to benefit the organization, not the individuals.  As such, everyone involved needs to buy into that fact, and commit / reaffirm it every time you work together.
2. ALSO, CHECK YOUR POLITICS - It's GREAT that your volunteer know the State Senator from the area.  What isn't great is that your volunteer pushes that Senator's political agenda.  This applies to political parties, other organizations, or philosophical viewpoints as well.  The politics of your organization center on your issues, and your issues are what impacts your organization.
3. ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES - You can find a reason why any issue impacts your core beliefs.  However getting launched into fights that aren't yours will divide your supporters and lead to the demise of your effort.
4. START WITH AGREEMENT - President Reagan and Speaker O'Neill often found agreement despite having diametrically different political views by simply starting where they agreed, and worked to the details where they differed.  It wasn't perfect, but it was an approach that moved towards more success than failure.
5. SYNTHESIZE YOUR MESSAGE - The reason you are going through this effort is to represent an interest.  The only way to spread the message is to make it easier to understand.  Whenever you leave your meetings, agree on a simple statement of what was accomplished, and promote it to everyone you want to support your effort.

There are many keys to success, but these 5 will make create the information that you can build upon.

The Proper Care and Feeding of Contact Relationships

The most successful government affairs programs center around a strong contact database.  Whether you are looking to change policy, increase your PAC, or build coalitions, your contact database is going to be the key to unlocking success with other people in your efforts.

Simply put the deeper your reach, the more effective you can be in your efforts.  Influence depends on trust, reach, and support.  A broad contact database can provide you with the ability to influence others to support your efforts.

So where do you start in these efforts?

1. YOUR CURRENT LIST - Who do you know to start with, and how can you get a hold of them?  Sure you've got their work phone numbers, but do you have their home phones, cell phones, email addresses (including personal), or other ways to get messages to them?  
1. Do you have them organized into contact groups - meaning if you need to quickly get a message to a group of people quickly, can you get a blast out without looking up a bunch of people?  
2. Do you know how to get a hold of them on social media?
3. No idea how to figure this out? - Check out the RAP Index
2. YOUR MAIN AUDIENCE - Whether that is your employees, core volunteers,
   
   membership, leadership, or key businesses, the best place to start is there.  Obviously knowing how to communicate to them is key, but more importantly, you want to know who they influence:
1. Do they know elected officials, community leaders, business leaders?
2. Are they "influencers" to certain groups either within your audience or the community in general?
3. Are they willing to promote your messages for you?
4. No idea how to engage them?  Check out NationBuilder
3.  YOUR CORE LEADERS - Slightly different than your broad organization here we mean your people that will take the message out for you.  The ones you can empower with tools like Aristotle to build that PAC and grassroots presence.
4. COMMUNITY LEADERS - Where are your holes?  You know who your members are and who they influence, but who is important that you can't get to quickly?  This list could be elected officials you don't have a relationship with, or large businesses / organizations in town that have a strong reach / influence. How can you get to them?  Have you looked at resources such as CapWiz to assist you in this?
5. MEDIA - Do you maintain an active media list for your organization?  By active we mean actually engaged with them and connected through social media and the like.  One of the core resources for this is Vocus.
6. YOUR INFLUENCER'S INFLUENCERS - Who do the people you are trying to convince engage with online?  And can you reach out to and incorporate them?

Next comes the act of engaging with them.

The secret that social media doesn't want to admit is - just because you have 2500 friends on Facebook... that doesn't mean you have 2500 friends.

Friends, whether online or in real life, require attention.  Otherwise your contacts are the online equivalent of that guy who ordered beer ahead of you at a hosted bar event that you made a joke about getting more free tickets with.

The good news is attention can be given in many different ways online to cultivate that relationship. Here are a few simple ways that wont take a lot of time for you

• "liking" updates and photos
• Commenting on people's updates (It doesn't have to be much, just a "good info")
• Sharing other people's updates when appropriate (dont share other people's kid's info
• Putting up an update that you tag people in (because they may be interested)
• Promoting your updates / posts / etc. in areas where they would be interested
• Creating smart links (shortened URLs using a service like Bitly) so that your updates could be shared
• Dropping them a quick "Hey, how are you doing?" type message

Thinking about those same 2500 contacts - If you liked 10 updates, put in 10 comments on updates, shared 10 more, tagged 10 people in your update, sent 10 people a "hey how are you?" message each day - all of which would take you less than 5 minutes in a day - You would have a person touch to all 2500 every 2 months.

That is how you cultivate those relationships.

How Quickly Can You Build a PAC Fundraising Culture?

Today I am off to Beautiful Downtown Tempe.  Home of theArizona State University Sun Devils, and my well spent College Years.  My Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house may be gone from Alpha Drive, but the lessons I learned there live on.

One of those lessons was that organizations operate off of a culture.  If you're a jock, you're in the jock house, and you do jock things.  If you don't care about something, your peers aren't going to care about something, and therefore that something wont get done.  It's just kind of how organizations work.

I also learned that just because you operated one way, it didn't mean you couldn't shift.  Cultures Can Change!

So I will be meeting with a business group today that has a historical culture of NOT raising PAC funds.

• Their member participation rate was low
• Their total dollars raised per year was low
• Their dollars per contributor rate was low
• Their awareness of the PAC was low

So much so that I was repeatedly told for years that it wasn't that THEIR participation was lacking, it was that their participation reflected the state's participation in political engagement in ANY form.

This was a very convenient excuse because it sounded reasonable.  It's a state culture, not ours.  Regardless of whether or not that was true, its what they believed.

So several years ago I set about to help them change that culture.  Population wise its a good sized state, political influence wise it is a strong state, and even presence on the national stage, it is a strong state.  So why couldn't this group too become a more influential state when it comes to the PAC?

We started with a simple question - How can we change the culture here?

In examining exactly how they can shift the culture, we started with a small plan to get the leadership more engaged, to pass that through the organization, to the industry leaders, and out to the general members to become a stronger PAC state.

So what kind of results have we had?

• Every chapter in the state has improved their fundraising year over year in terms of participation rates and dollars raised by up to seven times in some chapters
• The state has improved its overall fundraising rates by about 20% year over year the past two years
• So far in 2015 they have raised 20% more than they did in all of 2014 with 4 months to go in the year.
• In less than 2 years they have increased their participation rate and fundraising totals by 50% each.

So how did they do it?  What changed?  What was the catalyst?

They each committed to trying and did try new things. 

Not everything worked, but nothing was catastrophic as they feared.  And they learned that they could accomplish something by just trying.

They still have a ways to go to meet their goals, but the culture has shifted, and provided they keep up the work, the culture will have permanently changed for their organization.

Four Months Left

September
October
November
December

That's it.  That's all you've got left of 2015.  Did you get all you needed done?  What do you have left?

You need to set up 2 plans -

One plan to address what you are going to do for the rest of this year to meet your goals.

One plan to figure out what you can get done in 2016.

Let us know how we can help you.

Stepping up YOUR game

Congressional Quarterly just released several interesting reports examining the 2014 election cycle.

Associations: 5 Big Movers from CQ Roll Call

The goal is examining what associations have fundamentally advanced their political efforts (combining lobbying and PAC spending).  The National Association of REALTORS topped their list (REALTORS also topped the CQ list of PAC fundraising and spending)

Government Affairs Strategies, LLC has been pleased to be part of the team that helped make this a reality for the past 5 years.  We know the hard work and dedication that went into this success.

So what would it mean to take YOURS organization to this level? It comes down to several key things -

1) Commitment - this took many years, a lot of time, and a great deal of money. The results are clear, but to get there you must be ready to commit. We've also worked with organizations that weren't ready to commit, and their results are also clear. So look internally and ask if you are ready to implement the necessary strategies and steps to succeed.

2) Awareness - the REALTORS have always been strong. Where they are today however took a realization that a) the game has changed, and b) they need to make fundamental changes to remain strong. They were also aware that there was a lot they didn't know - even about their own oeganization and members - so they assembled the right team to figure it out.

3) Ever-growing goals - You can not rest on your laurels. If you do, it gives everyone a chance to catch up, or worse - surpass you. By setting attainable yet challenging goals that evolve, you are able to stay ahead of the curve.

4) The RIGHT team - all the plans and goals you make are pointless if you don't have a good team behind them making sure those plans and goals are accomplished. Get the right volunteers, the right members, the right staff and the right consultants in place. Build the needed resources. Empower everyone to succeed.

We've been honored to help drive the REALTORS to success. It truly has been a great experience. 

-- oh, and by the way, we know what's in store for the future there... And you ain't seen NOTHIN' yet!

Half a month to get back to it?

So turns out we took a bit of time off around the holidays. Why? Because this was the kind of year that dictated it.

Which means we had a lot of catching up to do the past few weeks. A lot.  Which requires a lot of attention.

So now that we are back I even keel for the year, what's next?

Well we are dividing the big projects first -

- new website

- new systems

- new clients

And we are focusing on our core successes -

- strategic planning

- public affairs development

- PAC fundraising success

And just like we have repeated over and over through the last few years - 

We are developing a very precise strategic plan. 

We know where our success will be. What are you doing to ensure yours?

Somewhere Between Nike and Fast Times at Ridgemont High

The most common type of resistance we encounter to starting something new is a fear of it not working out, or people opposing the idea.

Here's the thing, no matter what it is:

- It's not going to be perfect 

- It's not going to be the ideal effort

- It's going to ruffle feathers

Here's the other thing:

It's exponentially better than doing nothing.

The key is you have to just try.

So how do you come away with a victory?

- Plan as best you can for most contingencies.

- Communicate about it.  A lot.

- Engage as many people as you can in the process (because they will bring others along).

- Make everyone feel like they are a critical part of the effort.

Last - remember back to "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and learn from Vic Damone's special five point plan -

"... Now three, act like wherever you are, that's the place to be, 'isn't this great?'"

After the fact, no one will remember the tiny detail that drove you nuts. No one will remember the complaining that led into the effort.

What they will remember is the attitude of the day - and then they will want to make it even better next time.

But again the key is you have to try.