It seems that President Trump has pulled the plug on his new blog due to low readership. Well, faithful readers, rest assured that lack of followers won’t deter me. In fact, I think the only one actually reading this is my dad. (Hi Dad!)
But I digress.
Today I want to talk about the unsung heroes of most associations’ advocacy efforts – their Key Contacts. Often called grasstops advocates, these volunteers are assigned to work with specific legislators and often have a personal connection to them. If deployed correctly, these volunteers can mean the difference between winning and losing.
I often see an association create a Key Contact program, but then underutilize it. This program should be foundational to an organization’s grassroots efforts and work hand-in-hand with a lobbying operation. I can’t overstate this – Key Contact programs should NOT be window dressing. Honestly, it’s disrespectful of a volunteer’s time not to make the most of their efforts and, even worse, it makes the association less successful. If your association isn’t using its Key Contacts to its best possible advantage, they are leaving what should be an essential element of their government affairs program on the sidelines.
Let me share an example that demonstrates the value of these programs.
My client, a very large and well-respected trade association, was opposing a bill in the state legislature sponsored by an even bigger employee union. Given the political landscape, my client was at a significant disadvantage. It was the last day of the legislative session for the year and the bill was being debated on the floor of the state Senate. In the end it came down to a single legislator, one typically inclined to support a union’s legislative agenda. In the middle of the debate, her Key Contact, a personal friend, explained to her via text message how the bill would work in practice and why that was a bad thing for her district. Finally, that senator agreed not to vote for the bill, which allowed others to do the same and the bill died, as it should have, in the waning moments of the year’s legislative session.
Without that single volunteer’s access and ability to quickly and concisely convey a persuasive message, a bad bill would have become a bad law.
If your association isn’t making the best use of its volunteers or wants to build an effective Key Contact program, reach out to me. I can help.