Coordinating a PAC with a Grassroots Program

To sustain an effective PAC and grassroots program simultaneously, the program administrator(s) must explore opportunities for coordinating their organization’s PAC with the organization’s formalized “key contact” program, broadbased grassroots effort and/or general political education/civic involvement endeavors.

Why?

Because political education is the common denominator for generating employee interest in politics and for sustaining employee involvement with the PACs and grassroots. Unlike the way that most companies operate their PAC and grassroots programs, educational opportunities must transcend the artificial barriers that have been erected between most corporate PACs and grassroots programs.

By linking a PAC and a grassroots program into a broader political education effort, employees better understand the goals of both programs. Furthermore, the coordination of these programs creates a greater employee “comfort level” with the company’s political involvement activities, helps overcome the negative image which corporate management often inflicts on PACs, and reduces a portion of the work load and cost of administering two separate programs.

Does anyone advocate the complete merger of both efforts? Not generally. Such a move could be counterproductive. For starters, a federal PAC, by law, must restrict participation. Grassroots programs do not have legally mandated eligibility requirements. If the PAC and grassroots programs were combined into a single entity, the company would have to prohibit all employees who are ineligible for the PAC from becoming involved in its grassroots efforts. Equally important, PACs, by their very nature, face enemies and cynics. Some employees are alienated by the mere concept of political action committees, others by the candidates their company’s PAC has selected, and a few simply resent the request for a portion of their paychecks. Grassroots programs, on the other hand, do not come burdened with negatives. These non-partisan, non-monetary involvement programs ask little more of an employee than to study an issue, take a stand, and respond accordingly. The complete merger of these two programs would merge the PAC’s inherent negatives directly into the grassroots program’s image. It is preferable to maintain two distinct programs with two different names.

Structure and Administration

To avoid any “competition,” have one administrator oversee both the PAC and the grassroots program.

Conducting grassroots-lobbying activities under the auspices of the PAC (where there is no separate, identifiable grassroots program) can be cost-effective and less confusing to employees — but can present limitations.

Recruitment

Include a mention of the company’s grassroots program and its activities in PAC contributors’ thank-you notes. (Except for key-contacts with specific assignments, the reverse does not apply. Mentioning the PAC in a grassroots communication may lead employees to believe that the grassroots program is merely a vehicle for PAC solicitation.)

When recruiting for a grassroots program, send a tailored letter to current PAC member acknowledging them as “special” and more political aware and active.

Solicit for the PAC and make membership in the grassroots program automatic. Produce materials that talk about the synergism between both efforts. Follow up with a grassroots program recruitment (no mention of the PAC) to allow them to share information (political inventory) or to opt out of the program. (A federal PAC may only solicit restricted class (unless the twice-yearly option is chosen). (States allow broader PAC solicitation.)

Automatically place PAC members on the grassroots mailing list. (Drawback: Recruiting additional grassroots participants could mean singling out and targeting non-PAC members. But like the PAC, subsequent recruitment efforts can be directed to all employees — regardless of whether they are currently grassroots participants or not.)

Include a PAC enrollment card/PAC informational brochure with informational packet (or a chapter in a grassroots manual) for newly-assigned grassroots key contacts. (Do not formally solicit them for the PAC.) (This technique does not apply to broadbased grassroots programs.)

Develop a grassroots/issues video with a PAC information/solicitation trailer. The video should illustrate the common goals of both programs. The longer version, with the PAC ending, is shown only to PAC eligibles. The shorter version is viewed by all others.

Discuss a grassroots success story in a PAC endorsement/solicitation letter and train PAC solicitors to talk about how a specific grassroots effort, coupled with PAC support, made a difference. The object is to illustrate how a grassroots effort benefits the corporation’s bottomline and how the PAC can further bolster bottom-line efforts.

Encourage the CEO/senior divisional officers to endorse both programs simultaneously, explaining that both programs enhance employee political knowledge and involvement, and the company’s political presence.

Invite key contacts to serve as PAC solicitors for peer groups. They have excellent first-hand experiences to share.

Automatically send a special mailing regarding the grassroots program to each employee who does not return PAC enrollment cards or who return the card checked “no.”

Approach PAC members about the possibility of serving as grassroots programs coordinators. (“Dear PAC Member: Because we value you as an active political participant…”)

Under special circumstances, recruit employees (i.e., sales force) for a consolidated PAC/grassroots program. (See next entry…) Do not offer an option for the PAC and/or the grassroots program.

Avoid soliciting for membership in two separate programs (PAC and grassroots) at the same time. Employees may view grassroots membership as an easy retreat from PAC membership.

Avoid soliciting grassroots members, by virtue of their grassroots membership, for the PAC. Otherwise, the grassroots program may cynically be viewed as nothing more than a PAC fundraising tool.

Communication and Education

Have the PAC and grassroots/political education program (which are clearly identified as separate entities with different names) share a common logo.

Incorporate a discussion about the firm’s grassroots activities into a meeting with PAC coordinators, solicitors, representatives, and candidate selection committee members.

Educate PAC-eligible employees about the distinctions and similarities of the PAC and grassroots programs. Explain why participation in both programs is desirable.

Communicate to all employees about the grassroots program’s activities as well as the PAC’s activities and purpose. (Legally, federal PAC communications to ineligible employees must be limited to informational or educational materials. They may not recommend, suggest or allude to membership.) Use the restrictive “twice-yearly” provision of the federal campaign finance law to communicate to all employees about the benefits of PAC membership.

Have the grassroots program and the PAC jointly sponsor “good government” events: voter registration, get-out-the-vote activities, presentations by public officials, meet-the-candidate events, debates, issue forums, etc. Use banners, posters, flyers, cafeteria tent cards, and newsletter articles featuring the names of the PAC and the grassroots program. Or, divide activities where, for example, the PAC gets political events, the grassroots program gets legislative events.

Insert your company’s PAC news memo or newsletter into a broader grassroots/issues/political education newsletter. In addition to being more cost-effective (compared to sending two separate newsletters), employees will more clearly see the common goals that link the two functions. This technique still allows PAC contributors to be recognized and rewarded for their PAC participation. (Non-PAC participants do not receive the PAC insert.) PAC news, which by itself can be dry, is much more interesting when combined with the more exciting issues/grassroots news.

Choose PAC department coordinators/solicitors from among your active grassroots membership.

Invite all PAC-eligible grassroots members, whether they are currently PAC members or not, to observe a PAC candidate selection session.

Activation and Mobilization

Ask key contacts for evaluations of candidates from their assigned legislative territories.

Send special, tailored grassroots call-to-action alerts to PAC members. This pat-on-the-back message should encourage a greater response rate. (“Dear PAC Member: Because we recognize you as among our company’s most politically active employees, we are calling on you to…”)

Recognizing that PAC participants are often the most politically aware and active employees, recruit key contacts from within your PAC membership. (This is an instance where one employee’s limited access to internal company PAC membership data, if handled through the proper PAC administrator, may prove very beneficial.)

Ask key contacts to deliver PAC checks and/or attend local or Washington fund-raising events. (Even if the key contact is not a PAC member, it is hoped that he or she will quickly witness the value of the PAC.)

Allow broadbased grassroots members to deliver PAC checks to candidates.

Never insist that a key contact must be a PAC member before he or she is allowed to distribute a PAC check — especially if the key contact responsibility is mandated in his or her job description

Reward and Recognition

If a key contact arranges a plant visit, ask him or her to arrange a special event at which PAC members can meet privately with the public/elected official.

Consider a gift that identifies employees as participants in both the PAC and the grassroots program.

Conduct special events limited to PAC and/or grassroots program members only.

Ask PAC and grassroots members to organize and conduct civic, educational and political events.

Conclusion

As PAC and grassroots administrators struggle to maintain momentum, the key is before them. Perpetuating employee political involvement efforts will mean packaging a firm’s political activities into an easily-recognized, management-supported, bottom-line endeavor.