Outstanding Association PAC Winner – NAPEO PAC

The Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) industry is known for helping small and mid-sized businesses grow faster, retain employees, and stay focused on their core mission. It is also known for something less tangible but equally important: a deep sense of camaraderie.

Members of the National Association of Professional Organizations (NAPEO) may compete in the marketplace, but they collaborate in practice – calling one another for advice and comparing notes on complex challenges.

“Our industry really prides itself on being collaborative and tight knit,” says Chris Chaney, NAPEO’s director of public affairs.

That spirit—pun intended—shows up at conferences, where members genuinely enjoy reconnecting. It also sparked a creative PAC campaign that began with a simple, unconventional idea: what if participation came with a custom bottle of bourbon?

NAPEO’s leadership understood that a strong PAC is essential to achieving one of the association’s central strategic goals: securing a favorable policy environment for PEO success. By strengthening relationships with key lawmakers and advancing regulatory priorities that affect member businesses, the PAC helps turn strategy into results.

Members valued advocacy and understood its importance, but participation tended to hover around the same 70 committed contributors. They needed to find a fresh, compelling way to attract new donors and drum up interest in the PAC.

Through Woodford Reserve’s Distiller’s Personal Select program, NAPEO PAC purchased a barrel and created a one-of-a-kind, custom-blended bourbon available through a $1,000 contribution or pledge. A bottle from the barrel, reserved solely for PAC participants, became a tangible expression of exclusivity and shared belonging.

The idea resonated immediately because it felt authentic.

“We tend to think of ourselves as supporting the backbone of the economy, which is small businesses,” Chaney explains. “Bourbon is kind of a uniquely American liquor.”

For NAPEO Director of Federal Affairs Alex Milliken, the goal was to find something that offered value beyond the price tag. Branded headphones or mugs might check a box, but they do not create moments.

“That $50 bottle of alcohol could mean 50 times you raised your glass and celebrated with coworkers,” Milliken explains.

At conferences throughout the year, the bourbon became a visible symbol of PAC participation. Members compared tasting notes. The barrel itself traveled to events as a showpiece, drawing attention and prompting photos; even the barrel lid became a memorable gift for the NAPEO chairman.

“The bourbon provided that continual thread throughout the year,” Milliken says, bringing the conversation back to the PAC and boosting the excitement around it.

There was a noticeable uptick in enthusiasm, with members who had never previously engaged with the PAC approaching staff to learn more. The bourbon lowered barriers to conversation and made peer-to-peer outreach easier and more natural.

The results were decisive. Donor participation climbed from an annual average of 70 contributors to 120—a 70% increase. Total funds raised surpassed $177,000, setting a new annual record, and more than one-third of contributors were first-time donors.

Just as importantly, the effort reflected NAPEO’s commitment to stewardship and demonstrated that a successful campaign does not require an outsized investment, as the investment was just $10,000. “We want to be good stewards of our members’ dollars,” Milliken notes.

In the end, the barrel-select campaign demonstrated that a gift that tells a story means more than a generic giveaway.

The cherry on the top of the bourbon old-fashioned cocktail? “It was a fun campaign to execute,” Milliken says, noting that it was a relativity easy lift for staff and excited donors – both repeat givers and first timers alike.

Outstanding Corporate PAC Winner – KOCHPAC

While NAPEO PAC focused on energizing donors by appealing to community, KOCHPAC sought to tackle the challenge of engaging young potential givers.

When retirements began reshaping KOCHPAC’s core group of engaged donors, the team at KOCHPAC realized the shift meant more than a changing roster. It exposed a generational enthusiasm gap.

To tackle this gap, PAC Director Janelle Pepe said that the first, and most important, step they took was to listen.

Surveys and conversations across the organization revealed consistent feedback. These young employees enjoyed KOCHPAC events, wanted opportunities to network with business leaders and peers, and had a desire to learn more about the various Koch companies and the legislative and regulatory issues that affect them. But many did not see the PAC as something geared toward their generation.

In response, KOCHPAC developed the Young Leaders Club focusing recruitment efforts on 40-and-under employees based out of Wichita, KS, that were giving below their suggested level or PAC-eligible non-members.

The Young Leaders Club kicked off in May 2025 with an inaugural event that blended professional development and social engagement. Attendees heard directly from business leaders, participated in a mixology class, and connected with peers and leaders.

It was a great success. With a modest event budget of about $5,000, 46 employees RSVP’d for the event and 38 attended – exceeding KOCHPAC’s predicted membership goal by 88% and predicted receipts goal by 174%.

The most powerful draw, Pepe explained, was the chance for young and newer employees to engage with company leaders.

The idea was inspired in part by Koch’s Wichita internship program, where interns regularly interact with business leaders. After the interns are hired full-time, that access often diminishes—prompting KOCHPAC to create “something that would fill that void” for newer employees, Pepe said.

“This group really wanted to have access and the opportunity to network and hear from business leaders,” Pepe emphasizes.

The Young Leaders Club recreated that experience. It offered structured exposure to leadership and positioned PAC engagement as a pathway to connection—not politics.

Rather than centering messaging on political engagement, it was focused on KOCHPAC’s importance in ensuring that all Koch companies can continue delivering innovative products and services.  That purposeful messaging, coupled with visible support from business leaders, was key.

Word spread quickly.

The original goal was to recruit 33 Young Leaders Club participants and raise an additional $30,000. Instead, the program nearly doubled its participation target, with 62 employees meeting the Young Leaders Club criteria after the event. Eighteen new members joined at their suggested giving level. Twenty-nine existing members increased to their suggested level. The initiative generated more than $82,000 in new money for 2025—a 136% increase over the previous year for this demographic.

Building on this momentum, KOCHPAC has continued to host events where attendees can have coffee and conversations with CEOs and business leaders. These events have continued to drive membership in the Young Leader’s Club, with participants seeing clear value in “getting business leader exposure,” Pepe notes.

KOCHPAC board members have also embraced active participation, viewing these opportunities to engage with the next generation of the company as a meaningful use of their time.

The success in Wichita has prompted expansion plans, with the next rollout of the Young Leaders Club set for Atlanta, where Koch has another large facility.

The lesson from this campaign’s success is straightforward, Pepe underscores. “Listen to what your eligible class wants. It’s really about hearing what they want.”

She adds that different subsets of employees are going to have different priorities, and what motivates early-career professionals will likely differ from what motivates long-tenured employees.

By making PAC participation a pathway to career building, access and investment in the company’s future, KOCHPAC did more than fill a donor gap. It built a bridge to the next generation.

Building Energy and Enthusiasm

Both NAPEO and KOCHPAC succeeded because they made participation feel personal. Instead of pushing harder with traditional appeals, they stepped back and asked what their members and employees actually value. One created a reason to raise a glass together. The other created a seat at the table.

“These programs remind us that successful PAC engagement isn’t about doing more of the same—it’s about identifying what will move the needle,” emphasizes Kristin Brackemyre, vice president of member success and practice for the Council. “By aligning their strategies with their culture and their people, these teams strengthened their PACs and built experiences that energized their communities.”

“These campaigns demonstrate what strong leadership looks like in action,” notes Council President & CEO Nneka Chiazor. “Both teams understood their communities, responded with creativity, and delivered measurable results.”

Learn more about the Outstanding PAC Awards