Grassroots vs. Grasstops Advocacy: What Is the Difference?

In the world of public affairs, advocacy strategies often fall into two buckets: the power of the people (grassroots) and the power of influencers (grasstops). While these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, understanding the distinct mechanics of each—and how modern tools like AI have evolved them—is critical for building a winning campaign.

Here is the difference between grassroots and grasstops advocacy, and how you can leverage both to drive policy impact.

What Is Grasstops Advocacy?

Grasstops advocacy focuses on identifying and mobilizing individuals who hold high status, significant influence, or existing relationships with the politicians you need to persuade.

Rather than relying on volume, grasstops advocacy leverages personal and professional connections. These “grasstops” advocates might include:

• Former legislators or staffers.
• Community leaders and business executives.
• Celebrities or major donors with social clout.

The power behind this approach comes from the natural inclination of decision-makers to listen to peers or those they perceive as having high status.

What Is Grassroots Advocacy?

Grassroots advocacy relies on the collective voice of everyday people in a community who are passionate about a cause.

The success of a grassroots campaign lies in strength in numbers. When a large group of constituents advocates in a coordinated way, it signals to legislators that an issue is critical to their reelection and the well-being of their district.

Grassroots vs. Grasstops: Which Should You Choose?

While distinct, these strategies are not mutually exclusive. The most successful modern advocacy programs often integrate both.

• Choose Grasstops when you need to sway a legislator who responds well to a single, authoritative voice or when you need to navigate complex political nuances behind closed doors.
• Choose Grassroots when targeting legislators who prioritize constituent needs or when you need to create broad public momentum during the early stages of a campaign.

The Role of AI in Advocacy Selection

In 2026, you no longer have to guess who your best advocates are. Tools like Quincy, Quorum’s AI assistant, can help you instantly scan legislative dialogue and social media to identify which stakeholders (grasstops) already have the ear of your target legislator. Similarly, AI can segment your grassroots lists to find the most active constituents in a specific district, ensuring your outreach is targeted and effective.

Overcoming the Challenges of Advocacy

Both methods come with inherent challenges. Here is how you can solve them using modern strategies and tools.

1. Combating Campaign Fatigue

The Challenge: Your advocates have lives outside of your campaign. Over-relying on the same small group for every email blast or fly-in leads to burnout.

The Solution: Rotate your advocates and vary their roles. Don’t ask for a “heavy lift” every time.

• Gamification: Use tools like Quorum’s Action Centers to gamify advocacy. Leaderboards and badges for taking simple actions can keep engagement high without making every ask feel like a burden.
• Segmentation: Use data to ensure you are only activating the specific advocates needed for a specific bill, rather than blasting your entire list.

2. Ensuring Authenticity

The Challenge: If every advocate delivers a templated, copy-pasted message, legislators may tune them out. Lack of authenticity makes your movement feel manufactured.

The Solution: Empower your supporters to tell their own stories.

• Personalized Messaging: Use Quincy to help advocates generate unique, personalized messages that blend your campaign’s talking points with their personal voice.
• Video Advocacy: Video has become a critical tool for humanizing policy. Quorum Grassroots Video tools allow supporters to easily record and submit authentic testimonials that you can share directly with lawmakers.

3. Improving Advocate Training

The Challenge: Most everyday citizens are not professional lobbyists. They may not know how to effectively persuade a legislator or navigate a Hill meeting.

The Solution: Provide accessible, “bite-sized” training.

• Digital Resources: Offer crash courses or simple one-pagers via your Action Center before they meet with officials.
• Mobile Prep: Ensure your advocates have access to legislator bios and talking points on their mobile devices, so they are never unprepared when walking into a meeting.

Final Thoughts

While grasstops advocacy relies on the concentrated power of high-profile relationships and grassroots advocacy plays upon the volume of the electorate, both play a vital role in a successful 2026 strategy. By understanding these differences—and leveraging AI to identify and equip your advocates—you can build a unified data-driven strategy that moves the needle.

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