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For many, the 2020 conference was one of the last in-person events they attended, and now in 2022, it’s the first time for many of us being back in a hotel ballroom (or, in #PAC22’s case, a poolside cabana). And can we just say - it was so great to be back in person. We want to cover takeaways from the fantastic sessions from the conference in this blog, but our most important takeaway was truly how good it was to be back. While few would call a conference restful, the Quorum team left Fort Lauderdale rejuvenated and refreshed because we could see friends again, not just through a Zoom screen. We can't wait to do it all again in just a few weeks at the Advocacy Conference in Austin. Let us know if you'll be there! Here are some of our key lessons from speakers at the PAC conference sessions that will help your team level up: 1. Educate Your Eligible Class on the Makeup of the PAC Board— The PAC board is a representative sample of your organization’s eligible class from different departments within the organization. For Jeanne Slade, the Director of Political Affairs at the American College of Emergency Physicians, a crucial part of building confidence among their eligible class in the work of the PAC was to show that “it’s a board of people just like them making the decisions on what’s best.” It isn’t an unknown group of team members in political affairs making all the decisions on how the PAC disburses funds — its people in roles just like them. 2. Share Your Annual Reports Widely (Even Beyond the Eligible Class)— With the events of January 6th, employees and members at many organizations became more aware and concerned about the efforts of the PAC, even if they aren’t eligible to donate. As a result, Capital One shared that they began distributing their annual report with team members down to the Associate level to keep them in the loop. 3. Virtual Events Probably Aren’t Here to Stay— From the perspective of both political fundraisers and PAC managers, virtual events are one result of the pandemic that won’t stick around. Political fundraisers Justin Davey and Ashlee Reid Morehouse noted that their clients on the candidate side aren’t seeking out virtual events moving forward (and Republicans, in particular, haven’t done them in a while). An unexpected takeaway was that it wasn’t any cheaper for Davey and Morehouse to run virtual events than in-person events because they used mailing and gifts to try and replace some of the engaging parts of an in-person event. 4. Build Relationships with Consultants on the Candidate Side Through Transparency— Morehouse and Davey mentioned that the best way to work with them is to be transparent on your budget and goals. Schedule meetings with consultants who work for the members you are giving to and bring your budget. They’ll be able to help tell you how to get the most bang for your buck, and the candidate can better budget for their campaign with knowledge of what they can expect to receive from different PACs. 5. Consider Running PAC Campaign Ideas by ERGs To Get Buy-In— Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are significantly increasing in the PAC space. One of the strategies PAC leaders should adopt is to use the leaders of Employee Resource Groups or Affinity Groups as a sounding board for feedback on a PAC campaign before it launches (assuming that the leaders of those groups are in your eligible class). This gets additional perspective on your campaign and builds your ERG leaders into champions of the PAC internally. For Janelle McClure at Best Buy, this was critical following January 6th. When employees had questions about the PAC, the ERG leaders were vocal supporters and helped clarify the role of the PAC to employees who weren’t as familiar with it. 6. Look at Past Engagement with the PAC to Find Ideal Leaders for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising— Many organizations at #PAC22 have found success in increasing participation through peer-to-peer fundraising. With this strategy, members of the eligible lass receive outreach from peers they know within the organization rather than hearing only from high-level executives or PAC managers. So how do you find peers to lead that outreach? Look to who has engaged the most in the past, not only in their giving amounts but in attending events, reaching out with questions to the PAC team, or team members whose departments and roles are particularly impacted by the policies the team is advocating for. 7. Allow Donors to Choose Which Party They Want Their Donations Sent To— This strategy allows the PAC to remain bipartisan but allows donors from your organization to align their donations to their values. 8. Consider a 1:1 Campaign to Double Participation— Sempra Energy set out on a campaign to get every existing PAC member to recruit one person from the eligible class to become a new member. This decentralized peer-to-peer recruitment strategy makes the ask for each member feel attainable but significantly impacts your bottom line. Along with learning from the week’s fantastic speakers, Quorum was thrilled to have the opportunity to share with the PAC community in person that Quorum has acquired CisionPAC and is building the future of PAC management software. 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For many, the 2020 conference was one of the last in-person events they attended, and now in 2022, it’s the first time for many of us being back in a hotel ballroom (or, in #PAC22’s case, a poolside cabana). And can we just say - it was so great to be back in person. We want to cover takeaways from the fantastic sessions from the conference in this blog, but our most important takeaway was truly how good it was to be back. While few would call a conference restful, the Quorum team left Fort Lauderdale rejuvenated and refreshed because we could see friends again, not just through a Zoom screen. We can't wait to do it all again in just a few weeks at the Advocacy Conference in Austin. Let us know if you'll be there! Here are some of our key lessons from speakers at the PAC conference sessions that will help your team level up: 1. Educate Your Eligible Class on the Makeup of the PAC Board— The PAC board is a representative sample of your organization’s eligible class from different departments within the organization. For Jeanne Slade, the Director of Political Affairs at the American College of Emergency Physicians, a crucial part of building confidence among their eligible class in the work of the PAC was to show that “it’s a board of people just like them making the decisions on what’s best.” It isn’t an unknown group of team members in political affairs making all the decisions on how the PAC disburses funds — its people in roles just like them. 2. Share Your Annual Reports Widely (Even Beyond the Eligible Class)— With the events of January 6th, employees and members at many organizations became more aware and concerned about the efforts of the PAC, even if they aren’t eligible to donate. As a result, Capital One shared that they began distributing their annual report with team members down to the Associate level to keep them in the loop. 3. Virtual Events Probably Aren’t Here to Stay— From the perspective of both political fundraisers and PAC managers, virtual events are one result of the pandemic that won’t stick around. Political fundraisers Justin Davey and Ashlee Reid Morehouse noted that their clients on the candidate side aren’t seeking out virtual events moving forward (and Republicans, in particular, haven’t done them in a while). An unexpected takeaway was that it wasn’t any cheaper for Davey and Morehouse to run virtual events than in-person events because they used mailing and gifts to try and replace some of the engaging parts of an in-person event. 4. Build Relationships with Consultants on the Candidate Side Through Transparency— Morehouse and Davey mentioned that the best way to work with them is to be transparent on your budget and goals. Schedule meetings with consultants who work for the members you are giving to and bring your budget. They’ll be able to help tell you how to get the most bang for your buck, and the candidate can better budget for their campaign with knowledge of what they can expect to receive from different PACs. 5. Consider Running PAC Campaign Ideas by ERGs To Get Buy-In— Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are significantly increasing in the PAC space. One of the strategies PAC leaders should adopt is to use the leaders of Employee Resource Groups or Affinity Groups as a sounding board for feedback on a PAC campaign before it launches (assuming that the leaders of those groups are in your eligible class). This gets additional perspective on your campaign and builds your ERG leaders into champions of the PAC internally. For Janelle McClure at Best Buy, this was critical following January 6th. When employees had questions about the PAC, the ERG leaders were vocal supporters and helped clarify the role of the PAC to employees who weren’t as familiar with it. 6. Look at Past Engagement with the PAC to Find Ideal Leaders for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising— Many organizations at #PAC22 have found success in increasing participation through peer-to-peer fundraising. With this strategy, members of the eligible lass receive outreach from peers they know within the organization rather than hearing only from high-level executives or PAC managers. So how do you find peers to lead that outreach? Look to who has engaged the most in the past, not only in their giving amounts but in attending events, reaching out with questions to the PAC team, or team members whose departments and roles are particularly impacted by the policies the team is advocating for. 7. Allow Donors to Choose Which Party They Want Their Donations Sent To— This strategy allows the PAC to remain bipartisan but allows donors from your organization to align their donations to their values. 8. Consider a 1:1 Campaign to Double Participation— Sempra Energy set out on a campaign to get every existing PAC member to recruit one person from the eligible class to become a new member. This decentralized peer-to-peer recruitment strategy makes the ask for each member feel attainable but significantly impacts your bottom line. Along with learning from the week’s fantastic speakers, Quorum was thrilled to have the opportunity to share with the PAC community in person that Quorum has acquired CisionPAC and is building the future of PAC management software. 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For many, the 2020 conference was one of the last in-person events they attended, and now in 2022, it’s the first time for many of us being back in a hotel ballroom (or, in #PAC22’s case, a poolside cabana). And can we just say - it was so great to be back in person. We want to cover takeaways from the fantastic sessions from the conference in this blog, but our most important takeaway was truly how good it was to be back. While few would call a conference restful, the Quorum team left Fort Lauderdale rejuvenated and refreshed because we could see friends again, not just through a Zoom screen. We can't wait to do it all again in just a few weeks at the Advocacy Conference in Austin. Let us know if you'll be there! Here are some of our key lessons from speakers at the PAC conference sessions that will help your team level up: 1. Educate Your Eligible Class on the Makeup of the PAC Board— The PAC board is a representative sample of your organization’s eligible class from different departments within the organization. For Jeanne Slade, the Director of Political Affairs at the American College of Emergency Physicians, a crucial part of building confidence among their eligible class in the work of the PAC was to show that “it’s a board of people just like them making the decisions on what’s best.” It isn’t an unknown group of team members in political affairs making all the decisions on how the PAC disburses funds — its people in roles just like them. 2. Share Your Annual Reports Widely (Even Beyond the Eligible Class)— With the events of January 6th, employees and members at many organizations became more aware and concerned about the efforts of the PAC, even if they aren’t eligible to donate. As a result, Capital One shared that they began distributing their annual report with team members down to the Associate level to keep them in the loop. 3. Virtual Events Probably Aren’t Here to Stay— From the perspective of both political fundraisers and PAC managers, virtual events are one result of the pandemic that won’t stick around. Political fundraisers Justin Davey and Ashlee Reid Morehouse noted that their clients on the candidate side aren’t seeking out virtual events moving forward (and Republicans, in particular, haven’t done them in a while). An unexpected takeaway was that it wasn’t any cheaper for Davey and Morehouse to run virtual events than in-person events because they used mailing and gifts to try and replace some of the engaging parts of an in-person event. 4. Build Relationships with Consultants on the Candidate Side Through Transparency— Morehouse and Davey mentioned that the best way to work with them is to be transparent on your budget and goals. Schedule meetings with consultants who work for the members you are giving to and bring your budget. They’ll be able to help tell you how to get the most bang for your buck, and the candidate can better budget for their campaign with knowledge of what they can expect to receive from different PACs. 5. Consider Running PAC Campaign Ideas by ERGs To Get Buy-In— Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are significantly increasing in the PAC space. One of the strategies PAC leaders should adopt is to use the leaders of Employee Resource Groups or Affinity Groups as a sounding board for feedback on a PAC campaign before it launches (assuming that the leaders of those groups are in your eligible class). This gets additional perspective on your campaign and builds your ERG leaders into champions of the PAC internally. For Janelle McClure at Best Buy, this was critical following January 6th. When employees had questions about the PAC, the ERG leaders were vocal supporters and helped clarify the role of the PAC to employees who weren’t as familiar with it. 6. Look at Past Engagement with the PAC to Find Ideal Leaders for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising— Many organizations at #PAC22 have found success in increasing participation through peer-to-peer fundraising. With this strategy, members of the eligible lass receive outreach from peers they know within the organization rather than hearing only from high-level executives or PAC managers. So how do you find peers to lead that outreach? Look to who has engaged the most in the past, not only in their giving amounts but in attending events, reaching out with questions to the PAC team, or team members whose departments and roles are particularly impacted by the policies the team is advocating for. 7. Allow Donors to Choose Which Party They Want Their Donations Sent To— This strategy allows the PAC to remain bipartisan but allows donors from your organization to align their donations to their values. 8. Consider a 1:1 Campaign to Double Participation— Sempra Energy set out on a campaign to get every existing PAC member to recruit one person from the eligible class to become a new member. This decentralized peer-to-peer recruitment strategy makes the ask for each member feel attainable but significantly impacts your bottom line. Along with learning from the week’s fantastic speakers, Quorum was thrilled to have the opportunity to share with the PAC community in person that Quorum has acquired CisionPAC and is building the future of PAC management software. 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!!! 6487
Blog

Conferences are Back — and We’re So Grateful

Theresa Hebert
Mar 16, 2022
Conferences are Back — and We’re So Grateful

The National PAC Conference has, in some ways, bookended the pandemic. For many, the 2020 conference was one of the last in-person events they attended, and now in 2022, it’s the first time for many of us being back in a hotel ballroom (or, in #PAC22’s case, a poolside cabana).

And can we just say – it was so great to be back in person. We want to cover takeaways from the fantastic sessions from the conference in this blog, but our most important takeaway was truly how good it was to be back. While few would call a conference restful, the Quorum team left Fort Lauderdale rejuvenated and refreshed because we could see friends again, not just through a Zoom screen. We can’t wait to do it all again in just a few weeks at the Advocacy Conference in Austin. Let us know if you’ll be there!

Here are some of our key lessons from speakers at the PAC conference sessions that will help your team level up:

1. Educate Your Eligible Class on the Makeup of the PAC Board— The PAC board is a representative sample of your organization’s eligible class from different departments within the organization. For Jeanne Slade, the Director of Political Affairs at the American College of Emergency Physicians, a crucial part of building confidence among their eligible class in the work of the PAC was to show that “it’s a board of people just like them making the decisions on what’s best.” It isn’t an unknown group of team members in political affairs making all the decisions on how the PAC disburses funds — its people in roles just like them.

2. Share Your Annual Reports Widely (Even Beyond the Eligible Class)— With the events of January 6th, employees and members at many organizations became more aware and concerned about the efforts of the PAC, even if they aren’t eligible to donate. As a result, Capital One shared that they began distributing their annual report with team members down to the Associate level to keep them in the loop.

3. Virtual Events Probably Aren’t Here to Stay— From the perspective of both political fundraisers and PAC managers, virtual events are one result of the pandemic that won’t stick around. Political fundraisers Justin Davey and Ashlee Reid Morehouse noted that their clients on the candidate side aren’t seeking out virtual events moving forward (and Republicans, in particular, haven’t done them in a while). An unexpected takeaway was that it wasn’t any cheaper for Davey and Morehouse to run virtual events than in-person events because they used mailing and gifts to try and replace some of the engaging parts of an in-person event.

4. Build Relationships with Consultants on the Candidate Side Through Transparency— Morehouse and Davey mentioned that the best way to work with them is to be transparent on your budget and goals. Schedule meetings with consultants who work for the members you are giving to and bring your budget. They’ll be able to help tell you how to get the most bang for your buck, and the candidate can better budget for their campaign with knowledge of what they can expect to receive from different PACs.

5. Consider Running PAC Campaign Ideas by ERGs To Get Buy-In— Diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are significantly increasing in the PAC space. One of the strategies PAC leaders should adopt is to use the leaders of Employee Resource Groups or Affinity Groups as a sounding board for feedback on a PAC campaign before it launches (assuming that the leaders of those groups are in your eligible class). This gets additional perspective on your campaign and builds your ERG leaders into champions of the PAC internally. For Janelle McClure at Best Buy, this was critical following January 6th. When employees had questions about the PAC, the ERG leaders were vocal supporters and helped clarify the role of the PAC to employees who weren’t as familiar with it.

6. Look at Past Engagement with the PAC to Find Ideal Leaders for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising— Many organizations at #PAC22 have found success in increasing participation through peer-to-peer fundraising. With this strategy, members of the eligible lass receive outreach from peers they know within the organization rather than hearing only from high-level executives or PAC managers. So how do you find peers to lead that outreach? Look to who has engaged the most in the past, not only in their giving amounts but in attending events, reaching out with questions to the PAC team, or team members whose departments and roles are particularly impacted by the policies the team is advocating for.

7. Allow Donors to Choose Which Party They Want Their Donations Sent To— This strategy allows the PAC to remain bipartisan but allows donors from your organization to align their donations to their values.

8. Consider a 1:1 Campaign to Double Participation— Sempra Energy set out on a campaign to get every existing PAC member to recruit one person from the eligible class to become a new member. This decentralized peer-to-peer recruitment strategy makes the ask for each member feel attainable but significantly impacts your bottom line.

Along with learning from the week’s fantastic speakers, Quorum was thrilled to have the opportunity to share with the PAC community in person that Quorum has acquired CisionPAC and is building the future of PAC management software. If you missed it, here’s a look at our announcement video: