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Copyright American Society of Association Executives Aug 1999
"Connecting with elected officials isn't always about money; it has much more to do with cultivating longterm relationships," stated Carl Silverberg, a member of ASAE's Legislative Summit Committee and moderator of the recent ASAE Legislative Summit breakout session "OnePerson GR Shop: Getting the Most Bang for Your Buck." Presenters Gary Nordlinger, president, Nordlinger Associates, ([email protected]) and Howard Marlowe, president, Marlowe & Company, (marlowe@mail. netlobby.com) both of Washington, D.C., discussed five ways associations with significant government relations needs but limited resources can still develop effective government relations programs.
1. Understand the legislative process. Learn all you can-from seminars, the press, and experiences of peers-about how the legislative process works. And always be attuned to breaking events and analyze how they'll affect your membership.
2. Build a relationship. The most important resource to a legislator is time. To cultivate a longterm relationship, start by making your message short, direct, and on point. Take the time to find out what is in the legislator's best interest as well. Once you've made face-to-face contact, stay in touch: Send a thank-you note, identify the staff member who will be working on your issue and follow up often with him or her, "accidentally" bump into members of Congress, and generally be persistent.
3. Involve members more effectively. With the advent of e-mail, grassroots efforts have been gaining momentum. Organize your members, their employees, and your suppliers not only to use the Internet to reach legislators, but to pay loca ...