Cultivating relationships with elected officials

A successful government relations program focuses on building relationships with elected officials before asking them for something.

Fundraisers have figured this out. Seldom do development officers meet random strangers and ask them for $10,000 gifts in the first conversation. They take careful steps to build regard and understanding.

How do you build a relationship with an elected official? Start first with an introductory meeting to introduce elected officials to your organization and its cause. Before you pick up the phone, though, there are a few things you need to consider:

Use your surrogates to build relationships. Remember, surrogates are respected members of the community who can carry your message. Based on your research, find the right surrogate to accompany you on your visit and be sure to reference the surrogates when you call to make your appointment.

Ask for advice. Heed an adage I lived by during my fundraising days: "Ask for money, and you'll get advice. Ask for advice, and you'll get money."

Use the introductory meeting to ask the elected official for advice on how you can be successful with your advocacy goals.  Some key questions to ask:

• How can we achieve our objective?
• What's the process for our objective?
• What are our chances for success?
• What can we do to bolster our case?
• Who else do we need to meet with?

Follow up.  Immediately send a follow-up note and have your surrogates do the same. After the meeting, take any steps the elected official recommended. For added follow-up, invite your elected official to tour your facility or attend an event you may be hosting.

Research elected officials to find the best route

After identifying the elected officials who can help you, carefully research them to find what "makes them tick."

Some questions to answer:

• Does the official have a record of supporting your cause?
• Does he/she have a family?
• What's his/her profession?
• What are key votes and stances he/she has taken?

A simple Google search can give you a lot of information, but don't forget to check local newspapers' online archives along with campaign and government websites.

Project VoteSmart is a is a non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes a plethora of information on candidates for federal and state offices. It is perhaps the most comprehensive source of information on elected officials, providing background information, issue positions, voting records, campaign finances, interest group ratings, and speeches and public statements.

Use that information to tailor a pitch to the official. Here's an example:

Together Home is a non-profit that depends on state funding to keep homeless families together. Through research, their executive director found out that Republican Rep. Johnny Taylor, their local legislator, is an attorney and has three kids.

The ED of Together Home can use this information to her advantage by:

• Asking any attorneys or Republicans connected to the organization to serve as surrogates with Rep. Taylor. Common ground can give surrogates a great leverage point.

• Analyzing Rep. Taylor's campaign finance reports to find intersection with Together Home's donor list. He is more likely to pay attention to an organization that's supported by his donors.

• Focusing on family for pitches. With three kids, family seems to be important to Rep. Taylor. Together House should focus on its work in keeping families together during tough times.

Identify the right elected officials for your advocacy needs

Identifying the right elected officials is the first step in moves management for government relations. You want to target elected officials who can get the best results for your organization. Once you identify the government entities you need to reach, there are two types of officials to identify: champions and decision-makers. 

First, determine the governing body you need to reach. Do you need funding from a county commission? An ordinance changed with the city council? Approval from a state licensing board? State statute changed by the legislature? Among the members of that body, list those who can become champions and list the decision-makers.

Champions are officials who have an already-existing affinity for your organization. Always start with elected officials who represent your organization’s district and your own district -- your councilman, commissioner, legislator, and Congressman.

Other champions can come from personal connections to your organization or cause. A little research through the Web and your internal files should yield a lot of information on elected officials. They may include:

• Donors to your organization or peer groups
• Alumni or former participants in your programs
• Outspoken advocates for your general cause
• Survivors of a disease that you research
• Officials who work in (or are retired from) your field

Decision-makers are self-explanatory; they’re the folks who decide if your proposals sink or swim. They include:

• Top leaders (mayors, commission chairmen, governors, lieutenant governors, Senate presidents pro tem, House speakers)
• Secondary leaders (mayors pro tem, majority and minority leaders, rules chairmen)
• Committee chairmen for your issue

Champions can be cultivated to introduce legislation or action on your behalf and can be cultivated as a surrogate to the decision-makers. Sometimes, your champions are also-decision makers, and that makes this process much easier.

One note: Take a multi-partisan approach to identifying elected officials to target. With few exceptions, most organizations can find support from legislators of all parties, which can come in handy in case of a sudden change of majority. Remember the adage: “There are no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.” 

The next post will give share how you can cultivate relationships with both champions and decision-makers once you’ve identified them.

Use Moves Management to build relationships with elected officials

Building close relationships with elected officials is the only way organizations can get government support. Although relationship building is tough, non-profits can use “moves management,” a proven relationship-building methodology, to get results.

The philanthropy world has figured out relationship management.  Good fundraisers don’t usually cold call complete strangers to ask for $10,000.  They expend time and energy to get to know donors before asking for money.

Most successful fundraisers use "moves management," a methodology developed by David Dunlop, retired senior development officer at Cornell University.  Dunlop designed his fundraising program to change “people's attitudes so they want to give.” 

Dunlop explains, "We take a series of initiatives or moves to develop each prospect's awareness of, knowledge of, interest in, involvement with, and commitment to the institution and its mission."

Non-profits can use the same methodology to build relationships with elected officials for both funding and policy. With a few modifications, this can become the model for a good government relations program.

The steps in Moves Management for Government Relations are:

•  Identification: Choosing which elected officials can get the best results

• Discovery: Researching each elected official to better understand "what makes them tick"

• Cultivation: Taking steps to build a relationship before asking them to do something on your behalf

• Solicitation: Formally asking the elected official to take action

• Stewardship: Showing your appreciation and maintaining support for your organization

Over the next few posts, we’ll cover each step in the moves management process and explain how you can use them to build your advocacy program.