Over the course of Sagac’s 20 years in business, we’ve learned a few things. In honor of our 20th Anniversary, below are 20 habits that separate top-performing political action committees from the rest.
High-functioning PACs:
1. Actively engage organization leadership in the PAC’s activities.
2. Have written roles and responsibilities for PAC Board members, utilize them for fundraising efforts and encourage PAC Board members to personally contribute.
3. Have written strategic goals and objectives with a written plan to achieve them.
4. Establish a unique, recognizable brand and voice for the program, including a written mission statement.
5. Share information about the PAC and its activities to promote transparency.
6. Create and distribute written policies and procedures for PAC operations (i.e., disbursement criteria).
7. Have a PAC website that is updated regularly, is behind a password-protected firewall and allows prospects to join online.
8. Create suggested levels of giving (i.e., donor clubs) for prospective donors.
9. Offer corresponding benefits to donors like public recognition, special events, thank-you gifts, insider information and charitable matching programs, differentiating benefit value by giving level.
10. Send every donor a thank-you letter or email.
11. Distribute regular news and insider information to eligibles.
12. Understand the eligible class and have their contact information available.
13. Send communications focusing on educating eligibles about the PAC.
14. Use email as a solicitation tool and utilize a multi-channel communication approach to supplement email (i.e., direct mail, social media, in-person events and presentations, videos, peer-to-peer programs, phone calls and text messaging).
15. Utilize targeted senders and messages for specific audiences.
16. Train staff, PAC Board members, organization leaders and volunteer fundraisers in legal compliance and fundraising activities annually.
17. Have a peer-to-peer program in place, including formally recruited volunteers, pre-written materials, training and a set schedule and goals.
18. Perform an annual assessment of PAC governance, planning, transparency, fundraising, financial and compliance management and human resources.
19. Use specific metrics to annually evaluate the PAC (i.e., receipts, participation, bank reconciliation, reporting deadlines and board activities).
20. Make compliance a priority (i.e., bank reconciliation, third-party expenditure review and written accounting policies and practices).
How many are you doing? Contact us today and let us help you close the gaps.
info@sagac.com | 866-521-0900
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