When running for governor, candidates know that it is vital to understand and discuss issues that are important to voters, otherwise known as their potential constituents. As an organization advocating for PN-3 issues, you know that your issues matter to families in your state. A critical role you can play in the gubernatorial election process is connecting candidates to directly impacted people in your state who would be supported by your policy solutions. There are many ways to do this, most of which are public-facing, but there is also a behind-the-scenes tactic that can be very effective – grassroots meetings with candidates.
If planning to conduct grassroots meetings with gubernatorial candidates, keep in mind that you must offer meetings to all candidates running for governor. You can select different groups of constituents to meet with various candidates — picking people who will resonate with each candidate — but the opportunities being offered to each candidate must be equivalent.
Why Hold Grassroots Meetings with Candidates?
Grassroots meetings with candidates are an important tool that demonstrates to those running for governor that PN-3 issues impact voters in your state, and that voters care about these issues and want to see action. When setting up grassroots meetings with candidates, have clear goals that align with the overarching goal. This can include using storytelling to educate candidates about the real impacts of your issues on people in your state and, as a result, increase their support for your issues.
Grassroots meetings can also serve as a back-door approach to elevate your issue as a part of the public narrative. When candidates are better informed about an issue, and especially when they have a voter’s personal story to point to as an example, they are more likely to speak publicly about it.
How to make the most of grassroots meetings with candidates or their staff?
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- Do your homework. To have an effective meeting, you must know where the candidate stands on your issues.
- Have they made public statements or been endorsed by relevant organizations in your space? Are they or have they been an elected official, and if so, have they taken votes on your issues?
- Do your homework. To have an effective meeting, you must know where the candidate stands on your issues.
- If a gubernatorial candidate’s schedule does not allow for a meeting, consider engaging with senior campaign staff, such as a policy director or campaign manager, who often help shape the candidate’s policy agenda.
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- Identify your goal(s). You may have both a primary and secondary goal for your grassroots meeting; your goal(s) should be clear and specific.
- How knowledgeable is the candidate about your issue? Customize the issue education you provide to their level of knowledge and experience with your issues.
- Although this is an educational meeting, you should prepare an “ask” for the meeting; for example, raising the importance of this issue publicly.
- Select meeting participants. Identify voters/potential constituents who are affected by your issues.
- For grassroots meetings, you are looking to identify people who are personally impacted by your issues and willing to share their stories. This could include SNAP participants , Early Head Start providers, workers with a paid family and medical leave story, or parents of young children.
- Decide on the most compelling stories/storytellers based on what you learned about where they stand on your issues.
- Identify your goal(s). You may have both a primary and secondary goal for your grassroots meeting; your goal(s) should be clear and specific.
- The NCIT Technical Assistance portal is free and available to all NCIT members seeking support in identifying and cultivating relationships with grassroots advocates. Connect with us here to begin a discussion about how we can best support your advocacy.
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- Prepare in advance. Build your meeting structure around your goal.
- Identify who will run the meeting.
- Ensure a clear speaking order.
- Prepare an agenda with time allotments for each speaker.
- Request a meeting. Candidates have busy campaign schedules, especially if they are currently in office. When requesting a meeting, reach out to the campaign office and include:
- Your name, organizational name, and that you are facilitating a meeting with people in your state impacted by the issue you work on.
- What you want to talk about.
- Prepare in advance. Build your meeting structure around your goal.
- Please note: it’s important to reach out to their campaign office when discussing an issue in the context of their campaign, not their official office (i.e., not their legislative office), if they are already in office.
- During the meeting.
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- Be on time. Campaign schedules are busy, so the meeting could be as brief as 20-30 minutes.
- Be concise and follow the agenda. Because meetings can be brief, you want to make sure you have time to cover the most important points, the personal story, and your ask.
- Listen to their position and answer their questions. Once you have made your ask, listen to the candidate’s response, which can indicate their level of support for your issue. Answer their questions to the best of your ability in the meeting, but don’t be afraid to say that you’ll get back to them promptly if necessary.
- Leave behind materials on your issues. At the end of the meeting, be sure to share a policy one-pager and potentially other materials that outlines your issues.
- Note: Do not publicize which candidates your organization does or does not meet with. Posting photos online, or telling reporters who accepted your invitation, will be viewed by the IRS as the organization’s attempt to inform voters which candidates are good or bad on your issues. Similarly, if the candidate wants to take photos of the meeting, you must ask them not to post them, as the lack of context will make it appear that your organization is helping only that candidate.
Important Considerations
- As a 501(c)(3) organization, it is essential that your actions not be political or partisan in nature, meaning that your actions and communications cannot be reasonably viewed as favoring or opposing a candidate or political party.
- In practice, this means you can explain your organization’s position on policy issues, provide candidates with materials on those issues, and pose questions about the candidate’s position. Notably, you must offer to meet with and provide information to all candidates on an equal basis.
- Please note that the organizations cannot praise or thank a candidate for adopting its policy position nor criticize a candidate for not doing so. Similarly, an organization cannot ask candidates to publicly pledge that they will implement the organization’s policy if elected, as that would be tantamount to a tacit endorsement by the organization.
