According to a recent study, pharmaceutical companies spend the most money on lobbying, coming in at around $5.17 billion over the past 24 years.
While this statistic isn’t very
surprising, you may be surprised to know there are different ways to lobby.
There are also different types of lobbyists.
Grassroots lobbyists differ from
other lobbyists because of how they lobby. It’s all about influencing
legislatures on a particular issue, but the method is what matters.
Read on to learn all about the role
of grassroots lobbyists.
What
Are Grassroots Lobbyists?
What is
a grass root lobbyist? Grassroots lobbying is an attempt to communicate with
the general public, asking them to contact their local, state, and federal
officials regarding particular issues.
They can be individuals or
organizations. The main goal is to influence legislation by way of public
opinion.
The term “grassroots” comes from the
idea of planting seeds of concern surrounding something specific. This helps to
grow awareness and engage more and more citizens, similar to how grass can
spread organically.
Direct
vs Indirect Lobbying
There is a significant difference
between direct and indirect lobbying, which is what sets a grassroots lobbyist
apart from those you hear about running around Washing D.C.
Direct lobbying refers to an attempt
to influence legislation by communicating with members of the legislative body.
This includes members of Congress or the Senate, as well as any government
official. This is often considered traditional lobbying.
Indirect lobbying, however, refers
to an attempt to influence legislation by affecting the opinion of the general
public. Views about a specific piece of legislation must be expressed. A call
to action to contact government officials regarding that piece of legislation
must be conducted.
Professional lobbyists and prominent
United States citizens often make up the majority of direct lobbying. On the
hand, voters and volunteers mostly make up indirect lobbying, also known as
grassroots.
Grassroots
Organizers
Many different types of
organizations can create a grassroots campaign. This includes nonprofit
organizations, interest groups, advocacy groups, trade unions, and grassroots
lobbyists.
Caused-based nonprofits often
participate in grassroots lobbying by handing out pamphlets, making calls,
sending out texts, or buying ad space to reach their supporters.
Businesses can also participate in
grassroots lobbying. This is especially true if they have a significant public
presence or deal with government appropriation or taxation. As long as the
issue they are behind matches the public interest, businesses may have far more
success with this method than with direct lobbying.
Advocacy groups, also known as
social welfare groups, often take to grassroots lobbying in the form of sit-ins
or protests. This is done to encourage their members to persuade lawmakers to
stop cutting funding for essential programs.
This is a highly effective method
for advocacy groups, but there are specific rules that need to be followed. The
advocacy group cannot be solely for lobbying purposes. Less than half of their
budget can go to grassroots causes.
It should also be noted that money
put towards grassroots lobbying is not tax-deductible.
How
Grassroots Lobbying Works
The basis of grassroots lobbying is
communicating with the public. In order to get the message about a piece of
legislation out there, grassroots lobbyists use specific channels.
They are not only trying to reach a
message to the public, but they are also asking the public to take action. This
can be done either by signing a petition, attending a rally, or contacting
their local legislators.
To do this effectively, multiple
methods are often used. Sometimes reaching people multiple times is best to
help them receive the note of urgency.
Traditional
Media
Traditional media can be used, but
this isn’t at prominent as it once was.
This involves buying ad space in
newspapers and magazines. They may also appear on talk shows and write
guest columns or op-eds on the issue at hand.
Email,
Phone Calls, and Texts
Emails, phone calls, and text
messages are still widely used today to get these messages out.
Emails are generally sent to a list
of people that are already subscribed or are known to be supporters of the
cause. To be successful, these emails need to be visual and personal. However,
they also need to clearly demonstrate the piece of legislation at hand.
Phone calls are used to spread
awareness to constituents about issues. If all goes well, you then have the
opportunity to patch them through to government officials immediately.
Sending text messages has proven to
be an effective way to get the word out. This is especially true as younger
people prefer texting to other forms of communication. The most common method
is sending peer-to-peer texts or urgent updates.
Social
Media
Of course, you can’t leave out
social media when you are discussing grassroots lobbying efforts.
There are billions of people on
these platforms across the world. Utilize it to reach tons of people by sharing
petitions on your stories and posts.
It allows you to connect with
like-minded people directly, which can help to grow your supporter base
substantially.
Your
Guide to the Grassroots Lobbyist
You’ve probably heard the term
“grassroots lobbyists” before today, but now you have a deeper knowledge of
what this actually means. Lobbying comes in different forms, but grassroots is
all about influencing the public to care about legislation so they can help be
a part of the change.
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