Surefire Ways to Guarantee RPAC Success
Kelly Astarita, RCE, CAE
Executive Vice President
Ocean County Board of REALTORS®, New Jersey
RPAC and legislative successes don't happen by accident. Successful outcomes in the political arena result from careful planning and commitment. The Ocean County Board of REALTORS® has consistently been a top performer in RPAC fund-raising and legislative advocacy. To learn proven strategies to help your association achieve RPAC and legislative success, read on.
Use Resources Wisely
You can wage a successful political program with limited resources. Some associations employ full- or part-time government affairs staff, but we rely on existing volunteer and staff resources.
Grassroots involvement is critical to success. Many of our members, for example, participate in government activities through elected and appointed positions on zoning boards of adjustment, planning boards, township committees, economic development commissions, and boards of education. Our members are knowledgeable about legislative and political processes and know the players.
Commitment is another prerequisite. One of the board's top priorities is a strong legislative program. The leadership team believes legislative advocacy is a primary member benefit, and we work together to help our mem-bers achieve legislative victories. Since RPAC is the cornerstone of achieving those victories,
we employ volunteer resources through two committees—Legislative/MPAC and RPAC.
It's All in the Auction
Ocean County Board's RPAC works hard to meet our annual fair share goal of $10 per member. Last year our goal was $19,070, and we collected $25,000. It hasn't always been that easy--and it's not as easy as it looks. But we have a plan that works. We obtain RPAC contributions three ways:
1.Voluntary contribution on the annual dues billing (we encourage members to make a $15 contribution)
2.One credit toward the New Jersey Association ofREALTORS® Million Dollar Sales Club award for a $99 contribution
3.Annual RPAC auction
The first two methods don't require explanation. But here are the details on how to raise the big bucks.
Auction Basics
Last year we raised $11,500 in RPAC monies by sponsoring our now famous RPAC Auction (known the first year as the To Be Famous RPAC Auction). The first auction generated $5,000; the second, $6,500; and the third, $8,700.
Here's our plan for guaranteeing RPAC success with the auction:
1.The RPAC members and board staff solicit donations for the auction from members and their families. (In 1997 we could finally solicit affiliate members.) The auction is organized into two categories--a silent auction and a Chinese auction.
The silent auction attracts larger dollar amount contributors, including life members, because the prizes are of greater value. Prizes include weekend getaways and rentals of time-share condos, Broadway show tickets, and football tickets with a tailgate party. Chinese auction items include crystal clocks, REALTOR® polo shirts, gift baskets, and children's toy and game packages. The only rule about solicitations is that the items donated must be new.
2.Bid sheets and a descriptive or promotional brochure or flyer are prepared for each silent auction item. RPAC members check bid sheets throughout the three-hour event and bid up the items to assure that the bids cover at least the value of the items.
3.Chinese auction tickets are packaged in envelopes before the event--25 tickets for $10. The Chinese auction is a crowd pleaser because everyone can win for a small donation. Ticket numbers are called before the silent auction bidding.
4.When bids are closed on the silent auction, the RPAC chair reads the highest bid for each item and then floor bidding commences. It's good fun for a worthy cause.
5.The auction is held at a local hotel with a dinner buffet. The ticket price is $15, which doesn't include drinks. A cash bar is available.
This year we plan to expand the Chinese auction and expect to raise even more money for RPAC. Our board also believes in leading by example. The president and RPAC chair often become life members at the auction, and the board executive and administrative staff give, too.
It's important to note that fund-raising techniques must comply with the “one-third rule,” which deals with the relationship between the costs of the items (at fair market value) and the amount raised at the event. For more information, read “A Full Explanation of the One-Third Rule,” at the end of this article.
Put the Money to Work
About 10 years ago, the New Jersey Association ofREALTORS® established a PAC share program whereby a significant portion of RPAC contributions is retained by local associations for use in municipal and county political races. Of the total amount of money collected by the Ocean County Board each year, we keep 20 percent of what we collect up to a set goal and 30 percent above the goal. For example, if our goal is $19,000 and we collect $23,000, we keep $5,000 to use locally.
As part of our continuing effort to educate members about RPAC, we let them know whom the association supports and encourage them to be on the lookout for future candidates who are REALTOR® friendly.
Commitment, especially by the leadership, is key to achieving RPAC and legislative victories. Add a little planning and some hard work, and you'll have suc-cess before you know it. n
Kelly Astarita has been with the Ocean County Board for four years. Formerly, she was government affairs director of the New Jersey Association of REALTORS®.
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RPAC Made Easy
Helen Sternberg-Powidzki, RCE
Executive Vice President
Newport County Board of REALTORS®, Rhode Island
The easier you make it for your members to donate to RPAC, the more money you can expect. We found that the changes made to RPAC fund-raising over the years made it more difficult to get members to contribute. It wasn't that they wouldn't give but that it required extra effort. We had to come up with a program that would make it easy for members to donate. The idea? Monthly raffles.
The Newport County Board of REALTORS® conducted 10 monthly programs annually, including membership meetings, a summer social, educational programs, and a holiday party. By conducting a monthly raffle for RPAC over the course of 10 months, members could end up contributing between $50 and $100.
For each monthly raffle, we had a different affiliate member donate a $50 gift certificate to an area restaurant. RPAC members would sell tickets for $1 each or 6 for $5.
Because of reporting requirements, the member's name was written on each ticket stub; the stubs were collected at the end of the meeting. I maintained a database for RPAC contributions to keep track of how much each member donated.
The first yearwe collected $4,894 for RPAC, and we increased total contributions each year. The board received the state RPAC award for highest percent of goal for the three years that we ran the program. Talk about success made easy.
A Legal Note:Before you decide to conduct a raffle, check local and state laws, since raffles are prohibited, or at least regulated, in virtually every state.
Helen Sternberg-Powidzki, RCE, has been executive vice president of the Newport County Board of REALTORS® for 17 years.
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A Full Explanation of the One-Third Rule
The so-called one-third rule is contained in the Federal Election Commission Regulation and applies to corporate-sponsored fund-raising devices or events involving prizes or entertainment to solicit voluntary contributions to federal political action committees. As such, it applies to RPAC fund-raising events because a portion of RPAC contributions is used by the nationalRPAC to support federal candidates.
The rule is intended to prevent the distribution or sale of prizes, gifts, and other merchandise at events such as raffles and auctions in exchange for items purchased by or donated to the event sponsor--usually a corporation such as a REALTORS® association--for voluntary individual political contributions.The rule prohibits, for example, giving a contributor an item purchased or acquired by the sponsor at corporate expense in exchange for a personal PAC contribution of an amount approximately equal to the market value of the item. That includes giving contributors items donated to the association, since even though such items may have been acquired by the association without costs, they have a market value and thus constitute an asset of the association with that value.
To prohibit such unlawful exchanges of corporate money or merchandise for personal PAC contributions, the rule provides that a fund-raising event offering prizes or merchandise, such as a raffle, must result in contributions of at least three times the fair market value of the items given to contributors. If that amount of contributions isn't achieved, the sponsor must be reimbursed by the PAC by an amount necessary to reduce the expenditure (in merchandise or other items of value) to one-third of the contributions collected.
Some Number Crunching to Illustrate
For example, if an association spent $400 for items to be auctioned off at a fund-raising event and collected $1,200 or more in contribution proceeds at the event, no reimbursement would be necessary. But if the association collected only $900, then reimbursement of the amount by which the amount spent ($400) exceeded one-third of the amount collected ($900 ÷ 3 = $300), or $100, would have to be reimbursed to the association from RPAC. The calculation gets complicated further by the fact that the formula applies only to the national RPAC portion of the contributions, and any reimbursement must be made by the national RPAC. In the example, the national RPAC's portion of the total contributions is 30 percent of $900, or $270, and of that amount, 35 percent, or $94.50, is provided to assist federal candidates.
Similarly, the national RPAC's portion of the expenditures allocable to raising federal PAC funds is 35 percent of 30 percent of $400, or $42. Thus, this example would require reimbursement by the national RPAC of $10.50, which is the difference between $42 and one-third of $94.50 ($31.50).
This information was provided by NAR's Legal Affairs.