Foundations Go to Washington and Learn the ABC’s of Lobbying

More than 2,000 grant makers came to Washington last week and got an education in how to lobby on Capitol Hill.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Council on Foundations, Rep. David E. Skaggs, a Colorado Democrat, told foundation leaders: “Each of you have a pretty compelling claim to make on getting to know your member of the House or one of your Senators on a level that cuts through the more formulaic and formalistic ‘we’re going to have an appointment’ approach.” Instead, he urged grant makers to find reasons to talk to legislators or their employees on a regular basis.

Among Representative Skaggs’s specific suggestions for contacting members of Congress:

* Don’t do it in Washington. “Most days here, we’re pretty distracted and pretty fractured in our attention span,” he said. “And especially this year, when we are out of session more than we are in, you have lots of opportunity to talk to us when we are in our districts.”

* Take advantage of the time between the November elections and the swearing-in in January. “We’re all somewhat refreshed and more open-minded, I think, during that period of time,” he said. “You want to seize those moments.”

* In Washington, rely on aides. “These are the people we count on to develop expertise in particular subject areas and that we’ll tap into when issues come up,” Representative Skaggs said.

* Don’t be afraid to ask. “Don’t worry about calling up and asking, ‘How is your office organized? Who does what where?’ Because all of us do it a little bit differently and it’s perfectly okay to ask,” said Mr. Skaggs.

Joel Orosz, a program director for the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, said foundations “need to get serious” and make a commitment to doing public-policy work. “There are a lot of foundations who have the government-relations duties tacked on to someone who is doing six other things,” he said. “You really need to carve out a portion of someone’s time, because it is time-consuming, it takes patience, you need to follow-up — and you can’t do that if you’ve got 83 other things to do as well.”

John Bridgeland, chief of staff to Rep. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican, said foundation leaders should consider doing what his office now requires of people who request a meeting with his boss: sending a one-page letter in advance.

In the letter, he suggested, foundation leaders should include the purpose of the meeting, who will attend (including job titles), and what is hoped to be accomplished.

“It’s amazing how Rob and I would leave 50 per cent of our meetings before we instituted this policy, and we’d look at each other and say, ‘What did they really come in here for?’ ” said Mr. Bridgeland.

Mr. Bridgeland also suggested that foundation leaders read short profiles of their legislators before a meeting and then drop in a mention or two of some of their accomplishments.

“It’s amazing how few people do it,” he says. “But then there’s an immediate connection. You differentiate yourself from the thousands of people who come in and complain about something.”

To help grant makers become more effective in dealing with Congress, the Council on Foundations has just issued a new booklet, “Planning Congressional Meetings: A How-To Kit,” as well as copies of sample “leave-behind folders,” which illustrate the kinds of information to give to legislators at the end of a meeting. For free copies of either, contact the Council on Foundations, Government Relations Department, 1828 L Street, N.W., Washington 20036-5168; (202) 466-6512.