Published 3/8/2019
Washington, D.C. (March 8, 2019) — The Political Action Committee of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (the Orthopaedic PAC) was recently named the 2019 Outstanding Association PAC by the Public Affairs Council. The national award recognizes just one association PAC each year and was presented in front of 400 PAC colleagues at the National PAC Conference in Miami. The Orthopaedic PAC’s effective approaches to enhancing involvement helped it raise $4 million and achieve a win rate of 90 percent in the House and 86 percent in the Senate for the 2018 midterm election—the best cycle in its 20-year history.
“We were impressed with the Orthopaedic PAC’s innovative solutions to finding new revenue streams to reinvigorate their outreach,” said Public Affairs Council President Doug Pinkham. “The new approaches they took in peer-to-peer and mobile fundraising upped their game and is helping raise the standard for other PACs.”
One of those programs was its Capitol Club Black Card campaign. The Orthopaedic PAC created an exclusive perk for donors who give at least $1,000 a year and equipped them with Orthopaedic PAC Membership Black Cards designed to look like elite credit cards. Embedded on each was a USB attachment loaded with PAC peer-to-peer materials including a slide deck and mobile-giving information—arming its most generous donors with the tools needed to be successful rainmakers for the PAC.
Stacie Monroe, the association’s senior manager of political affairs, explained that they wanted the campaign to have more layers beyond the black card. The Orthopaedic PAC reinvigorated its state participation challenge encouraging each state to blackout the map. “Each state that raised more than $100,000 or had a 21 percent or higher participation rate was colored black on our state map, which was updated online and in our quarterly newsletters,” said Monroe. “We were delighted that nearly half of the nation was able to successfully complete the challenge.”
Receiving the prestigious award during the Orthopaedic PAC’s 20th year is a testament to how far it’s come and would not have been possible without the amazing support of its members. They understand the importance of political advocacy for advancing quality musculoskeletal care.
“Advocacy is a pillar of AAOS, and we are an issue-oriented PAC,” said the Orthopaedic PAC Chairman John T. Gill, MD. “We are proud of our team’s success, humbled to receive this award, and look forward to holding onto the title of most active physician PAC in the nation for years to come.”
The Orthopaedic PAC 2018 Highlights
- Supported 320 candidates and members including 56 females, 44 minorities, and 20 physicians.
- Had a win rate of 90 percent in the House and 86 percent in the Senate.
- Raised $4 million—a 15 percent growth rate from the previous cycle and its best election cycle in PAC history.
- Attended nearly 1,200 events in D.C. and 94 in-district events—over an 80 percent increase.
- Resident participation increased by 78 percent, with 8 residency programs reaching 100 percent.
- Enjoyed a 100 percent retention rate in the Advisor’s Circle, while the program doubled in size.
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Public Affairs Council announcement of Outstanding PAC Award winners: https://pac.org/2019-pac-award-winners
2018 Blackout the Map State Participation Challenge: http://digitalenews.com/aaos/2018/black_out_the_map/pages/fundraising-map.html
Contact AAOS Media Relations
Kristen Coultas
202-548-4143
coultas@aaos.org