Services

Government and its policies, at every level, impact virtually every enterprise: nonprofits, developers, small business owners, educational institutions, hospitals, and public safety officials, among many.  Being unaware of or unengaged in the political process results in substantial missed opportunities for both the legislators and your organization.

The Art of Politics will help you craft and execute intelligent and strategic plans to engage the political decision makers vital to your enterprise.

Navigating any bureaucracy can be nerve-racking and time-consuming. Going it alone makes it twice as difficult (and half as likely to succeed). Negotiating your way through a political process while projecting your key message to the right officials requires information, relationships, and persistence. The Art of Politics has the knowledge and experience you need to make your project successful.

Here are our areas of expertise:

Appropriations

As a former Economic Development Specialist for a House Appropriations Committee member and Subcommittee chairperson, we understand how to connect your organization with federal funding.  Our appropriations work utilizes our access to decision makers and our substantive knowledge of the formalities and intangibles of the appropriations process.

Project Advocacy/Issue Management

Whether you're pushing a project, a program, or a policy issue, The Art of Politics' project management strategy is proactive and comprehensive.  We'll work with you to develop an audit of your current role and relationship with government, and we'll assess your goals in relation to the current political waters.  The Art of Politics is highly successful in its project advocacy, garnering the attention and support of both local electeds and high-ranking state and federal officials.

Government Affairs Training

Having sat on both sides of the table (the side of the elected official and the side of the organization), we bring a lighthearted, interactive approach to government affairs training.  We'll teach you, your board, or your staff how and why to think strategically about government officials, how to get the most out of interactions with those officials,  and how to avoid some "rookie" government affairs mistakes.

Grant Writing

Anyone can write a grant; not everyone can write a successful grant.  The Art of Politics has crafted, written, and garnered a wide array of grants for our clients. The Art of Politics can help obtain the recognition and resources you need.  We have particular grant expertise in the areas of transportation, property development, urban renewal, tax incentives, the arts, education, and health care.

blog

From the Art of Politics blog:

A timely, genuine and specific thank you letter should follow any meeting you have with an elected official. Write the letter to the elected official, but send it to the staffer who attended the meeting. If you met with them in DC, send the letter to the district office, because everything going to Capitol Hill still gets irradiated and arrives late, crunchy and brown. If you really must send it to DC, turn it into a pdf and e-mail it.

Read more from our blog

clients

What our clients have to say:

Maggie has always been an enthusiastic, motivated professional. While we would agree on the end results, Maggie was free -- and very effective -- in determining the best and most efficient way to accomplish those results. Maggie was always a pleasure to work with, and a key contributor on our team.

— Jon Eliassen, President & CEO, Spokane Area Economic Development Council

success

A Success Story:

A nonprofit board of directors had no idea how to interact with elected officials, or even if they should. The Art of Politics helped the board determine that interactions with elected officials were actually critical to the success of their organization and its mission.Then The Art of Politics helped them successfully and strategically engage with the right officials to make their work in the community easier.

contact

The Art of Politics
4 Open Square Way #208
Holyoke, MA 01040
413-887-7450
artofpoliticsATmac.com
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