It is always humbling to be reminded of the scope and impact of our sector, whether you measure it by feeding the hungry, bolstering the arts and culture, conserving our natural environment, or our 11. 5 million workforce. Ours is a vast footprint and a powerful story.
This is the story we are now beginning to share face-to-face with the presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on behalf of the charitable community. With our hosts in maximum campaign mode, we did our homework and arrived with targeted public opinion polling that spoke to their hopes and challenges as well as ours. Not surprisingly, of particular interest were our insights into the presidential battleground states.
We shared with campaign staff the widespread hunger for nonprofits to be more involved in policymaking, as expressed by Democrats, Independents, and Republicans. Our data demonstrated to them that voters know and trust us as effective problem-solvers, with a reservoir of mutual respect replenished daily in small towns, big cities, and rural communities who turn to us for help and also support our work.
The staff were excited to learn from us. We caught the attention of campaign staff of Hillary Clinton with highly relevant polling data about the sector and how it offers expertise, impact, and hope. In that meeting, the first of a number to come, we saw our facts and figures through the eyes of presidential campaign staff, a revelation to us as well. We will be actively working with the Trump campaign in the days ahead to communicate that voters care deeply about the charitable sector and want to see its powerful impact harnessed for the common good.
IS will release the results of our polling in September.
Above all, we are seeking ongoing engagement, during and after the campaign. And as our education effort grows, we will continue to pepper our outreach messages with hard-hitting analytical insights from our polling data, providing a clear picture of our sector, America’s voters, and our common future.
