Impact

We work together to advocate for important issues that affect the health and well-being of the nation’s workforce and the many associations that support them. Associations have a mission unlike any other public or private entities and we ensure that our unique voice is heard in all the places where decisions are made.

The Power of Associations corrected harmful misconceptions about our community and expanded the PPP after Congress initially excluded associations, which provided for at least $1.2 billion in economic relief to our communities.

The Power of Associations successfully amended and improved federal legislation surrounding cancelled events amid pandemics and helped increase access to professional certifications and support displaced workers, returning military services members and their spouses.

The Power of Associations helped save $2 billion for the broader nonprofit community by successfully advocating to repeal a revenue tax wrongfully applied to employee benefits such as parking and transportation.

Each year, the Power of Associations recognizes associations that have addressed advocacy in any of the following four areas: promoting civil discourse and collaboration between government and the private sector; mobilizing members and volunteers in grassroots advocacy with demonstrable results; organizing coalitions to address a shared federal, state or local legislative or regulatory issue; and enhancing an industry or profession’s reputation as a trusted resource for effective policymaking.

Watch the videos below to learn more about our 2021 Summit Award Recipients for Advocacy.

The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) earned a Power of Associations Summit Award for the passage of the SECURE Act. ACLI and its partners recognized that changes in federal law were needed to make it viable for small business owners to offer retirement plans to their workers. This is critical to closing the nationwide savings gap, particularly for part-time workers without workplace retirement plans. Minorities, millennials, caregivers and women are particularly vulnerable.

If not for the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), throughout the COVID pandemic, our trash might not have been picked up. However, the NWRA and its members undertook a coordinated multi-pronged advocacy effort with the White House and the COVID-19 Task Force. The association’s members participated in hundreds of meetings at the state and local levels. As a result of these efforts, NWRA and the nation received 120 wins in the first 30 days of COVID – federally, statewide and among association members and the public.