Campaign and Advocacy Services Agreement

What a good one includes

• A detailed scope of work that explicitly outlines campaign deliverables, timelines, and key performance indicators to prevent scope creep.
• Specific clauses ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal election laws, FEC rules, or lobbying disclosure requirements depending on your jurisdiction.
• A clear intellectual property clause defining who owns the creative assets, donor lists, and campaign materials developed during the partnership.
• Robust confidentiality provisions to protect sensitive polling data, strategic messaging roadmaps, and donor information from being shared with competitors.
• A structured payment schedule detailing milestones, retainer terms, and pre-approved reimbursement protocols for campaign-related expenses.
• A termination clause that outlines how the partnership can be dissolved and how campaign assets and data must be transitioned back to the NGO.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Relying on generic business contracts that fail to address the highly regulated nature of political lobbying and advocacy reporting.
• Failing to explicitly define who owns voter data and mailing lists generated during the campaign, which can lead to costly ownership disputes later.
• Neglecting to include a pre-approval process for public statements or media releases, leading to unauthorized messaging that can harm the NGO's reputation.
• Omitting clear parameters for reimbursable expenses, resulting in unexpected budget overruns during fast-paced campaign pushes.

Frequently asked questions