Key Findings from an online survey of 296 REALTORS

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Key Findings from an online survey of 296
REALTORS Political Action Committee Association
Executive Officers conducted July 20-26, 2006.
06669
Bill McInturff, Partner
Nicole McCleskey, VP
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Methodology

• Public Opinion Strategies is pleased to present
  key findings from an online survey conducted on
  behalf of the National Association of REALTORS
  Political Action Committee on July 20-25, 2006.
  The survey was conducted among
• A total of 296 total respondents, the margin of
  error associated with a sample of 296 out of a
  total population of 1303 is 5.01.
• 34 respondents from state associations out of a
  possible 50. The margin of error associated with
  a sample of 34 out of a total population of 50 is
  9.60.
• 262 respondents from local associations, the
  margin of error associated with a sample of 262
  out of a total population of 1253 is 5.39.

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RPAC EO Profile
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Personal Contributions to RPAC Among State and
Local EOs.
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The RPAC Arrangement
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EOs overwhelmingly support the established
fundraising agreements between the three levels
of RPAC.
Change Agreements Between State and Local
Associations
Would you like to see these agreements between
your state and local Associations changed?
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Verbatim Responses

• Among the 20 of association executives who want
  agreements between state and local Associations
  changed, there are three types of comments
• A number of executives would like to see changes
  in the way dollars are shared between the state
  Association and local Associations. Generally we
  see this comment from local executives who would
  like to keep more dollars for local purposes.
• A number of executives whose Associations do not
  have written agreements would like explicit
  written agreements.
• Some local executives whose Associations do not
  have agreements with their state Association
  would like to have agreements specifying
  responsibilities.

Do you have any recommendations regarding how
these agreements should be changed?
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State and Local EOs are in sync in their
understanding of how RPAC funds are split.
Average Percentage Split of RPAC Funds Raised
What was the average percentage split of RPAC
funds raised in your state between the local,
state, and national Associations in 2005?
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And, they would each like to get a bigger slice
of the pie.
Percentage Split of RPAC Funds Raised in 2005
SHOULD Have Been
Now, what do you think the percentage split of
all RPAC funds in your state in 2005 SHOULD have
been?
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Local associations splintering off and forming
their own PACs is not a significant problem.
Most Important Reasons for Local PAC Among the
16 Reporting a Separate PAC
Formation of Local Association PACs Other than
State RPAC
Not satisfied with state involvement with the
local candidate decision making process.
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Not satisfied with the allocation of RPAC funds
between the state and local Association.
28
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To more effectively navigate state and/or local
campaign finance laws.
To help facilitate administration of PAC funds to
state and/or national RPACs.
15
Not satisfied with candidate funding decisions by
the state RPAC Trustees for state candidates.
13
Not satisfied with candidate funding decisions by
national RPAC Trustees for federal candidates.
2
Have any of your local Associations formed
separate PACs independent of your state
Associations RPAC?
What were the one or two most important reasons
why you believe they formed a local PAC?
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Dues Billing
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Most local associations are dues billing for
RPAC. However, over one-third of the
associations are not dues billing above the
line.
Billing for RPAC
Among Dues Billing Associations
Among Local Associations
We dues bill for RPAC but not above the line
We dues bill for RPAC above the line
Yes
No
Do you include an RPAC line on the bill you send
to members for their dues (the dues bill)?
Please indicate which statement best describes
the policy regarding RPAC dues billing for your
Association?
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More than half of the local associations
fundraising goals are being met by dues billing.
Mean Percentage of RPAC Receipts From Dues
Billing By Local Associations Overall and Size
of Local Associations
What percentage of your total RPAC receipts were
generated through dues billing in 2005?
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While some difference does exist, there is not a
tremendous gap between what local associations
are dues billing Brokers and Agents.
Dues Billing for Brokers and Agents
Brokers
Agents
What is the dollar amount listed on your
Associations RPAC dues billing statement to
Brokers and Agents?
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Donating to RPAC
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Most local associations do include information
about the importance of RPAC during new member
orientation.
Among the handful of associations that do not
include RPAC information in their orientation ...
53 Not enough time after the disclosure of
other mandatory information 42 It is not
appropriate to solicit a new member for
RPAC 11 No one has suggested we do so 5 RPAC is
covered at a separate Association meeting 5
Lack of RPAC resource materials
provided 11 Other

During your Realtor new member orientation, does
your Association discuss the importance of
contributing to RPAC?
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The amount EOs believe the average full-time
Realtor should invest each year in RPAC is lower
than RPAC small donors and major donors indicated
should be expected when we recently surveyed
these groups.
Executive Officers Say
But Donors Numbers are Higher
Local EOs
Major Donors
89
386
Small Donors
State EOs
136
82
In your opinion what amount of money should the
average REALTOR, who is a REALTOR as their full
time profession, be expected to invest annually
in RPAC?
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All resources provided by NAR to assist in
fundraising are all about equally valued.
Most Important Fundraising Resources
Combined Choice
RPAC Major Donor recognition items (i.e. pins,
events, etc.)
Visits by NAR and RPAC leadership to speak to
Realtor members
January RPAC Fundraising Conference in
Washington, DC
In-state fundraising training provided by NAR
Field Staff
Educational materials (i.e. RPAC Almanac)
Message materials (i.e. summary of NAR/RPAC
accomplishments)
Promotional materials (i.e. RPAC brochures)
Please indicate which one or two of the following
are the most important current fundraising
resources provided by NAR to your association and
RPAC donors.
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While receptive to all future NAR-developed
fundraising resources, EOs hone in on customized
marketing materials.
Value of Possible Fundraising Resources On A
Scale of 0 (Not Helpful At All) to 10 (Very
Helpful)
Mean Score
Customized RPAC marketing materials for your
Association
7.5
An online PAC software management tool that
provides enhanced fundraising, reporting, and
compliance capabilities
5.5
Joint fundraising campaigns conducted in your
Association targeting prospective RPAC donors
5.4
NAR initiated fundraising campaigns, with your
consent, targeted to prospective Major Donors in
your Association
5.3
Please rate the value of each of the following
possible future fundraising resources provided by
NAR using a 0 to 10 scale. A rating of 0 means
the resource would not be helpful to your
Association at all, a rating of 10 means it would
be very helpful.
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Verbatim Responses

• In addition to the fundraising resources listed
  in the survey, Association executives say that a
  number of things would be helpful to them
• More information about who RPAC contributes to
  and the voting records of those legislators.
• Case-studies about particular NAR/RPAC successes.
• Information detailing how much money NAR and RPAC
  activities have saved or made REALTORS.
• Additional recognition items for donors.
• Free access to promotional and fundraising
  materials that Associations currently have to pay
  for.
• Additional training of local fundraising
  personnel.

Please tell us any other fundraising resources
that would be useful to you.
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Political Activities
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While all of the state associations participated
in political activities last cycle, four out of
ten local associations were not engaged
politically.
Political Activities Your Association Conducts
Make direct PAC contributions to state or local
candidates
Conduct Realtor-led issue campaigns to public
policy issues
100 of state associations say they participate
in political activities. 58 of local
associations are politically active.
Conduct state or local GOTV efforts aimed
exclusively at Realtors
Contribute funds to coalitions to conduct
advanced political advocacy efforts
Conduct Independent Expenditures to a state or
local candidate
Which of the following political activities does
your Association conduct?
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Larger local associations are more politically
active across the range of political activities.
Political Activities Your Association Conducts By
Association Size
Which of the following political activities does
your Association conduct?
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How the three levels allocate their resources.
Percent Spent on Political Activities Last
Election Cycle
State and local percentages were calculated
based on actual survey responses. NAR
percentages were provided by NAR.
Which of the following political activities does
your Association conduct and how much did you
spend on those activities last election cycle?
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Respondents were asked Looking ahead to the next
election in your area after the 2006 elections,
do you forecast that your Associations total
spending for political activities will increase,
decrease, or stay the same? Similarly, they were
then asked Looking ahead to the next election
after the 2006 elections. Do you forecast that
your fundraising receipts will increase, decrease
or stay the same compared to the most recent
similar election year.
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State EOs, more than local EOs, project political
activities and fundraising receipts will increase.
Political Activity Spending
Fundraising Receipts
State EOs
Local EOs
State EOs
Local EOs
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Fair Share
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EOs are very supportive of the Presidents Circle
Program, but want to see donations count toward
their Fair Share goal.
Feelings About the NAR Presidents Circle Program
Due to changes in federal campaign finance law
that have created a need for additional personal
Hard Dollars contributions, NAR established a
program called the Presidents Circle. As you
may know, this program consists of RPAC Major
Donors who contribute an additional 2,000 hard
dollars per year to congressional candidates or
national party committees identified by NAR as
deserving of additional support. Which statement
best describes your feelings about the NAR
Presidents Circle program?
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The data indicates that EOs are already raising
their per member RPAC goal.
Mean RPAC Fair Share Goal Per Member
2006
2007
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What is your Associations RPAC Fair Share goal
per member?
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But, three-quarters of EOs do not want the
national RPAC Fair Share goal to be increased.
National RPAC Should Increase States Annual Fair
Share Goal
Agree Among State and Local EOs
State 26
Local 27
Many state laws allow for more flexibility than
federal law does in using corporate soft dollar
contributions for political purposes. In fact,
due to recent changes in federal campaign finance
law, national RPAC is now severely limited in its
use of corporate funds for its federal election
activities. Therefore, to remain politically
effective, national RPAC is in need of more
personal hard dollar contributions. Do you
agree or disagree that National RPAC should
increase states annual Fair Share fundraising
goal?
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Among those who agree the Fair Share goal should
be raised, there is very strong support for a
flexible hard vs. soft dollar combination.
Among the 27 who agree Fair Share Goals Should
Be Raised
Continue to allow states to achieve their
fundraising goal using any mix of corporate soft
dollar and personal hard dollar contributions.
89
Ask states to achieve the increased fundraising
goal using a fixed percentage of personal hard
dollar contributions.
11
Should National RPAC
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While a majority would rather NARs Fair Share
split stay at 4.50, 42 of EOs would support an
increase.
National RPAC Goal Per Member
Keep it at 4.50 per member (15 total goal per
member)
58
Raise it to 6.00 per member (20 total goal per
member)
31
Raise it to 7.50 per member (25 total goal per
member)
8
Raise it to 9.00 per member (30 total goal per
member)
1
Raise it to 10.50 per member (35 total goal per
member)
2
National RPAC currently has a 15 per member
Fair Share goal, though your state may have a
different goal customized for your needs.
National RPAC is considering raising the RPAC
Fair Share goal from the current 15 per member
of which NAR receives 30, which is 4.50 per
member. Presuming National RPAC provided a
compelling rationale for why more resources are
needed to compete in politics on the federal
level, what should the new National RPAC goal be,
per member?
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The preference of EOs who support the increase
would be to increase the Fair Share goal all at
once rather than a phase-in. But believe it also
makes sense to determine the need for future
increases rather than establish an automatic
timetable.
Among EOs Who Favor An Increase
Meet every 4-5 years to determine if goal needs
to increase
Index the goal so it increases gradually over time
Increase it all at one time
Phase it in
To address continued escalating costs of
competing in the political arena, would you
prefer the goal be indexed to automatically
increase in future years on a gradual basis (ex,
it could increase by 254 per year) or would you
prefer that leaders meet every 4-5 years and
review whether an increase is necessary at that
time?
If the goal were increased, would you favor an
incremental phase-in of the new goal over two or
three years, beginning in 2008, or a one-time
increase in 2008?
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If NAR goes forward with a Fair Share increase, a
number of local and state associations would
increase their per-member goal as well.
How the Increase Would Affect Your Association
Among EOs Who Favor an Increase (27)
We would also increase our per-member goal so it
would result in increased funding for all three
levels of the Association
We would not increase our per-member goal and we
would still make the new national goal. This
would lead to increased receipts for National
RPAC but less funding for state and local needs
We would not increase our per-member goal and
simply not make the new national goal. This would
allow us to retain the same level of funding for
state and local needs
Other
If the goal were increased by the amount you
selected, which statement best describes how this
increase would affect your Association?
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Final Thoughts
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Turning Questions into Answers
Washington Denver Los Angeles
www.pos.org ? 703-836-7655
Bill McInturff
Nicole McCleskey
Partner bill_at_pos.org
Vice President nicole_at_pos.org