# Best Public Affairs and Advocacy Software - Page 2 *By [Emma Stein](https://research.g2.com/insights/author/emma-stein)* Public affairs and advocacy software allows organizations to acquire, engage, and mobilize key audiences around issue advocacy in legislative, regulatory, and electoral spaces. Nonprofits, associations, and corporations use these products to educate and mobilize supporters via outbound email marketing, text messaging, and social media communication tools. Grassroots activist groups may also use them to build momentum around petitions, social causes, and key legislative issues. These tools often support fundraising and campaigning efforts for advocacy groups, but they differ from [political campaign software](https://www.g2.com/categories/political-campaign) that is designed specifically to manage campaigns for public office election. Public affairs and advocacy software facilitates direct correspondence from advocates to targeted government officials at all levels of government (federal, state, and local) and regulatory agencies through several modes of communication, including social media, patch-through calls, and sending emails. Typically, these products also offer key insights into supporters’ usage, advanced segmentation, reporting, and, in some cases, flexible integration with common [CRM software](https://www.g2.com/categories/CRM). Products in this category may also include modules designed for specific organizational goals such as election education, advanced acquisition tools, and stakeholder management. To qualify for inclusion in the Public Affairs and Advocacy category, a product must: - Provide advocate acquisition and mobilization tools - Utilize one or more outbound communication channels including email, text messaging, and social media - Include stakeholder management features such as legislator databases and relationship and meeting tracking - Facilitate direct correspondence from advocates to targeted government officials ## G2 Grid® for Public Affairs and Advocacy Software ![G2 Grid® for Public Affairs and Advocacy Software plotting products by satisfaction and market presence](https://www.g2.com/categories/public-affairs-and-advocacy/grids.png?focus%5B%5D=142577&focus%5B%5D=14235&focus%5B%5D=94664&focus%5B%5D=132824&focus%5B%5D=4436&focus%5B%5D=1212100&focus%5B%5D=44241&focus%5B%5D=11500) Highlighted products: Quorum, Muster, Bloomberg Government, Leadership Connect, NationBuilder, Speak4, Bonterra EveryAction, and Democracy Direct. Underlying data: [Grid® JSON](https://www.g2.com/categories/public-affairs-and-advocacy/grids.json?focus%5B%5D=quorum-us-quorum&focus%5B%5D=muster&focus%5B%5D=bloomberg-government&focus%5B%5D=leadership-connect&focus%5B%5D=nationbuilder&focus%5B%5D=speak4&focus%5B%5D=bonterra-everyaction&focus%5B%5D=democracy-direct) ## How Many Public Affairs and Advocacy Software Products Does G2 Track? **Total Products under this Category:** 43 ### Category Stats (Jul 2026) - **Average Rating**: 4.05/5 The average rating of products in this category, based on all submitted ratings *Last updated: July 03, 2026* ## How Does G2 Rank Public Affairs and Advocacy Software Products? **Why You Can Trust G2's Software Rankings:** - 30 Analysts and Data Experts - 800+ Authentic Reviews - 43+ Products - Unbiased Rankings G2's software rankings are built on verified user reviews, rigorous moderation, and a consistent research methodology maintained by a team of analysts and data experts. Each product is measured using the same transparent criteria, with no paid placement or vendor influence. While reviews reflect real user experiences, which can be subjective, they offer valuable insight into how software performs in the hands of professionals. Together, these inputs power the G2 Score, a standardized way to compare tools within every category. ## Which Public Affairs and Advocacy Software Is Best for Your Use Case? - **Leader:** [Quorum](https://www.g2.com/products/quorum-us-quorum/reviews) - **Highest Performer:** [Speak4](https://www.g2.com/products/speak4/reviews) - **Easiest to Use:** [Muster](https://www.g2.com/products/muster/reviews) - **Top Trending:** [Muster](https://www.g2.com/products/muster/reviews) - **Best Free Software:** [NationBuilder](https://www.g2.com/products/nationbuilder/reviews) --- **Sponsored** ### LegiStorm LegiStorm is an all-in-one public affairs platform that provides you with the essential tools to achieve your objectives in Congress and state legislatures. Stay informed and connected with our comprehensive congressional staff directory, which offers real-time information on congressional staff, including their legislative issues, contact information and biographical details. Build custom contact lists and receive timely email alerts for reports, hearings, town halls, press releases and more. Additionally, LegiStorm allows you to delve into lobbying intelligence, helping you find the best lobbying firms that align with your needs and analyze their performance or identify potential clients. Stay up-to-date with lobbying trends, explore lobbying filings and gain insights into the revolving door between K Street and Congress. Get access to state legislators and staff across all 50 states. Browse state legislator directories, build contact lists and track down the ideal staff members for your specific issue. Visit our website today to learn more about how LegiStorm can empower you with the tools and intelligence you need to achieve your objectives in Congress and state legislatures. [Visit website](https://www.g2.com/external_clickthroughs/record?secure%5Bad_program%5D=ppc&secure%5Bad_slot%5D=category_product_list&secure%5Bcategory_id%5D=2503&secure%5Bchosen_at%5D=2026-07-16T09%3A36%3A07Z&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_id%5D=2503&secure%5Bdisplayable_resource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bmedium%5D=sponsored&secure%5Bplacement_reason%5D=page_category&secure%5Bplacement_resource_ids%5D%5B%5D=2503&secure%5Bprioritized%5D=false&secure%5Bproduct_id%5D=142667&secure%5Bresource_id%5D=2503&secure%5Bresource_type%5D=Category&secure%5Bsource_type%5D=category_page&secure%5Bsource_url%5D=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.g2.com%2Fcategories%2Fpublic-affairs-and-advocacy&secure%5Btoken%5D=a04ef55876f9b3331055bda482027562d63198b3426c7744ce86f6fe21dd1787&secure%5Burl%5D=https%3A%2F%2Finfo.legistorm.com%3Futm_source%3Dg2%26utm_medium%3Dreview_site%26utm_campaign%3Dg2-cpc&secure%5Burl_type%5D=custom_url) --- ## What Are the Top-Rated Public Affairs and Advocacy Software Products in 2026? ### 1. [Advoc8](https://www.g2.com/products/advoc8/reviews) Advoc8 is a comprehensive government relations platform designed to empower professionals in Australia and New Zealand with real-time political intelligence and streamlined advocacy tools. Since 2016, Advoc8 has been assisting businesses, charities, and peak bodies in navigating the policy landscape, managing government relationships, and measuring the impact of their advocacy efforts. Key Features and Functionality: - Political Intelligence: Access to extensive government and industry databases, including real-time social media feeds, media releases, and parliamentary updates, ensuring users stay informed on relevant developments. - Stakeholder Engagement: Intuitive relationship management tools that allow users to centralize research, consolidate information, and coordinate team efforts around key individuals and issues. - Impact Reporting: Customizable tracking and reporting tools that enable users to measure and articulate the success of their advocacy initiatives effectively. - Issue Management: A collaborative space for managing issues and campaigns, facilitating team coordination and strategic planning. - Electorate Mapping: Tools to map data over electoral boundaries, aiding in targeted advocacy efforts. - Email Integration: Seamless synchronization with users' inboxes, ensuring efficient communication and information sharing. Primary Value and User Solutions: Advoc8 addresses the challenges faced by government relations professionals by providing a centralized platform that integrates political monitoring, stakeholder management, and impact reporting. By automating time-consuming tasks such as tracking political developments and managing stakeholder information, Advoc8 enables users to focus on building meaningful relationships and driving policy outcomes. The platform's real-time intelligence and collaborative tools ensure that teams are always informed, aligned, and able to demonstrate the value of their advocacy efforts effectively. **Who Is the Company Behind Advoc8?** - **Seller:** [Advoc8](https://www.g2.com/sellers/advoc8) - **Year Founded:** 2016 - **HQ Location:** Sydney, AU - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/advoc8-grm (9 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 2. [AdvocacyHub](https://www.g2.com/products/advocacyhub/reviews) AdvocacyHub is a tool for tracking legislation that is customized for each state based on its unique workflows. With real-time notifications on bills and committee hearings, users stay informed throughout the legislative cycle and are kept up-to-date with all the latest developments. **Who Is the Company Behind AdvocacyHub?** - **Seller:** [AdvocacyHub](https://www.g2.com/sellers/advocacyhub) - **HQ Location:** N/A - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/No-Linkedin-Presence-Added-Intentionally-By-DataOps (1 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 3. [Blue Utopia](https://www.g2.com/products/blue-utopia/reviews) Campaign management platform that is easy-to-use and starts at $35 per month. Integrated tools include website, email broadcast, fundraising, donor-management, voter-targeting and more. **Who Is the Company Behind Blue Utopia?** - **Seller:** [Blue Utopia](https://www.g2.com/sellers/blue-utopia) - **Year Founded:** 2006 - **HQ Location:** Seattle, US - **Twitter:** @blueutopia (184 Twitter followers) - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-utopia (2 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 4. [CivicEngine by BallotReady](https://www.g2.com/products/civicengine-by-ballotready/reviews) Amplify your impact with our mobile-first platform, grounded in behavioral science and designed to make it easy to recruit candidates, educate supporters, get out the vote, connect with elected officials and engage constituents. Researchers at MIT found voters who use BallotReady products are 20% more likely to vote, even after controlling for demographics and voting history. This is all thanks to a wide variety of customizable, white-labeled digital tools, including: • Voter Guide -- From Senate to school board, a comprehensive database for every level of government.  • Turnout Engine -- Voters create personalized plans for when, where, and how they'll cast their ballot. • Recruitment Engine -- Recruit candidates to run for every position, every election. • Robust API -- Verified information on current officeholders, upcoming elections, ballot measures, etc. **Who Is the Company Behind CivicEngine by BallotReady?** - **Seller:** [CivicEngine](https://www.g2.com/sellers/civicengine-8160ea1b-46e1-4db5-a5ab-c50b6162d80b) - **HQ Location:** N/A - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/No-Linkedin-Presence-Added-Intentionally-By-DataOps (1 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 5. [Congress Plus Advocacy](https://www.g2.com/products/congress-plus-advocacy/reviews) Congress Plus Advocacy is an advanced political advocacy platform that embeds seamlessly in your website. It allows your supporters to engage with decision makers using patch-through calling, email, fax, Twitter and Facebook. You can mobilize supporters via responsive email and text messaging. Other key features include built-in legislation tracking, advanced legislative intelligence tools, communicate with legislators and their staff, advocacy day management and advocate mapping. **Who Is the Company Behind Congress Plus Advocacy?** - **Seller:** [The Soft Edge](https://www.g2.com/sellers/the-soft-edge) - **HQ Location:** McLean, US - **LinkedIn® Page:** http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soft-edge-inc- (8 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 6. [Curate](https://www.g2.com/products/fiscalnote-curate/reviews) Curate is a comprehensive local legislative tracking software. Minutes and agendas from city councils are hard to find and sift through, yet they contain information and decisions that could cost your organization years of progress. Curate scans these meeting minutes, agendas, planning, and other documents from more than 12,000 local government entities and utilizes a powerful AI engine, fine-tuned by human analysis, to automatically surface the most important issues for your organization. A custom dashboard and daily reports deliver the insights to keep you in the know and make sure you never miss a thing. Curate has the most comprehensive and up-to-date database of local government documents in the country – scanning more than 400,000 documents each week. With automated tracking, your team can monitor more issues across more localities with fewer resources, and be confident you’re not missing anything. Once you spot an issue requiring action, find up-to-date contact info for more than 168,000 elected officials, city staff, and other stakeholders in a single click. No more digging through government websites, LinkedIn, and spreadsheets to find contact information for the stakeholders that can move your agenda and issues forward. **Who Is the Company Behind Curate?** - **Seller:** [fiscalnote](https://www.g2.com/sellers/fiscalnote-0b74fef4-3f67-4889-837d-25787dc7ee97) - **Year Founded:** 2016 - **HQ Location:** Madison, US - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/curate-solutions (9 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 7. [Epsilon MENA](https://www.g2.com/products/epsilon-mena/reviews) At Epsilon, we are a full-service agency offering comprehensive 360 services across the MENA region. Specializing in progressive social media services and programmatic media buying solutions, we leverage cutting-edge technologies and a talented team to transform your campaigns into powerful, results-driven endeavors. As a digitally-led advertising agency geared for growth and impact, we assess communication challenges and craft tailored advertising strategies to achieve your business objectives. Our approach includes identifying key stakeholders, target audiences, and branding needs, ensuring your success through innovative and effective solutions. **Who Is the Company Behind Epsilon MENA?** - **Seller:** [Epsilon MENA](https://www.g2.com/sellers/epsilon-mena) - **Year Founded:** 2018 - **HQ Location:** Dubai, AE - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/epsilon-mena/about/ (2 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 8. [GovConnex Intelligence Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/govconnex-intelligence-platform/reviews) The GovConnex Intelligence Platform is a comprehensive political intelligence and relationship management tool designed to streamline the workflows of public affairs professionals. By aggregating real-time data from various government sources—including parliamentary records, press releases, and social media—the platform enables users to efficiently monitor, research, and manage political and regulatory information. This centralized approach allows organizations to navigate complex political landscapes with greater clarity and effectiveness. Key Features and Functionality: - Monitoring: Access curated briefings and AI-powered transcripts from parliamentary sources, news outlets, and social media, ensuring timely and relevant information. - Research: Utilize a unified database with rapid search capabilities to uncover trends and gain situational awareness, informing critical strategies. - Stakeholder Management: Employ collaborative tools to manage stakeholder relationships, ensuring team alignment and informed engagement. - Analyst: Generate research briefs, conduct sentiment analysis, create engagement reports, and draft correspondence using advanced AI, all while maintaining data privacy and security. Primary Value and User Solutions: The GovConnex Intelligence Platform addresses the challenges faced by public affairs teams in managing political and regulatory risks. By providing real-time, organized access to government information and integrating workflow tools, the platform empowers professionals to make informed decisions swiftly. It enhances efficiency by reducing the time spent on research and coordination, allowing teams to focus on strategic engagement and advocacy. Ultimately, GovConnex enables organizations to build stronger relationships with policymakers and navigate the dynamic political environment effectively. **Who Is the Company Behind GovConnex Intelligence Platform?** - **Seller:** [GovConnex](https://www.g2.com/sellers/govconnex) - **Year Founded:** 2019 - **HQ Location:** Sydney, AU - **LinkedIn® Page:** http://linkedin.com/company/govconnex (26 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 9. [Impactive](https://www.g2.com/products/impactive/reviews) Impactive is the leading all-in-one digital organizing platform for electoral campaigns, advocacy orgs, unions, and nonprofits. We offer solutions for: - Member Growth - Fundraising - Grassroots Mobilization - Volunteer Events - Advocacy - Social and Digital Engagement Our outreach and engagement tools include Peer-to-Peer Texting, Friends and Family Messaging, Broadcast Texting, Phone Banking, and more. Schedule a demo today! **Who Is the Company Behind Impactive?** - **Seller:** [Impactive](https://www.g2.com/sellers/impactive) - **Year Founded:** 2017 - **HQ Location:** Cambridge, US - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/impactive-io (13 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 10. [Movement](https://www.g2.com/products/movement/reviews) Movement is an all-in-one campaigning platform built for organisers. It brings a CRM, multi-channel communications and campaign tools into one system, so trade unions, NGOs and progressive political parties can have personal conversations with members and supporters at scale and turn that support into action. The platform supports email, SMS, WhatsApp, phone banking and peer-to-peer messaging, alongside petitions and action pages, surveys, donations, statutory balloting, automations and organiser dashboards. Movement can run as an organisation's only CRM or sit alongside an existing one, syncing contact data in real time. Movement works with some of the UK's largest unions and campaigning organisations, including the NEU, UNISON, the GMB, Prospect and the PCS, the Labour Party, 38 Degrees, Greenpeace and Amnesty International. The platform is built and operated by Movement Industries Ltd, registered in England and Wales (company number 14266681). **Who Is the Company Behind Movement?** - **Seller:** [Movement](https://www.g2.com/sellers/movement) - **HQ Location:** London, GB - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/join-movement (6 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 11. [One Click Politics](https://www.g2.com/products/one-click-politics/reviews) More than civic technology; we are your strategic partner for integrated advocacy. **Who Is the Company Behind One Click Politics?** - **Seller:** [One Click Politics](https://www.g2.com/sellers/one-click-politics) - **Year Founded:** 2009 - **HQ Location:** Washington, US - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/one-click-politics/ (14 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 12. [OneGov](https://www.g2.com/products/onegov/reviews) OneGov is an AI-powered legislative intelligence platform that monitors bill activity, committee hearings, and floor votes across all 50 U.S. state legislatures in real time. Built for lobbyists, government affairs teams, law firms, and policy advocates, OneGov surfaces the exact legislation that matters to your clients — with AI summaries, custom alerts, and multi-state dashboards. Replace manual legislative monitoring with a single platform that works 24/7, so your team can focus on strategy instead of spreadsheets. **Who Is the Company Behind OneGov?** - **Seller:** [OneGov](https://www.g2.com/sellers/onegov) - **Year Founded:** 2023 - **HQ Location:** N/A - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/onegovpolicy/ (9 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 13. [Partyline Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/partyline-platform/reviews) Partyline Platform provides innovative & intuitive relationship management, fundraising, legislative, project, and advocacy management tools. **Who Is the Company Behind Partyline Platform?** - **Seller:** [Gulf Partyline](https://www.g2.com/sellers/gulf-partyline) - **Year Founded:** 2014 - **HQ Location:** Atlanta, US - **LinkedIn® Page:** http://www.linkedin.com/company/gulfpartyline (3 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 14. [PolicyMate](https://www.g2.com/products/policymate/reviews) PolicyMate is the intelligence engine for public affairs. It gives users real-time, comprehensive awareness of every policy and regulatory development impacting their organisation. PolicyMate is fully customisable, works anywhere in any language, and tracks the government, media, and third-party sources relevant to each user. By automating 95% of intelligence tasks, and providing best-in-class research and analysis capabilities, PolicyMate makes teams smarter while allowing them to focus on higher-value work. **Who Is the Company Behind PolicyMate?** - **Seller:** [PolicyMate](https://www.g2.com/sellers/policymate) - **Year Founded:** 2024 - **HQ Location:** Lille, FR - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/policymate/ (3 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 15. [Proximity](https://www.g2.com/products/proximity-2025-06-12/reviews) Proximity is a SaaS solution for political leaders that replaces the many disparate systems used today. Proximity's security-first, nonpartisan technology provides the tools and resources that current and aspiring leaders need to connect more closely with their communities. Our full-stack, native software empowers political leaders and levels the playing field. Providing tools like voter lists, maps, and voter outreach; donation processing; event management and more; Proximity helps political leaders and their teams seamlessly address their tactical, strategic, and compliance needs. Proximity is changing the political landscape and democratizing democracy by helping good leaders become great candidates! **Who Is the Company Behind Proximity?** - **Seller:** [Proximity](https://www.g2.com/sellers/proximity) - **Year Founded:** 2007 - **HQ Location:** Leeds, GB - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/proximity-resourcing-ltd (32 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 16. [Qomon](https://www.g2.com/products/qomon/reviews) Qomon is the modern Supporter Activation Platform trusted by more than 1,500 organizations in 70 countries. We transform contact lists into visible outcomes: volunteers who show up, new donors who give, and data-driven campaigns that scale. Easy to use, privacy-first, and secure, Qomon helps mission-driven orgs mobilize both online and in the field. With Qomon, organizations stop losing momentum, achieve their missions and contribute to a future that reflects their vision. Qomon is a certified B Corp, Paris & D.C. based. **Who Is the Company Behind Qomon?** - **Seller:** [Qomon](https://www.g2.com/sellers/qomon) - **Year Founded:** 2020 - **HQ Location:** Washington, US - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/qomon (55 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 17. [Rally Congress](https://www.g2.com/products/rally-congress/reviews) Rally Congress helps associations, industry groups, and non-profits create and manage legislative advocacy campaigns. **Who Is the Company Behind Rally Congress?** - **Seller:** [Rally Congress](https://www.g2.com/sellers/rally-congress-1b17cb87-3b90-4a44-90b5-72ec6874faab) - **HQ Location:** N/A - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/No-Linkedin-Presence-Added-Intentionally-By-DataOps (1 employees on LinkedIn®) ### 18. [TSC.ai](https://www.g2.com/products/tsc-ai/reviews) It's a stakeholder and issues intelligence system designed for corporate diplomats (public affairs, government affairs, risk management, and ESG leaders, etc). A stakeholder relationship management software that comes with 1M+ stakeholders, media monitoring, targeted sentiment analysis, and automatic network mapping. **Who Is the Company Behind TSC.ai?** - **Seller:** [TSC.AI](https://www.g2.com/sellers/tsc-ai) - **Year Founded:** 2011 - **HQ Location:** Singapore, SG - **LinkedIn® Page:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/2219294 (91 employees on LinkedIn®) ## What Is Public Affairs and Advocacy Software? [Political Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/political) --- ## How Do You Choose the Right Public Affairs and Advocacy Software? ### What You Should Know About Public Affairs and Advocacy Software ### What is Public Affairs and Advocacy Software? Public affairs and advocacy software equips organizations with acquisition, engagement, and mobilization tools to drive results for initiatives focusing on advocacy, public affairs, and government relations. By combining [CRM systems](https://www.g2.com/categories/crm) and [marketing software](https://www.g2.com/categories/marketing) capabilities with industry-specific features, users can identify key stakeholders, engage with them across multiple channels at the right time, and deploy calls to action. Grassroots advocacy organizations rely on this software to geo-target supporters around specific issues, such as local legislation or elections, and direct them to sign petitions, message their representatives, and explore educational materials.  Public affairs and advocacy software also helps organizations identify new stakeholders and advocates to support their cause, using the aforementioned geo-targeting feature as well as relationship tracking tools, custom forms, social media posts and ads, and SMS outreach. Nonprofits, in particular, use these features to identify key advocates within their existing supporter base when trying to mobilize around an issue related to their organizational mission. Depending on an organization’s needs, these solutions can help with fundraising and event management. Visual charts and analytic reports track campaign success with as much specificity as needed. Some products geared more towards public affairs professionals can also track government committee hearings, social media commentary, and legislation and regulation developments at the local, state, and federal levels. This keeps users updated on bills as they move through the legislative process. Directories may also be available either natively or via integrations to quickly identify the appropriate government employee or policymaker to contact. ### What are the Common Features of Public Affairs and Advocacy Software? The following are some core features of public affairs and advocacy software that can help users: **Contact and relationship management:** As the foundational feature, contact and relationship management enables users to track interactions, manage all relevant data on stakeholders and advocates, and target all outreach efforts using segmentation and geo-targeting. Depending on the product, this feature will track all past financial contributions, event participation, and any existing memberships, depending on an organization’s needs. Advocates can also be mapped to corresponding government representatives and lawmakers, useful when launching call-to-action campaigns in specific geographic areas. **Email and text messaging:** Advocate engagement depends on multichannel messaging. Public affairs and advocacy software provides email and text outreach tools, and often social media integration, to distribute action alerts around breaking issues, prompt petition signatures, provide contact information for decision-makers, and send updates on campaign progress and outcomes. **Patch-through calling:** Patch-through calling makes it easier for advocates and stakeholders to connect with representatives, lawmakers, and policymakers. Depending on the vendor, this feature is usually enabled by a robo dialer, a volunteer, or a customer service representative. Patch-through calling is an effective mobilization strategy to connect supporters with the appropriate representative to try and affect public policy, often around urgent issues that arise unexpectedly. **Form and website builder:** Through a combination of templates and customizable builder tools, public affairs and advocacy software makes it easy to create email, text, and general content templates to streamline outreach efforts. Personalized landing pages for specific campaigns can also be created, making it easy to direct advocates and stakeholders to a page with relevant resources and action steps. **Mapping:** Visual charting makes it easy to see supporters' locations and their local districts. This geo-targeting functionality is handy for call-to-action campaigns at the local level. This feature is also important for storytelling purposes when organizations want to visualize campaign success at a regional or statewide level. **Public official database:** For public affairs and relations teams, public databases make it easy to identify government officials, lawmakers, and policymakers and access up-to-date contact information, background information, and constituent representation. Users can also track meetings and other interactions for each official. ### What are the Benefits of Public Affairs and Advocacy Software? The benefits of public affairs and advocacy software are as follows: **Personalization:** Most notably, public affairs and advocacy software makes it incredibly easy and efficient to send targeted outreach to advocates and mobilize them around relevant issues. This ensures that calls to action only go out to those with a stake in the issue, increasing the likelihood that supporters will convert to ongoing advocates. **Automation:** By automating many tedious tasks and workflows, this software frees up staff time to get ahead of developing issues, engage in more meaningful conversations and build relationships, and ensure supporters are mobilized to drive success for the right campaigns. Public affairs and advocacy software automates several tasks, from form and campaign site creation to petition templates for supporters to fill out quickly and even identifying links between advocates and policymakers. On the public affairs side, some products also automate the process of tracking legislative updates as bills move through procedural steps, which helps lobbying efforts. **Increased civic engagement:** Public affairs and advocacy ultimately supports increased civic engagement by making it easier for advocates to take action. As digital advocacy becomes more crucial, these solutions support a multichannel approach to mobilizing people around causes. Whether via email, text, or social media engagement, advocates can use customizable templates provided by the organization to quickly send messages and voice their opinion on key issues ### Who Uses Public Affairs and Advocacy Software? The following personas use public affairs and advocacy software: **Nonprofits:** Some nonprofits engage in advocacy efforts to promote policy change that will positively impact their ability to provide programming and services. This may include food banks, human services organizations, and veterans affairs groups. A dedicated advocacy platform alongside their existing tools can support these efforts, connecting their existing supporters with appropriate elected officials, knowing which supporters to target in specific areas for mobilization, and driving donations around certain causes. **Government affairs professionals:** Government affairs professionals need to keep a finger on the pulse of any legislative and regulatory changes that can impact a particular government department or agency. Public affairs and advocacy software geared toward this persona supports advanced stakeholder engagement and relationship tracking, bill tracking, and connection to local databases to target appropriate government officials for outreach. **Associations, agencies, and corporations:** For similar reasons, associations, agencies, and corporations may use public affairs and advocacy software to influence policy change that directly benefits them or those they represent. For associations, this may involve labor laws and union protections. For agencies, this can be a variety of lobbying efforts depending on who their clients are. For corporations, this often focuses on regulatory issues that impact their business practices, such as FDA regulations for pharmaceutical companies and food and beverage manufacturers. **PACs:** While PACs primarily work to elect specific candidates, they may engage in ongoing advocacy campaigns around issues that their candidate or their candidate’s affiliated party have made core to their political platform. Either alongside or instead of political campaign software, they may use public affairs and advocacy software to mobilize supporters for a candidate’s cause. #### Software Related to Public Affairs and Advocacy Software Related solutions that can be used together with public affairs and advocacy software include: [Political campaign software](https://www.g2.com/categories/political-campaign) **:** Political campaign software does have some feature overlap with public affairs and advocacy software but may lack some of the more robust stakeholder engagement and advocacy tools. For candidates who want to engage their supporters outside of election cycles, public affairs and advocacy software can support education around legislative developments, drive petition signatures, and identify key advocates who may be interested in joining campaign staff in the future. [Nonprofit CRM software](https://www.g2.com/categories/nonprofit-crm) **:** While most public affairs and advocacy software have native CRM functionality, some nonprofit users may prefer integrating with their nonprofit CRM tool to manage donor information beyond advocacy campaign engagement. [Fundraising software](https://www.g2.com/categories/fundraising) **:** While some public affairs and advocacy software may have native fundraising capabilities, these solutions often must integrate with a dedicated fundraising solution. Supporting native features may include donate buttons and text-to-give prompts. ### Challenges with Public Affairs and Advocacy Software Software solutions can come with their own set of challenges.  **Partisan skew:** Public affairs and advocacy software may only serve users representing a specific political party, depending on the vendor. This may be due to limited access to legislator databases and APIs or vendor political affinity.  **Data migration:** Public affairs and advocacy software’s efficacy partially depends on data quality. For users moving from other systems, the ability to migrate that data accurately is vital to ensuring the adoption of the new software. This can be particularly challenging when the data lives in multiple systems, such as a donor management system, a marketing platform, or another CRM.  ### How to Buy Public Affairs and Advocacy Software #### Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for Public Affairs and Advocacy Software Whether an organization is just starting to explore public affairs and advocacy software or is looking for a more appropriate solution for their needs, G2.com can help inform buyers of the market and assist them in selecting the best software product for their business. Buyers should consider what is working and not working with their current system and use that as a starting point. Some questions could be:  - Does the organization want to consolidate its tech stack into one central system? - Do they need a cloud-based solution?  - What challenges do they face around supporter acquisition, marketing, and campaign victories?  Understanding the weaknesses in their current system can help eliminate any potential new products that won’t alleviate those concerns. A product that integrates with their existing fundraising and donor management systems will be crucial for nonprofits.  Beyond that, integration with specific marketing platforms may be necessary for organizations that want more functionality beyond what a public affairs and advocacy product provides natively. Buyers should also understand the level of support each vendor offers when migrating data from existing systems into a new product. #### Compare Public Affairs and Advocacy Software Products **Create a long list** The first step to finding the perfect software solution is to create a preliminary list of products that fit the buyer’s general needs. The next step is to narrow down the list by selecting specific features that are must-haves or requirements for the buyer. The list of potential products will differ depending on whether an organization focuses more on advocacy campaigns or government affairs and relations. G2.com provides information about the best public affairs and advocacy software, allowing buyers to filter options and user reviews to help narrow the product list to a more relevant selection. **Create a short list** Creating a short list of software products is an important step in the buying process. While it may be daunting to filter through various products, users can get help by utilizing G2’s compare feature. This feature will take products of choice and display them side by side so the buyer can easily determine which software ticks the important boxes on the list. **Conduct demos** Once the buyer has narrowed down the product list, the next step is to conduct a demo. Demos allow buyers to see a product and its features in more detail. To ensure a buyer gets the most out of a demo, it’s important to go in prepared and thoroughly test each product. Some of the questions to keep in mind may include:  - How intuitive is the system for staff compared to the existing system?  - Which social media platforms do the product’s marketing features support?  - Does the product provide templates, and how much customization does their form builder allow? - How much segmentation does the product offer for building outreach lists? - Which legislative databases does the product pull information from?  - Can the product support the organization’s local, state, federal, or national work? - Does the product have a mobile app component? Additionally, buyers should inquire about cost, integrations, vendor support, and any concerns they have about the product. For example, does the vendor provide any lead acquisition services? Adequate preparation will make it easier for a buyer to compare products after completing the demos. #### Selection of Public Affairs and Advocacy Software **Choose a selection team** Ideally, a selection team should involve several or more staff members who represent the key business functions of the organization. This may include the marketing manager or director, social media manager, volunteer manager, and advocacy or outreach manager. For a public affairs organization, this may involve the government relations manager and other upper management involved in lobbying efforts. Whoever is chosen, the selection team should include people who would be regular users of the software. **Negotiation** Once the selection team has narrowed down their software picks, it’s time to discuss customization options, pricing, and the type of support needed from the vendor. It’s always important to address pricing options, even when they are listed on a vendor’s website. Many software vendors will provide discounts and custom pricing options based on what the buyer is looking to purchase. **Final decision** Once a buyer has made the final decision on a product and is ready to move forward with a purchase, it is recommended to conduct a final demo, enquire about a trial run, and determine the next steps if the product doesn’t ultimately fit their needs. These steps can give a buyer more security and confidence when deciding. Buyers should also understand the level of post-purchase support the selected vendor provides and whether implementation or training support can resolve any issues.