Founded 1963 Area served United States | Location Washington D.C. Website bipac.org | |
Focus Help the business community play a more active role in the public policy process Key people Jim Gerlach, President & CEO |
BIPAC (Business-Industry Political Action Committee) is a purportedly nonpartisan, membership-supported, mission-driven, organization dedicated to increasing the political effectiveness of America’s business community. It is led by former U.S. Congressman Jim Gerlach, who served Pennsylvania's sixth congressional district from 2002-2014.
Contents
History
BIPAC was founded in 1963 as “an independent, nonpartisan group to serve as a political action arm for American business and industry.” It is known as the very first business political action committee (PAC). They conduct extensive biennial studies of employer-to-employee communications programs through both national polling and surveys within companies deploying a grassroots communications strategy.
Members of the business community, in August 1963, provided seed funding to establish BIPAC with the goal of electing business-friendly candidates. The group is not officially affiliated with either political party.
Operations
Several distinct legal entities operate within the framework of BIPAC:
Initiatives
Employees Vote is a get out the vote initiative to encourage private-sector U.S. employees to vote. Employees Vote provides best practices to its network of businesses and trade groups about Get Out The Vote strategy. For instance, a business should never tell employees how to vote, but they can them employees information about polling locations; registration for voting deadlines; information on the candidates running; and details on the issues that matter to their employer.