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Home > About OTA > OTA Political Action Committee > Organic Pac Committee > Criteria for PAC Committee Members

Criteria for PAC Committee Members

  • Demonstrated interest in government affairs and the political process
  • Connection to a well-developed network of individuals and/or organizations in his/her given geographic region
  • Willingness to engage in PAC fundraising and meet fundraising goals
  • Affiliation with an OTA member company that will support PAC fundraising (e.g., authorize the PAC to solicit voluntary personal contributions of some or all of its executive personnel)*
  • Ability to act in a bipartisan manner and willingness to focus on organic agriculture and trade policy advancement as the sole screen of a candidate’s merits
*Note: Non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from engaging in electoral activity and thus representatives from those organizations may not serve on the committee.
 
Representation from each region of the U.S. is the foundation of the PAC Committee. The development of relationships with members of Congress throughout the country, as well as the engagement of members at the grassroots level, including but not limited to hosting regional events, are important goals of the OTA PAC as it gets off the ground. Additionally, it is OTA’s intention that, to the extent possible, the OTA PAC Committee will reflect the diversity of OTA members (sector, supply chain, size, etc.).

OTA PAC Committee Roles & Responsibilities

  • Provide general oversight to the PAC
  • Take an active role in setting and meeting contribution goals, which should include both financial goals and participation goals
  • Promote the PAC and positively represent its work to fellow OTA members and other organic stakeholders
  • Authorize all contributions to candidates, using the basic framework provided in the PAC bylaws and the PAC plan to be approved at the first committee meeting of each new PAC Committee
  • Operate with transparency in screening and authorizing contributions, using consistent criteria which is made available to OTA members
  • Execute responsibilities in accordance with the committee’s ground-rules, to be adopted by the committee at its first meeting
  • Provide quarterly reports to the OTA Board of Directors
 
Individuals interested in serving on the Organic PAC Committee should submit a letter of interest, outlining how they meet the criteria as well as any other pertinent information.