Children's Campaign Fund: Who We Are

Board of Directors

The Children's Campaign Fund was created in 1990 as a nonp-partisan political action committee in Washington State. It grew out of the defeat of the Children's Initiative, a 1989 ballot measure that would have created a tax to ensure funding to support programs and policies for the well-being of the children in the state. Children's advocates across the state came together to support the Initiative, which enjoyed general support early on. Questioning the tax and how the dollars would be spent, many businesses, including many of the state's largest companies, launched an opposition campaign that resulted in defeat of the Initiative.

Children's advocates recognized that the Initiative failed, in part, because children lacked an effective voice in the electoral process. The founders of the Campaign Fund agreed that it was essential for that to change.

The Children's Campaign Fund was established to raise and provide money to candidates for the Washington State legislature who would be Champions for Children. In that first election cycle, a total of $1,850 was donated to four candidates. Fourteen years later, in the 2004 election cycle, over $50,000 was donated to candidates in critical legislative races throughout the state. In 2006, we intend to raise even more money and create more visibility for children as a voting issue.

Since the implementation of contribution limits, the Fund has received ever-increasing attention from candidates. Past co-chair of the Fund, Rep. Ruth Kagi, is among many fund-supported candidates who successfully ran for and serve in the legislature. She is now one of the state's strongest Champions for Children, currently serving as Chair of the House Children and Family Services Committee. She was joined in the House in 2005 by immediate past chair Mary Helen Roberts who was elected in 2004 to represent the 21st Legislative District.
 

The Children's Campaign Fund is the state's only political action committee (PAC) dedicated to helping elect legislators who will fight for the health, safety, education and welfare of Washington's children. It is one of only a handful of children's PACs in the country and probably the nation's oldest statewide PAC for children.

The Fund is an all-volunteer effort, run by a board of directors (35-40 members) from across the State of Washington. The board and volunteers are committed to:

• Raising and contributing funds
• Evaluating and endorsing candidates
• Publishing an annual Legislative Scorecard
• Promoting endorsed candidates
• Encouraging volunteers to campaign for Fund-endorsed candidates
• Making children a voting issue

Contributions and volunteers are targeted on those legislative races in which there are opportunities to elect strong advocates for children and to send a message that the well-being of the state's children must be a legislative priority. Donations and volunteers have also been generated to impact ballot measures that would be helpful or harmful to the state's children.

Funds are raised through special events, mailings and direct solicitations. Approximately 90% of the dollars raised are contributed to campaigns. The remaining 10% covers the costs of mailings, printing and postage, and information dissemination.

A chair, vice chair and steering committee lead the Fund. Work is accomplished through four committees: Endorsement, Fund Development, Public Relations, and Membership and Board Development. By-laws govern the organization, which is registered with the Office of the Secretary of State and the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC). The Fund's Treasurer handles all PDC filings.

The Fund has champions on both sides of the aisle and on both sides of the Cascade mountains. We will continue to pursue increasing those friends and hope that will include you.

Mary Jacobs, Chair
Susan A. Weiss, Vice Chair