For many nonprofits, developing a strategy to influence public policy can be a complicated and painstaking task. One Richmond-based business, Muster, is working to change that.
Founded in 2014, Muster was born out of a database of elected officials originally compiled by its founder, Alex Schettine.
The project first took root when Schettine was living in Manhattan. After encountering unsightly trash buildup in his neighborhood, he found himself unexpectedly hitting a brick wall when attempting to identify the right local officials to contact about the issue.
"I tried to look up my city council representative, and it was a very laborious process," said Schettine. "There were 50 council members within Manhattan and the five outer boroughs. I couldn't figure out which one was mine, and I just thought that was wrong."
To address the problem, Schettine and a colleague began cataloguing local and state officials, but they didn't know exactly what to do with the data. As time progressed, it became clear that the information could be leveraged to impact public policy on the grassroots level. Schettine moved to Richmond and fine-tuned the concept, developing it into a political advocacy software program.
Now, Muster enables nonprofits and professional associations to amplify their voice through a web-based platform. Organizations can upload members’ email lists in bulk to create digital campaigns targeting municipal, state and federal officials. From there, users can prompt their contacts to send targeted messages to their exact representatives.
The platform is particularly effective when the General Assembly is in session, as new policies and regulations are set to be reviewed. Those legislative sessions present prime opportunities for organizations to advocate for a cause or promote better business environments for their industry, Schettine said.
As far as analytics, all correspondence sent to public leaders is tracked and tallied, providing organizations with clear, quantitative evidence of members' advocacy efforts. This single factor can go a long way in swaying policy, he said, as representatives can access concrete data showing constituency support for or against a specific legislative measure.
While Muster got its start serving Richmond-area nonprofits, it currently has clients spanning 41 states.
“We’re a really strong fit right now on the state level and are starting to penetrate the D.C national market,” Schettine said. “So we’ve kind of moved up the ladder.”
Muster shows no signs of slowing down, either. The company has plans to maintain its office in Richmond while expanding to a second site in Arlington. An additional location in Charlottesville is also set to open in the coming months. While Muster is currently operated by a staff of eight, Schettine expects to hire 10 additional employees by the end of next year.
The timing of the company’s expansion efforts couldn’t be better. One of Muster’s few competitors, CQ Roll Call, was recently acquired by FiscalNote for $180 million.
“We see a very similar trajectory being possible for Muster,” Schettine said.
