Business Issues and Public Policy Committee Charter

Purpose (Our Why)

The Business Issues and Public Policy Committee exists to make IBAW a trusted, recognized voice on the issues that matter most to Wisconsin's family and other independently owned businesses. We follow business conditions and public policy at the local, state, and federal levels, and we help members understand what those changes mean for the way they run their companies.  We also gather intelligence on what our members are thinking about, to guide our programming and also to educate others about our views on the issues that matter.

We do this by drawing on what IBAW members see every day in their own businesses and sharing it with members, public officials, the media, and the wider business community.  We also monitor business trends and public policy developments and keep our members apprised.  In doing so, we support the Executive Director and Board of Directors by raising IBAW's profile and giving members a clearer view of the decisions coming their way.

Vision

When a business owner, reporter, or public official in Wisconsin wants to know how an issue affects independent businesses, IBAW is one of the first places they turn. IBAW members are well informed about the issues ahead of them and confident discussing those issues with their peers, their employees, and their elected officials.

Mission

To identify the business and public policy issues that affect Wisconsin's independent businesses, bring members timely and balanced information about those issues through programs, written content, and peer conversation, and share the perspective of independent business owners with the wider community, so that members make better decisions and IBAW's voice carries weight with the people who shape policy.

IBAW Value Proposition

The Independent Business Association of Wisconsin (IBAW) brings together leaders of Wisconsin's family and other privately owned businesses in a trusted executive community to address current and emerging issues affecting independent businesses. Through timely, content-rich programming and candid peer relationships, members learn, exchange practical insights, support one another, and build stronger businesses and communities.

The Value We Provide

•       Keeping members informed about business and public policy issues at the local, state, and federal levels, with a focus on what each issue means for a family or privately owned business.

•       Bringing knowledgeable, credible speakers to the IBAW monthly breakfast, with the Committee identifying and sponsoring one speaker each quarter.

•       Supplying regular content for IBAW's LinkedIn page, so that members and the wider business community see IBAW speaking clearly about the issues of the day.

•       Giving members a place to talk through issues candidly and hear views that differ from their own.

•       Gathering member perspectives on emerging issues and passing them along to the Executive Director and Board.

•       Building relationships with elected officials, local government leaders, agency staff, researchers, and other business organizations, so IBAW members have access to good information and the right people.

•       Helping members who want to write or speak on an issue find a fitting opportunity to do so.

•       Introducing IBAW to business owners who are not yet members, through content and programs worth sharing.

Our Issues Journey

•       Listen: Conduct an annual member survey.  Hear from members about the issues affecting their businesses, and keep watch on proposals and decisions at the local, state, and federal levels.

•      Learn: Study the Committee's priority issues using reliable sources, outside experts, and members' own experience, with attention to how each issue affects independent businesses in particular.

•      Share: Bring what we learn to members and the wider business community through breakfast speakers, LinkedIn content, and other IBAW communications.

•     Engage: Open conversations between IBAW members and public officials, the media, and partner organizations, within the guidelines set by the Board.

Guiding Principles

•       Keep the focus on issues that affect independent businesses.

•       Stay nonpartisan and get the facts right.  A thriving economy for family and independent business in Wisconsin is good for everyone.

•       Present more than one side when reasonable people disagree.

•       Support the mission, vision, and strategic priorities established by the Board.

•       Complement and support the work of the Executive Director.

•       Speak for IBAW only on positions the Board has approved.

•       Encourage collaboration among committees.

•       Respect members' time: a few useful pieces are worth more than a steady stream of filler.

Committee Responsibilities

•       Attend committee meetings, in person or digitally.

•       Do work between meetings on the areas assigned. This is a working committee, not a standing or advisory one.

•       Keep a short list of priority issues, review it at least twice a year, and share it with the Executive Director and Board.

•       Identify, invite, and sponsor one speaker per quarter for the IBAW monthly breakfast. The sponsoring committee member extends the invitation, briefs the speaker on the audience, introduces the speaker at the breakfast, publicly thanks the committee members at the breakfast, and sends a thank-you afterward. Dates and logistics are coordinated with the Executive Director.

•       Provide draft content for IBAW's LinkedIn page on a schedule agreed with the Executive Director (for example, two posts per month). Drafts may include short issue summaries, member perspectives, recaps of breakfast speakers, and comments on news or publications that affect independent businesses. The Executive Director reviews and approves all posts before publication.

•       Turn each committee-sponsored breakfast talk into follow-up content, such as a short recap of the speaker's main points for LinkedIn and IBAW member communications.

•       Working with the Executive Director, conduct an annual survey of family and independent business owners and executives in Wisconsin and prepare a report on the findings.

•       Watch for legislation, regulations, and local government decisions that affect members, and alert the Executive Director to anything time-sensitive.

•       From time to time, ask members for their views on an issue through a short survey, a breakfast table discussion, or a quick poll.

•       Recommend issues on which IBAW should publicly express a point of view on behalf of its members. The Board makes the final decision.

•       Build and maintain relationships with legislators, local officials, policy researchers, and other business organizations.

•       Help recruit additional committee members, especially members with experience in policy, law, finance, or communications.

•       Bring updates, roadblocks, and opportunities from assigned areas back to the full Committee.

Committee Structure

•       Chair

•       Vice Chair

•       Breakfast Speaker Lead

•       LinkedIn Content Lead

•       Annual Survey and Member Survey Lead

•       Local Issues Lead

Committee Boundaries

The Business Issues and Public Policy Committee owns and actively advances IBAW's work on business and public policy issues through programs, content, and relationships. The Committee works with the Executive Director to turn its priorities into action, within the strategic direction established by the Board.

The Committee does not lobby, endorse candidates, or take official positions on behalf of IBAW. Any recommendation for an official IBAW position goes to the Board for a decision. The Executive Director is IBAW's primary spokesperson and approves all content before it is published under the IBAW name. Committee members who speak or write publicly on an issue in their own name should make clear when they are not speaking for IBAW.

Scheduling and logistics for the monthly breakfast remain with the Executive Director. The Committee's role is to identify and host the speaker for its four quarterly slots.

Measures of Success

•       Four committee-sponsored breakfast speakers each year, with good attendance and positive member feedback.

•       A steady flow of LinkedIn content, with growth in followers and engagement on IBAW's page.

•       Quarterly short member surveys and an annual survey of family and independent business owners and executives, with commensurate annual report.

•       Members say IBAW helps them understand the issues affecting their businesses.

•       IBAW is invited to comment, testify, or join panels and news stories on business issues.

•       New relationships with public officials, researchers, and partner organizations.

•       Prospective members who first hear about IBAW through Committee content or programs.

•       Growth in committee participation.

Alignment with IBAW's Mission

 Address current and emerging issues affecting independent businesses: This is the Committee's core work. Taxes, regulation, labor rules, health care costs, and local decisions shape how members run their companies, and the Committee helps members see these issues coming.

Trusted executive community: Balanced, accurate information builds IBAW's reputation with members, public officials, and the wider business community.

Timely, content-rich programming: Quarterly breakfast speakers and regular LinkedIn content bring members current, practical insight.

Candid peer relationships and support one another: Committee meetings and breakfast discussions give members a place to compare notes on how an issue is playing out in their own businesses and to speak their minds in a forum with a diversity of viewpoints.

Build stronger businesses and communities: Well-informed owners make better decisions, and public officials who understand independent businesses make better policy.

Appendix: Notes

Possible issue areas for the first priority list (for discussion):

•       Wisconsin state budget

•       Local public safety concerns

•       Workforce and labor rules

•       Health care and benefit costs

•       Regulation and permitting

•       Business succession and estate planning rules

•       Energy costs and infrastructure