The first quarter of 2026 set a powerful tone for grassroots advocacy across the community association housing industry landscape. From energizing new advocate voices to strengthening long-standing relationships with policymakers, CAI members demonstrated what’s possible when local engagement meets a shared purpose. Together, we expanded CAI’s reach, amplified key priorities, and turned collective action into measurable results.

Grassroots advocacy and meaningful advocate engagement are at the heart of lasting policy success. When individuals within community associations raise their voices, they bring real-world perspectives to the forefront for elected officials. This collective, ground-level involvement strengthens the credibility of CAI’s policy priorities and also builds a network of informed, motivated advocates who can respond quickly and effectively when it matters most.

Through fostering this form of consistent engagement via outreach, education, or direct communication with policymakers, CAI’s legislative advocates can create a powerful system where voices are heard, relationships are built, and influence grows. Ultimately, advocacy success isn’t driven by a single moment, but by sustained grassroots efforts that turn community insight into meaningful action and measurable impact. Here’s a look at how CAI’s grassroots efforts took shape in Q1 including the records and milestones that are helping drive our mission forward.

From Jan. 1 to March 31, CAI’s legislative action committees and advocates continued to elevate advocacy initiatives by engaging grassroots advocates across districts and states. Here is a breakdown by the numbers of the work accomplished by CAI’s advocates across the U.S. so far this year:

• 62 state level campaigns launched and led by CAI, compared to 72 total campaigns in 2025.
• 4,396 CAI advocates sent emails to state legislators. Of these advocates, 3,217 (73.2%) people were first-time advocates who had not previously engaged with a call-to-action from CAI.
• 796 state legislators have been contacted by CAI advocates.
• 60,817 emails have been sent to state legislators by CAI advocates.
• 14 states have leveraged grassroots email campaigns with Georgia, Maryland, Indiana, Florida, and Washington state leading the way.
• 8 states have held CAI and community association advocacy day events in state capitals with more than 350 CAI members in attendance.

Twenty-eight states remain in session in 2026, and there is still a great deal of ongoing industry advocacy efforts. If you are interested in getting involved with CAI’s advocacy efforts, we encourage you to utilize the following resources:

• Learn more about CAI’s legislative action committees here: https://www.caionline.org/advocacy/legislative-action-committees/
• Become a CAI Advocacy Ambassador: https://www.caionline.org/advocacy/take-action/advocacy-ambassadors/
• Leverage social media to connect with legislators: https://advocacy.caionline.org/advocacy-social-media/
• Importance of leveraging legislative connections: https://advocacy.caionline.org/who-you-know/

Get started today! Visit our Action Center to see what issues CAI is advocating for on behalf of community associations at the state and federal levels and sign up to be notified about key legislation and advocacy campaigns in your state.