Contact a Lobbyist Directly

Ask a lobbyist about their experience, availability, and fees through Civalta’s Inbox. You can start a conversation before creating an opportunity to explore whether they are a good fit for your organization.

Before you begin
Sign in to your Client workspace. Follow Get Started as a Client if you still need to set it up.

The screenshots show a sample conversation between Sophia Bennett at Mountain West Clean Energy Association and Natalie Brooks at Front Range Policy Partners.

1. Choose the lobbyist you want to contact

Select Lobbyists in the main navigation.
Find a candidate and review their profile. See Find and Compare Lobbyists for search and comparison tips.
Select Send Message on the directory card or lobbyist profile.

Choose Send Message to contact the individual lobbyist.

2. Confirm the recipient

Civalta opens the Inbox, with the page titled Messages and the lobbyist selected. Check the name at the top of the thread and the Organizations listed in the participant details.

If this is your first contact, you will see Send the first message to start this conversation. Opening the page does not send anything. If you already have a conversation, its history appears instead.

3. Write and send your introduction

Use the Type a message... field to introduce yourself and your organization. Include your policy goals, the jurisdiction you need, your timeline, and a clear question or proposed next step.

Example message

Hi Natalie — I’m Sophia Bennett with Mountain West Clean Energy Association. We’re seeking help with Colorado state energy policy for the upcoming legislative session, including bill monitoring and stakeholder outreach.

Are you accepting new clients? Could we schedule a brief introductory call to discuss your experience, availability, and engagement fees?

Adapt the example to your needs. Inbox messages support text; a brief summary is a useful starting point.

Enter sends your message
Use Shift+Enter to add a line break. Review your message before selecting the arrow button labeled Send message or pressing Enter.

Message composer containing Sophia’s introductory message to Natalie with the green Send message arrow enabled

Review the introduction and choose the arrow to send it.

Your first sent message creates the conversation. The message appears in the thread, and the writing field clears so you can continue the discussion.

Conversation header naming Natalie Brooks and Sophia’s sent introductory message displayed in the thread

The sent message is now part of the conversation history.

4. Return to the conversation

Select the Inbox envelope icon in the top bar. Choose the conversation from the preview, or select See all in inbox to open Messages. Select the lobbyist’s conversation to review replies and send follow-up messages.

Inbox preview showing Natalie Brooks’s conversation and the See all in inbox button

Use the Inbox shortcut to return to your conversations.

What’s next?

Confirm availability, scope, fees, and the next step with the lobbyist. Sending a message begins a discussion; it does not hire them or create an engagement.

To share a published opportunity, select Invite to opportunity in the conversation. Follow Invite Lobbyists to Opportunities for details.

If you cannot send a message

Enter some text; Send message stays unavailable for an empty message.
Keep messages within the 5,000-character limit.
Copy any unfinished text before leaving or refreshing the page. Draft text is not saved for later.
If sending fails, check your connection and reopen the conversation to see whether the message appeared before trying again. Contact Civalta Support if the problem continues.