Quorum honors four groups with inaugural Wonk Awards

Quorum named four winners of its first Wonk Awards at Wonk Week 2026 in Washington, D.C., recognizing advocacy campaigns that delivered policy wins, public attention and measurable grassroots action. The awards spotlighted work from NMDP, Everytown for Gun Safety, Human Rights First and the Joyful Heart Foundation.

Why it matters: - The awards put a spotlight on government affairs work that produced measurable policy outcomes, not just awareness. - Quorum used the program to recognize campaigns that changed laws, mobilized advocates and influenced congressional oversight. - The winners span nonprofit advocacy, state policy, federal lobbying and issue-based public affairs.

What happened: - Quorum announced the winners of its inaugural Wonk Awards on Oct. 8 during Wonk Week 2026 in Washington, D.C. - The four honorees were the Joyful Heart Foundation, National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), Everytown for Gun Safety and Human Rights First. - Quorum framed the awards as a recognition of excellence in government affairs, advocacy strategy and policy impact.

The details: - NMDP won Federal Campaign of the Year after hand-delivering 25,009 petition signatures on Capitol Hill and reaching all 535 congressional offices. - NMDP's effort helped H.R. 5160 pass the House unanimously to reauthorize the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program. - Everytown for Gun Safety won State Campaign of the Year after turning a first-in-the-nation policy into law in California, Maryland, New York and Connecticut in two legislative cycles. - That policy requires gun manufacturers to redesign or stop selling handguns that can be easily converted into illegal machine guns. - Human Rights First won the Innovation & Impact Award for its ICE Flight Monitor. - The tool turned public aviation data into an independent tracker of deportation and detention-transfer flights. - Human Rights First said the effort generated 371 press hits and 9,867 grassroots actions and informed new congressional oversight. - Joyful Heart Foundation won Nonprofit Team of the Year after a 16-year campaign ended in May 2026 when Maine passed rape kit reform. - Joyful Heart Foundation said every state, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico had enacted at least one of its Six Pillars of Rape Kit Reform. - A panel of judges evaluated submissions on strategic thinking, execution, creativity and measurable impact. - The Wonk Week Digital recordings are available to watch on demand. - Quorum is an AI platform for government affairs that combines legislative tracking, stakeholder management, grassroots advocacy, PAC management and AI-powered intelligence. - Quorum was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Between the lines: - The award criteria favored campaigns that paired policy wins with quantifiable results, a sign that government affairs teams are being judged more on outcomes than activity. - Quorum used Wonk Week to position AI and data tools as central to modern advocacy work. - The mix of winners shows how advocacy now spans federal legislation, state-level policy, grassroots mobilization and media-driven oversight.

What's next: - Quorum is expected to continue Wonk Week as an annual gathering for government affairs and public policy professionals. - The company will likely use the Wonk Awards to build a repeatable benchmark for high-impact advocacy work. - Wonk Week attendees also had access to sessions on AI in government affairs, grassroots advocacy, PAC strategy, legislative tracking, coalition building and stakeholder engagement.