IFAPAC Madness is back for 2025! The 2024 Madness Campaign was remarkably successful in its efforts to boost contributions to IFAPAC early last year. We saw states large and small rise to the challenge, growing their contribution and contributor totals from the previous year. Are you ready for the Madness?
Why IFAPAC Madness Matters
IFAPAC is one of the cornerstones of NAIFA’s advocacy strategies. NAIFA members pool their resources to contribute to candidates running for legislative office on the state and federal levels. The support given by NAIFA members through IFAPAC reinforces the NAIFA brand with your lawmakers and gives NAIFA members a foot-in-the-door when issues come before legislatures that require input and insight from financial services professionals.
IFAPAC has served as a front-line defense for your business interests before legislative bodies like Congress for decades. With the significant amount of tax challenges in store on the legislative calendar in 2025, now is not the time to rest on laurels from our efforts to support candidates in the 2024 elections, it’s time to wield our influence as members of NAIFA and financial services professionals and ensure that Congress and the new administration aren’t hindering our businesses, clients, and families with overburdensome taxes and regulations.
IFAPAC has served as NAIFA’s business protection insurance for more than 55 years, punching above its weight class amongst other Insurance PACs because of the trust and support NAIFA members place in our efforts. More contributors means more opportunity to elect lawmakers that care about the impact NAIFA members make in their communities through their work.
How IFAPAC Madness Works
Much like the NCAA March Madness Brackets, IFAPAC has made its own brackets, dividing NAIFA Nation into four divisions: Generals, Defenders, Advocates, and Ambassadors. Chapters will advance through the brackets based on the total amount raised during each round. Unlike NCAA March Madness, however, the 2025 IFAPAC Madness tournament has been reorganized into a Double-Elimination Tournament to ensure that all Chapters have more opportunities to participate in the campaign. When Chapters face off, winners will move into the next round. Chapters that lose will drop into the Redemption Bracket and face off for the opportunity to move back into the higher bracket in the Championship Round.
Tournament divisions were determined based on chapter performance in the 2024 IFAPAC Madness Tournament. Because we have an odd number of chapters, Madness will begin in late February with a preliminary round for the Advocates, Ambassadors, and Defenders divisions.
Chapters in the preliminary round are as follows: Advocates: West Virginia vs. New Hampshire; Ambassadors: Arkansas vs. Connecticut; and Defenders: Wyoming vs. Vermont. The Preliminary round will begin on Saturday, February 22, 2025, and end Thursday, February 27th, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET. Winners will be announced Friday, February 28, 2025, in time for the first round of Madness to begin on Saturday, March 1, 2025.
Teams eliminated in the Preliminary Round will not be eligible to play in the full IFAPAC Madness tournament, nor will they be entered into the Redemption Bracket.
IFAPAC Madness begins Saturday, March 1, 2025, and ends Friday, April 11, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET. Championship Rounds will take place April 12, 2025 – April 18, 2025. More details will be announced for the Championship rounds as we approach the final weeks of the tournament. Round advancements will be officially announced on Mondays. Chapters can check their Contribution Status by using the Reports Portal in the NAIFA Advocacy in Action Center to pull real-time State Statistics Reports. These reports will reflect all online contributions in real-time. Contributions sent by mail will not be included in these statistics.
The rounds of play are a full week. Rounds will begin on Saturdays and end on Fridays. Deadlines for contributions are Fridays of the week of play by 11:59 PM Eastern Time at the latest.
The winner will be announced at Congressional Conference in May. The chapter that wins will receive a trophy that can tour their chapter’s state until the next year when it will be passed off to the next winner.
Rounds of Play
Preliminary: Saturday, February 22, 2025 – Thursday, February 27, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET.
Round 1: Saturday, March 1, 2025 – Friday, March 7, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET.
Round 2: Saturday, March 8, 2025 – Friday, March 14, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET.
Round 3: Saturday, March 15, 2025 – Friday, March 21, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET.
Round 4: Saturday, March 22, 2025 – Friday, March 28, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET.
Round 5: Saturday, March 29, 2025 – Friday, April 4, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET.
Round 6: Saturday, April 5, 2025 – Friday, April 11, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET.
Championship Week: April 12, 2025 – Friday, April 18, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET.
