Principles First: The Summit

UPDATE: Our new dates are CONFIRMED. The Principles First Summit will now be held the weekend of February 26-27 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. We look forward to seeing you there!

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Principles First is excited to announce a two-day grassroots summit in Washington, DC to be held the weekend of February 26 - 27 focused on discussing and advancing a more principled center-right politics in the United States. We look forward to bringing together conservative and independent speakers, thought leaders, and grassroots activists for two days of panels, speeches, networking, and substantive discussion about what conservatism means today and the future of our movement.

This will build on the success of our 2020 Summit, which convened over 300 principled Americans from 30 states at the National Press Club. The speakers lined up for this gathering will be some of the leading thinkers in the principled lane and many of our #PrinciplesFirst grassroots activists from around the country are planning to travel in for the event. It will be the first time since the 2020 election and the onset of COVID that the principled movement has gathered in one place.

Speakers, agenda, and logistical information will follow closer to the Summit as we have a better sense of headcount.

Other gatherings cost hundreds of dollars to attend and line the pockets of their organizers. Ours is different. We're charging each attendee a small fee to ensure attendance and defray costs of the event. Principles First is a completely volunteer organization - no one makes a dollar off of our activism. This is about our ideas and we want everyone who wants to attend to be able to join us.

One of our core aims is to end the grift that currently plagues our politics. Because of this, we commit to transparency on how we spend the dollars we receive. Note, we are a 501(c)4 and are not legally obligated to disclose this information, but we will do so while respecting the privacy of our individual grassroots donors.

Currently, we estimate the total cost of the event will be ~$18,000 and we will not pay any honorariums to speakers. Tickets are $35 and the remaining costs will be paid for out of the group's current cash on hand, which has been supplied by our grassroots donors at an average donation of less than $100.

This will be a grassroots gathering of our Principles First members and will be open to anyone in the public who wants to engage on these ideas in a respectful way. Last year, our 300+ attendees included all types of citizens ranging from teachers to lawyers to government workers to farmers from 30 different states.

Our speakers all appeared at their leisure for no honorariums or reimbursement. They came because they cared. We will adopt that same approach this year and will announce speakers as they are confirmed.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

National Press Club, 529 14th Street Northwest, Washington, United States