We’re kicking off another focus week on RunSmart2Win. This week we’re tackling fundraising.

As the famous saying goes, money is the mother’s milk of politics. While technology has leveled the political playing field somewhat, money is still one of the best predictors of Election Day success. How do you go about raising the funds your campaign needs to win? Here are 10 essential fundraising principles:

1. Budget first. Common sense tells us that we need to raise money before we know how much to budget for our campaign. Wrong. Just as you wouldn’t go out asking for votes until you’ve determined how many votes you need to win, then devised a strategy to earn those votes, you can’t start raising money until you have a budget. Budgeting is synonymous with prioritizing. Divide your expected expenditures into necessary and discretionary costs. Then prioritize your discretionary costs into three tiers. The first tier might include a mailing, the second tier could be radio commercials, and the third tier television ads. If you raise enough money to cover the necessary costs, but not enough to cover all three discretionary tiers, do the mailing and the radio spots and pull the plug on the TV ads. Also, identify when you need certain amounts of money in order to implement items in your budget. For example, you might determine that you need to raise $5,000 by the beginning of October before you go forward with your radio advertising blitz.  It’s helpful to place your campaign time-line side-by-side with your budget, remembering that the biggest expenses come at the beginning and the end of the campaign. The campaign budget is the monetary embodiment of the campaign strategy — the plan (and associated costs) for communicating your message to the electorate, reaching swing voters, and turning out your supporters on Election Day.
2. Research potential donors. This involves three components: identifying potential supporters, ranking them, and knowing everything there is to know about them. Identifying donors begins with making a list of everyone you, your family, and the campaign staff know…then build on it with “friends of friends” on your list. Of course there are many other options out there for building the list (including obtaining the rights to mailing lists from previous campaigns in your area, using the Voter Vault database, etc.). Next, rank the potential donors by proximity and the strength of their relationships to the candidate. Rank potential donors as A’s, B’s, C’s, and D’s. Then, assign an ask amount to each donor; for example: A-$1,000; B-$200; C-$500; D-$20 (note that the donor ranking doesn’t necessarily correspond to the amount you’re going to ask for; in this example, we’re going to ask for a $500 gift from one of our C-level donors, but a $200 from a B-level donor). Finally, before you start working through your list (focusing on the A’s and working your way down to the D’s), learn everything there is to know about the people you’re going to be asking for money: their interests, occupations, giving history, etc. If a potential donor cares deeply about education (and this is evident through his or her occupation, voting, or giving history), when you ask this person for money, talk about the candidate’s policy platform on education, not tax policy or crime. Do your homework before you ask for cash.
3. Get organized. Form the campaign’s fundraising team, led by the fundraising director, and construct a plan for contacting all of your potential supporters. Major donors should get a visit from the candidate. Perhaps “C-level” donors get a phone call from a member of the fundraising team, while “D-level” donors get a mailing or an invitation to an event. Incorporate the donor rankings, the fundraising team, and the methods for raising money in an overall fundraising strategy memo. Set up a system for tracking all fundraising activities and interactions. And don’t miss opportunities for collaboration with other areas of the campaign. If a group of volunteers goes out to canvass a neighborhood, make certain that a member of the fundraising team gives them instructions for the steps to take if someone expresses a desire to contribute.
4. Develop a compelling fundraising message. The other aspect of the fundraising strategy memo is the message you want to convey to donors and potential supporters. The message should point to the campaign’s rationale and overall message (why your candidate is running, why he or she is qualified, and what he or she hopes to accomplish in office). The fundraising message should also include examples of other individuals and organizations supporting the candidate, why someone should support you (i.e. what is the benefit to the supporter), and how much money you need to win. Emphasize the need for immediate contributions. Inform potential donors that a contribution is more valuable if it arrives earlier rather than later in the campaign (we’ll come back to the concept of timing and urgency).  Finally, be specific. Tie the money you’re asking for to a specific need (e.g. those radio spots), a deadline (e.g. the beginning of October), and an amount (e.g. 50 people to give $100 each for the $5,000 ad blitz).
5. Timing is everything. I can’t stress this point enough, timing is everything when it comes to campaign fundraising. This relates to the campaign timeline (needing big chunks of money to start the race and to finish it), knowing when to ask donors to contribute (and for how much), and knowing when to shut up! On the first point, it is true that campaigns need start-up money to get off the ground, then a sizable war chest to finish strongly. A good way to start off on the right foot is to raise seed money. This could be money from your wealthy A-level donors before the campaign officially begins (possibly before you even announce your intention to run). Why raise seed money? One, it’s nice to start the campaign with a bang. Raise enough money for a large kickoff event (plus pre-campaign expenses like research and polling). Two, it’s a way to raise more money than you would otherwise be able to raise. Ronald A. Faucheux calls this “the guarantee system” in his book Running for Office: “The ‘guarantee system’ is a way to get prospective contributors to write the biggest possible checks at the earliest possible moment. The key to the system is giving select, early contributors a chance to get their money back. It’s a way to soften the hit, which allows you to ratchet up the size of the request. This system makes it easier for the candidate to ‘guarantee’ from the outset that the campaign will have adequate initial funding. Once that’s done, the campaign and the candidate can concentrate on raising a volume of smaller donations over time.” Finally, on the last point, knowing when to shut up: this is a well-known axiom in sales. After you make the ask, shut up. Close your mouth. Wait. Don’t give the prospective donor “an out.” Sit in the uncomfortable silence. The person who “breaks” first loses. If you break first, you take the pressure off the potential donor and he’s less likely to give. If he breaks first, he’s much more likely to donate to your campaign. Timing is everything.
6. Take advantage of the campaign’s best fundraiser. The candidate! If the candidate is not in the right frame of mind — understanding the critical importance of raising money, and motivated to lead the effort — fundraising will suffer. Ronald A. Faucheux also addresses this in Running for Office: “If a candidate approaches fundraising with misery and dread, the results will tend to be miserable and dreadful. If a candidate approaches the task with a positive, hopeful, upbeat attitude, the results will reflect it.” Just as the fundraising team — and the campaign in general — should be disciplined and organized, the candidate should be disciplined and organized. He should sit down with the fundraising director, the campaign manager, and the scheduler (if this is a separate position) at the beginning of the campaign — and regularly throughout the campaign — to block off time for fundraising every week, if not every day.
7. Get the check, say “Thank you”, rinse and repeat. What do you do when someone agrees to write a big fat check to your campaign? Number one, get it as soon as possible! Don’t wait. If the donor says he’s going to give next week, ask, “Why not today?”  If the donor says he’ll send in the check tomorrow, offer to pick it up in person that afternoon. There are a million things that can prevent well-intentioned donors from separating from their money: forgetfulness, busyness, whatever. Next, say Thank you. Have a system in place for sending the donor a thank you note. Once again, the theme to this principle — as well as all of the others — is discipline and organization! Finally, “rinse and repeat.” Who are the best potential donors to your campaign? Previous donors. Statistics show that the most likely givers to any organization are people who have given to it before. Also, your donors are also a great resource for identifying new supporters. So, get the check, say Thank you, rinse and repeat.

Tags: campaign fundraising, Campaign Tips, political fundraising

This entry was posted on Monday, August 3rd, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Campaign Tips, Fundraising to Win, Winning Strategies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.