Fundraising Tips
- If you feel guilty asking for money you should not be running.
- You never get what you don’t ask for.
- The most powerful ask is face-to-face.
- Phone calls by the candidate are also essential.
- Personalized letters with follow-up phone calls work extremely well.
- Surrogates with a relationship to the potential donor are powerful.
- You need a finance committee. Give each member a fundraising goal.
- Devote at least some time every day during the campaign to fundraising.
- Call time
- Planning
- Research
- Budget review
- You must have a reason for the ask:
- Meeting a concrete, measurable need for your campaign.
- Fulfilling an emotional, transactional or ideological need for the donor.
- Your best prospects are people who have already given you money or volunteered for your campaign.
- Always ask for more than you think the donor is willing/able to give. It's not insulting; it's flattering.
- Special events are only a small part of your fundraising toolbox.
- Special interest groups are going to be your most important donors.
- Labor unions
- PACs and advocacy organizations
- Party members
- Business owners
- Political organization members
- Raising money is really hard for first-time candidates.
- Loan yourself as much as you can afford, to show you are serious.
- Ask your strongest supporters for loans as well as donations.
- Report everything, including in-kind donations, to prove you have support.
- Don't spend on frivolous things. It will piss off your donors.
- Thank your donors in writing. Every time.
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