Political Campaigning: Everything You Need to Know About Fundraising
For a number of reasons, money is one of the first things that comes to mind when thinking about politics. The victories of candidates across the country depends on strong funding from supporters. In the same vein, donations allow political organizations to execute their mission of building Democratic infrastructure, while continuing to operate efficiently. Fundraising is how candidates and organizations raise that money.
When someone considers running for office, they may wonder how to effectively fundraise. And as a potential political campaign staffer, they may reflect on whether their skillset fits a fundraising role.
For each type of learner, this is everything you need to know about fundraising for political campaigns.
What is Campaign Fundraising?
To answer this question, perhaps it’s best to address why campaigns raise money in the first place.
Running for office costs money. Targeting voters through television, online, or direct mail costs money. Unfortunately, nobody will donate to a campaign or organization unless they are asked. This is the purpose of fundraising.
Fundraising engages individuals and organizations to raise money for a political campaign. It is the lifeblood of every campaign, Democratic initiative, and progressive agenda.
Our course in the Online Academy provides a detailed introduction to campaign fundraising: Intro to Fundraising.
Working in Fundraising
While the singular goal of fundraising is raising money, campaign staff still perform a wide-ranging set of responsibilities. From researching prospective donors to planning fundraising events, days as a fundraising staffer will vary.
Staffers must be comfortable speaking with donors and asking for money. They must have great attention to detail and be sensitive to confidentiality, especially when dealing with donors’ financial information. They must also be deadline-oriented, as many states require periodic reporting of financial data. This means that each quarter the fundraising team’s work is on public display, which showcases the strength of the campaign and viability of the candidate.
Fundraisers are also problem solvers. A wide variety of issues come up over the course of an election. The printer might break. The candidate may get stuck in traffic on their way to a major donor event. Volunteers may not show up for a shift. Regardless, a fundraiser must be able to adapt and find alternative solutions when possible.
To learn what a fundraising professional does over the course of a campaign, take this course: Fundraising: What’s my Job?
If fundraising is the right career for you, check out the resources in this article on finding a job in Democratic politics — Finding a Democratic Political Campaign Job — or this course — Finding a Job in Democratic Politics.
Running For Office: The Role of Fundraising
If you are thinking about seeking office, or have already decided to run, your campaign will need a qualified fundraising team.
The role of each member of a fundraising team varies depending on the position and office the candidate is pursuing. A larger campaign, such as a Congressional or Senate race, needs a national fundraising director, multiple regional fundraising directors, and many assistants, interns and volunteers. On a smaller local campaign, each staff member will likely have more responsibility, and roles will be less specialized.
Find more information on building a campaign team with our course: Getting Your Campaign Off The Ground.
How to Get Started
Winning an election requires a detailed, well-executed campaign plan. Within that larger plan, a campaign must have a fundraising plan. The fundraising plan articulates how much money the campaign needs to raise, emphasizes fundraising deadlines, and outlines how the campaign plans to go about raising that money. It sets concrete goals for both the upcoming quarter and the entire campaign.
Here’s how to get started:
Build your Political Campaign Fundraising Plan. A template to jumpstart this process can be found here: Candidate Political Campaign Fundraising Plan Template.
Within the fundraising plan, you should plan to host successful fundraising events for a campaign. Here are some strategies for executing successful fundraising events: Throwing a Fundraising Event.
Before raising a cent, however, you’ll need to build a donor list. This mini-lesson is a guide to creating one: How to Build Your Own Fundraising List.
Fundraising is a broad field that requires a wide-ranging skillset. Having qualified fundraising professionals is a necessity for the success of all campaigns. Effective fundraising planning by candidates and local leaders is paramount for winning elections and growing the Democratic party.
This is one part of our five-part series on “everything you need to know about” Democratic campaigns. Check out the next installment with: Political Campaigning: Everything You Need to Know About Field.
And, as always, learn more and dive deeper with our Online Academy!
