Asking for Money

You think you can’t ask someone for money, yet you can ask someone for advice, a favor, even for a vote. The truth is you are starting an enterprise with this political campaign, and you need to have funds to make it operate. Fundraising should start on the day you announce your campaign. Through this entrepreneurial venture of running for office, shift your thinking from asking someone for money to having them invest in this effort. A good fundraising program will raise the funds to compete, develop lasting relationships, and provide a well of support you can return to in the future. Let's discuss political fundraising...

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Transcript

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You're listening to the audio version of Jimmy Tickey's book Organizing to Win: The Art and Science of Running for Office. This book will teach you how to enter the political arena, manage a campaign, and run for office.

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Asking for money. I know, I know, I can hear you saying how you could never ask people for money. That's why fundraising is one of the biggest barriers to people entering this political arena. You think you can't ask someone for money, yet you can ask someone for advice, a favor, even for their vote. The truth is you are starting an enterprise with this campaign, and you need to have the funds to make it operate. Fundraising should start the day you announce your campaign. Through this entrepreneurial venture of running for office, shift your thinking from asking someone for money to having them invest in this effort. A good fundraising program will raise the funds to compete, develop lasting relationships, and provide a well of support you can return to in the future. In some districts and states, you may find that public financing is available for your campaigns. That means there is a system where if you hit certain fundraising benchmarks, there are public funds set aside through a publicly funded grant. Check with your team to understand how this will work if it's available to you and take advantage of public grants for your campaign. For those fundraising privately, finding donors from the district you wish to represent will help you as fundraising is also a form of voter engagement. That's why I view the crucial component of fundraising as part of the outreach effort, one that will fuel all the other aspects of your campaign. Your donors are your investors and they want to see their funds go to work. Creating a campaign that people want to invest in. Contributors are motivated by different factors. Maybe they know the candidate personally, care about electing someone from your political party, or have a vested interest in the outcome of the election. Fundraising is not a transactional, one-time event, but a relationship you are building with a donor. When donors see your campaign as active across various mediums, social media, traditional press, emails, and physical engagement in the community, it communicates you are everywhere and working hard to win. Once that relationship is established, you have the opportunity to cultivate it in meaningful ways in the future. Donors are an extension of your campaign, one that has the power to keep fueling these efforts again and again. A candidate who is raising contributions from everyday people can boast grassroots support, and that will lead to a self-sustaining campaign that has people truly invested. Through a campaign that plays across all channels and by being in the community, you will demonstrate to donors you are building a robust effort. Then they are more likely to be invested in your vision and feel a part of it. Whether that's addressing safer streets, disparities in your community, better schools, environmental protection, or smart economic development. Your list and donor research. Remember the go-to list you created? Get it ready because this is the start of your donor list. As you and your campaign meet others who express interest in your campaign, you can add them so you are always reaching new people. You should know something about your potential donors before you ask for money, who they are, why they might care about your race, and any involvement they have in your district. Some of this may be second nature if you know them well. Other times you will lean on your campaign to do the research. It will be helpful to start a conversation with a prospective donor around your shared beliefs. Talk about them and their involvement, and pull what you know about them into conversation. Learn about the work they are involved in and how that intersects with your campaign. We would do this at any other conversation, a work conversation or a chat at a party, so converse in a way that is relational before asking for funds. Making the ask. The time has come. You are going to ask someone to invest in your campaign. After the pleasantries, it's your responsibility to get to the purpose of the call. Tell them you are running for office. You can talk about benchmarks you are meeting, like a poll showing public support or notable endorsements. If your opponent is outraising you, then say that. You should make the case that you need their support while showing them that you have a path to win. Let them ask questions and without delay, ask them to help with an amount that is significant to them. You should have determined what that amount is, whether it's $100, $250, $500, or even $1,000. Make the fundraising ask and pause. So often, candidates will get nervous and continue to talk, never letting the person respond. You must allow room for a response, and then you'll hear a yes, a polite no, or something in between. If someone suggests the amount is too much or they can't help at this moment, you can note that you appreciate anything they can give and will check back in the future. You can also settle on another amount, perhaps half of what you asked for, and they may be agreeable to that. Your goal is to raise funds, so try to land on some amount that they can help with at this time. When someone agrees, let them know when you need it by using the next financial reporting deadline. These deadlines happen regularly in the campaign, and your treasurer will know each one. I once called a donor who had given annually, and I made a substantial ask that was in line with his previous giving. He could not help at that level, and so I lowered the ask to half the amount, pivoting to inquire if he could help at that reduced level. With a pause, he said, You are pushy, but you're good. He actually may have added a couple more words in there. Send me the info, I'll get it out to you today. The contribution was received in short order, and he continues to invest in important efforts to this day. Still, some may say flat out no. For those who decline, thank them for their time and use your judgment to determine whether it was a bad time or if they truly don't have an interest in supporting you. Take note of that, and your campaign may consider removing them from your list so you don't continue to ask. See, I'm not that pushy. Some may be evasive in their response, offering a maybe, and you'll need to use your judgment if you want to cut the ask more than in half, or just let it go and keep the call to a broader check-in about your campaign. You'll often need to leave messages on a voicemail. I don't suggest leaving a fundraising request on a voicemail unless you know the person exceptionally well and have asked before in that same way. Instead, leave a message saying you want to discuss your campaign and the best callback number. Repeated donors are smart and they will know why you are calling. There are some tough conversations that come with fundraising too. As I've fundraised, I've heard people's views about the enormous amount of money in politics, and they are not wrong. Our national campaign finance laws, which allow for enormous dark money, are broken. I share with them that my running for local office or helping others run for office won't single-handedly stop money in politics. We've got to be competitive, and we need to raise the funds to win. Chances are your race is not involved in national dark money super PACs, and you can let them know that you are raising money from people like them. I've also heard personal information as to why they cannot give, a health issue or personal financial matter. In those instances, you should pause, sending solicitation messages, and consider checking back in the future to see how things are going with the private matter that they shared with you. Remember, fundraising is not about transactions, but relationships. Follow-up. As with most things in life, people need a deadline to actually do something. So work with a sense of urgency. With fundraising, letting people know there is a deadline coming up can be incredibly powerful. Instead of thinking, oh, I should do that, one will now think, I need to do this now. Once you have a commitment to give, your campaign should follow up within a few hours with an email confirming their pledge, providing the ways to give, and thanking them for their commitment. Then have a member of your team follow up every two weeks or so until the contribution is received, leading up to your next deadline. It's important to follow a process but not haunt someone on their pledge to contribute. Should the prospective donor not respond to staff for multiple weeks, realize that some people like direct access to the candidate, so the candidate may need to call and follow up. Others will disappear and not fulfill their commitment, so always expect some commitments will not materialize. Grassroots green is gold. While candidates may dream of big checks, don't discount small dollar and recurring donations. The benefit of these types of donations is that the contributor could give again if motivated. You are also bringing more people into the process by having many small dollar contributions, especially if they live in district. Keep in mind one's contribution is in line with one's capacity to give, so making a meaningful contribution is relative. What is a lot of money? For some it's $50, and for others it's $250 or $1,000. Whatever it is, it's meaningful to them, and that's what matters. As you fundraise, you can show donors what their contribution is securing. For $50, you can print literature for a week's worth of door knocking. For $250, you can buy food for volunteers for the week. And for $1,000, direct digital ads to a targeted group. These kinds of tangible expenses show your supporters the real aspects of a campaign. There's no mystery here. It's money in and money out. Small dollar donations provide good optics for the campaign as they show everyday people investing in your candidacy. Many campaigns may share the average contribution size from donors to the public. Having a low average donation shows people are giving in small amounts, which signals a connection to people that can't be established if your campaign is only being funded by a few massive checks. When you're not meeting goals. If you are not meeting your goals, then you need to analyze why. Were your goals too high for a race like yours? Did you estimate expenses incorrectly? Are you soliciting too small a group? You must course correct because if you don't fix this, you are going to be faced with cutting budget items. Let's assume the funds coming in are not where you need them to be. Take stock of the donors. Are people giving in small amounts that actually have a higher propensity to give? Knowing what the maximum contribution per individual is, go back to those people to let them know you appreciate their support and inform them you have a way to go to reach your goal. Ask them to give another contribution, noting the amount remaining that they could give before they max out. Maxing someone out means they give the maximum amount as allowed by your laws. Not everyone will have the capacity to max out, but if someone gave $75 and you know they have the capacity to give more, you should call them and ask them to level up for the campaign. They can also set a recurring contribution to the campaign, perhaps giving a monthly contribution. You can assess current donors and take note of who has a good network, teachers, business owners, parents, and club leaders. Call them to give them a status of your race, thank them for their help, and let them know that you could use a boost to achieving your fundraising goal. Some like to do this by hosting an event or meeting, and others take a less time-intensive approach by raising funds on their own and delivering them to the campaign. Whatever it looks like, apply the same principles and finance laws and use existing networks to raise funds. Another shortcoming may not be connecting with enough donors. Challenge your team to think of influencers beyond groups you've already identified. Talk with other candidates who are running for office or have run in the past who may share intelligence about individuals willing to support a campaign like yours. As your campaign has developed, you may have focused on certain issues and perhaps those issues led you to new people that you did not know initially. Let's say you began to champion an environmental issue in district. Think about those who care about that issue and align them with your efforts to raise more funds. Outside funding. Outside money may be coming from interest groups and other entities. Be aware that outside funding may be entering the race for or against you, whether you like it or not. This is called independent expenditures, and they are out of your control. In fact, there can be no coordination between these groups spending money and your campaign. Should a group be supporting you, keep focused on your race as you have no role in that independent expenditure. Should a group not be supporting you, ensure there is no evidence that your opponent has coordinated with them, as that's improper. As always, keep your legal team and treasurer close by and abide by all applicable laws. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Within a week of receiving a contribution, you must thank the donor, no matter how the donation came through, online, by mail, or raised by others. Often, online contributions have an automatic donation page to thank the donor and generate a thank you email. For those donors who gave by check or cash if your campaign allows it, you should create a thank you letter that acknowledges their gift. In that letter you will include a handwritten note and sign it personally. For those contributions that are given online, you should also write a handwritten note, especially for larger donations. It's imperative you thank donors. When I raise funds for groups, I would call and thank the donor for their help and let them know how the funds went to work, the real difference it made on the ground.

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