Plan and Budget

Raising dollars for your campaign is important, but whats more important is how you are spending each dollar, and at what frequency. You don’t need to be a financial expert to realize that every week you will have money flowing into your campaign, and expenditures going out. All expenses and funds raised should be tracked closely to see how you are doing compared to your goals. In this episode we will discuss how to form a budget, make a fundraising plan and ensure it lasts through the election. 

Learn more about Organizing to Win: The Art & Science of Running for Office - including free downloadable guides - by visiting OrganizingtoWin.com.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

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.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

Plan and budget. Just as you outlined what your win number is to secure victory, you also need to set your budget so you know what this entire effort will cost. You don't need to be a financial expert to realize that every week you will have money flowing into your campaign and expenditures going out. All expenses and funds raised should be tracked closely to see how you are doing compared to your monthly goals. As with everything in life, you need a plan and a budget. Finance Committee. Similar to your kitchen cabinet, assemble a group of individuals who will want to help with fundraising. Depending on the scale of the campaign, you may have individuals serve on both committees or combine them entirely. If you choose to have a separate finance committee, it should include your treasurer, deputy treasurer, and others who can help with fundraising, like a volunteer, event planner, and those with strong interpersonal skills. Your treasurer needs to be someone you trust as their social security number is often on the line, and if reports are not filed regularly, they are left with a fine for violations. A treasurer's name is on nearly every campaign item, so consider getting someone with credibility in the community. A deputy treasurer is often required, and they would take on the treasurer's duty in the event of an absence. Sometimes the deputy does the heavy lifting as the treasurer is more ceremonial, given how public the role is. A good team is critical to sound bookkeeping with proper checks, balances, and record keeping. Expenses. Raising dollars for your campaign is important, but what's more important is how you are spending each dollar and at what frequency. On campaign filing reports, the interesting data point is not how much money you raised overall, but rather what is your cash on hand. In other words, how much money do you have right now? Take inventory of what campaigns similar to yours have spent money on, which will give you a sense of your expenses. Social media and digital, mailings and postage, printed materials, technology for your voter database, payroll for staff, website fees, bank fees, pens, bumper stickers, and other merchandise, lawn signs and placard cards, headquarters and rent, equipment like phones and internet, consultant fees. If you look closely, the budget could be broken down into two parts. The items focused on voter contact, like materials to door knock and digital media, and items outside of voter contact, like rent, equipment, and fees. Your budget should put at least two-thirds of funds raised toward voter contact to ensure you are prioritizing what's most important, connecting with voters. The budget you lay out should be by timeline, what you will spend each month from your announcement to election day. Your team should price out each area so you have a sense of a base budget and add in options if you have more funding available to a reach budget. Menu of fundraising options. Raising money to meet your budget can be daunting, but if you follow this process, you will have a path to success. First, pull out all your go-to list of people, plus anyone you may have added to that list. Now, let's think through how you can bring funds in. Events, call time, digital media, direct mail, one-on-one meetings, pack, political action committee, giving. Events. An in-person fundraiser is a tried and true campaign activity, but it does not need to be a boring affair. Think of fun, creative ideas that sound like an event you would want to go to. Keeping costs in mind, what's a venue that's interesting? Oftentimes, a person's home is a wonderful location as it's going to be classified as an in-kind contribution, meaning you don't need to pay for venue costs. Work with your treasurer so the host completes an in-kind contribution form, which will count toward their maximum contribution. The host could be a notable person in the community, an expert in a policy area, or even a former elected official. Should you decide to go to a local restaurant, try to keep costs low. You will spend funds on food and beverages, and that's another opportunity to make the event interesting. Drinks and fare from local farms or eateries will differentiate your fundraiser from the usual political event. If you have someone who enjoys hosting or preparing food, they might want to volunteer in this effort. When thinking of events, it does not always need to take place on a weeknight evening. I personally have hosted many campaign kickoffs on a weekend where guests enjoyed brunch. By the afternoon, the event was over, and my campaign team would review how we did as we grazed on the remaining brunch and plan for the week ahead. Remember to be creative, make events interesting, and keep costs low so you are actually raising money. You may come across an event that works so well you've gotten yourself a theme that you can replicate again and again. Events at barbershops, local small businesses, ice cream shops, diners, or other themes tailored to your identity can help build your brand with recurring events. Mindful of safety, on the invitation you may note the event address is provided upon RSVP, so someone needs to respond to receive the location. This way you are not publishing where your campaign will be, especially since it may be at someone's private home. On the invitation, the donation levels can vary. You can have an event that is the same price for all, say $75 per person for a dinner, or use a tiered level of giving that allows something for everyone, say $100, $250, and $500 as a co-host. This allows for people to select a price that works for them, and the larger contributors would be listed as a co-host, which is a naming opportunity on the event for those who would like to help in substantial ways. Invitations should have contact information and any legal attributions. You will need a team in place to help the day of and during the event from dealing with the host setup and staffing the check-in table. Candidates should never be the ones handling checks, but rather they should be placed in the center of the event, talking with supporters. Campaign fundraiser in six weeks. Six weeks out from the event, determine the venue with the host, date, and duration of the event. Establish any themes, confirm speakers, then develop a host committee with a financial goal. Five to six weeks out, define the expectations for the host, the host committee, and what the campaign will handle. Set the budget so all are clear and to determine if any in-kind contributions are being used. Four to five weeks out, send invitations to the targeted list and have the committee follow up with attendees. This list could be people based on your geographic location, background, interests, or other data that you have access to. Three to four weeks out, have the candidate make calls to key invitees. For example, the largest donor targets or influencers who can bring others in. Two weeks out, ensure the event is on track with the goals for fundraising and attendance, and check in with the host committee of the event. In the final week, confirm logistics with the host and offer complimentary or reduced rate invitations. This could be for people who already maxed their donations to your campaign, volunteers, young people, and those who cannot afford the ticket price. The day before, confirm who has already donated, there should be most attendees. Confirm the speaking program and brief both the candidate and the host. At the event, secure donations from those who have yet to give. The next day, follow up with those who attended but did not contribute and who were not comped. Thank your hosts and secure all paperwork should there be any in-kind donations. As your campaign is moving forward, you will be planning multiple events at once, so set yourself up for success by keeping each on track with clear expectations of those involved. Event Ideas. A fundraiser's goal is to raise money, and it's an opportunity to gather people and show them who you are as a candidate. Do you love gardening? Have a garden fundraiser. Does your family own a restaurant? Have an event with food from your heritage and welcome people to hear your family's story. Are you a small business owner? Bring in other local small businesses to highlight the district you are running in. If you can't pinpoint an idea just yet, here are some. Cocktail party, trivia night, golf tournament, chili cookoff, family barbecue with children's activities, happy hour at a new restaurant, summer lobster bake, weekend brunch, women's event with a notable speaker, reception with small business owners, acoustic sat with a local musician, dinner and a show at a local theater, event at a local art gallery, reception at a local farm or plant nursery, taste of the town with a sampling from local eateries, award dinner honoring a long-serving member or volunteer. Event associated with notable days like the Kentucky Derby, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, and Earth Day. Be mindful of summer weekends like Memorial Day and the 4th of July, when people might be on vacation. And remember, the event is a fundraiser, so make sure you are raising funds. I've heard many fundraising ideas and had to decline them because putting the event on would cost a fortune. Be discerning and move forward with events that have low upfront costs with the potential to raise funds. Keep the venue size in mind as well. If you select a huge venue and have a respectable showing that barely fills the room, the optics won't be good. The room will look empty. This is a lesson I've learned the hard way in early campaigns. Select a venue that will have the space that fills quickly so the feeling is a full event. You'd rather need to bring in chairs than have a half-empty room. With a good location, dedicated host committee, and a list of prospective attendees, you are on your way to a successful event. Call time. One time I was the call time manager, a thrilling title, I know, on a campaign, and I was literally calling people all day long for funds with the candidate in the same small room, handling follow-up and managing the result of every call. The candidate and I would walk in at 9 a.m., coffee in hand, and I would manage the minutes until 5 p.m. to raise funds for the campaign. On some days we would raise tens of thousands of dollars from individuals, and on other days we lived in voicemails, wondering where everyone was. I witnessed call time best practices up close, and I learned a great deal about fundraising. Call time is often referred to as dialing for dollars. These calls can be for the purpose of building for an event, but often they are asking for a contribution without an event. A call time conversation is straightforward. Update the prospective donor on your race, ask for their advice, and then ask for their support. This is the most inexpensive effort a campaign has. All you need is the candidate, a phone, and a list of people to call, both current and prospective donors. Remember, a prospective donor is someone who hasn't given to you yet. You can even have a staff person join you to double dial, where you are both calling out to targeted donors, and as you get a live person, you transfer it to the candidate. You need a list to call from, a combination of supporters and prospects your team identified. This is yet another reason why your team should always be identifying new people and bringing them into the process. Take notes about the call from the personal information that would help you grow the relationship, think of kids' names and hobbies, and what level of contribution they are committing to. Then immediately move on to your next call. Keep making calls for a set amount of time. Even 16 minutes can yield contacts and funds. Follow-up emails can be sent after the conversation so that donors have the necessary information to make the donation. You can also text the donor with the website link if they prefer. Texting. Increasingly, people much prefer texting over talking on the phone, so experiment with texting as a fundraising tool and see how it does. For example, send a text after announcing your candidacy. I just announced my candidacy for the city council. This will be a tough race, but I am determined to win to deliver for working people in our city. A lot of people are watching this campaign launch, and your contribution will help me start our campaign strong. Please donate here. You can send these out personally or invest in a texting program for mass text messaging. Find the moments in the campaign where a fundraising text is most appropriate and have it serve a purpose with a time-sensitive appeal, like before a debate or by a financial reporting deadline. Email. Our inboxes are overflowing, yet email is still a component of how you get your message out. Realize that a campaign is a series of moments, so what important things are you going to say over the course of the campaign? Well, you are going to announce your candidacy, release a list of policy positions, get the party endorsement, comment on news relevant to your campaign, ask supporters to tune into debates, and release endorsements. Importantly, you will ask your list to volunteer and contribute. I suggest forming a calendar where your campaign will schedule emails so you have a plan. Find the right cadence of sending an email, not writing people an email every day, but with some regularity. I always caution candidates to avoid gimmick fundraising tactics that some national groups use. No, the sky will not fall if people don't donate $3 to your local council race. Move away from fundraising gimmicks and ask for real amounts, explaining how this will help you. Don't wait until the end of the email to make the ask either. Get to the ask up front and repeat it again later. Find a contact management system that will manage your contacts, many of which are free or inexpensive. These systems will allow you to have a file on every person with their email address and it will report information like what emails they open. There are also vendors that will integrate the email system within your own campaign database. Mail solicitation. Direct mail solicitations have decreased with the rise of texting and email, but there is still an option for mail solicitation in your toolkit. A solicitation is a long-form printed letter, often two pages, where you lay out your candidacy, what's at stake in the election, and your priorities, and ask people to help with a contribution before a deadline. The letter will be accompanied with an envelope so a check can be sent back to the campaign. While some may send a check in the mail, most will go online and give through your website. Solicitation letters have value in providing another communication touch point, explaining the work you are doing and how the campaign is going. If the number of letters is not overwhelming, the candidate can sign their name and write a quick note. Candidates can do this during car time or other downtime, which we will discuss. One-on-one meetings. A personal touch to fundraising increases the response rate significantly, so consider in-person meetings. You can do this by asking someone who is capable of helping in a substantial way for a coffee or lunch. When you do, talk to them about your candidacy and what fundraising benchmarks you need to meet to be competitive. Keep in mind some people value efficiency, so they may prefer a virtual meeting as opposed to an in-person meeting, and they will be honest with you about that. Be sure to research the person so you know something about them before having a conversation and asking for a contribution. PAC Giving. One area you may want to look into is political action committee giving. Following your local and state rules, a PAC is a political arm of a group. It may be either a state-based or federal PAC. For example, every union organization has a PAC, and they may be inclined to help you if you are a union candidate or running on a platform for working people. These PAC contributions still have a maximum contribution, as individuals do, so do your research and see if there's a PAC in your area that supports candidates like you. There are PAC supporting fellow women candidates, science-believing candidates, LGBT, Q candidates, and so on. These contributions often come with a candidate questionnaire, which you will need to complete in order to be considered for a PAC contribution. We'll talk more about questionnaires later. Finance Plan. A candidate should be spending their time raising funds and talking to voters. Working with your team, lay out a finance timeline of how these methods can be leveraged to help you achieve your fundraising goals, which you previously developed. The sooner you get to your financial goal, the sooner you can spend the rest of your campaign talking with voters. Taking these tactics together, you now want to create a finance plan divided by month. May event kickoff, texting, call time, solicitation letter, email program for a total fundraising goal. June, event summer barbecue, texting, call time, one-on-one meetings, email program for a total fundraising goal. July, event cocktail party, call time, solicitation letter, email program for a total fundraising goal. August, event, garden party at a supporter's home, call time, solicitation letter, email program for a total fundraising goal. September, event, women's brunch with speaker, event, young professionals reception, event, high dollar fundraiser, one-on-one meetings, call time, texting, the email program for a total fundraising goal. October, event, low dollar fundraiser, call time, texting, the email program for a total fundraising goal. November, texting, the email program for a total fundraising goal. For more on political fundraising, visit organizing to win.com.

SPEAKER_00 17:32

Organizing to win, the political how to book by Jimmy Tickey. It's available everywhere. Books are sold and at organizing to win.com. All rights reserved. Copyright Organizing to Win L C