Do We Elect a Person or a Brand?
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away, a sharp young black Democratic candidate from Chicago ran a popular campaign based on “hope” and “change.” He set up a snazzy, tech-savvy website that focused on fundraising from low dollar donors and his campaign rhetoric included soaring lines like: Together we can. I am not asking you to take a chance on me, I am asking...
Read MorePolitical Fundraising Follows 80-20 Rule
After pouring over some of the fundraising data points culled from the June FEC filings of President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, what I found most interesting is that political donations are following the Pareto Principle. The Pareto Principle is more commonly known as the 80-20 rule and it’s is a basic rule of thumb which states that roughly 80 percent of results come from 20 percent of...
Read MoreWhat Wisconsin Means for the White House Race
Wisconsin’s recall election showed us that depending solely on a ground game will not win an election. A campaign also needs a media and messaging focus in order to drive supporters to the polls. But in order to execute a robust media strategy your campaign needs to raise significant amounts of money. That doesn’t mean political fundraising is the be all and end all of a campaign. It’s...
Read MorePolitical Fundraising Glossary
Political Fundraising Glossary Like any industry, political fundraisers throw around a lot of industry specific terms. This is a quick effort to gain a little clarity. Note that this page is a work in progress and will evolve as we think of more items to put on the list. 0-9 501(c) Groups: Nonprofit, tax-exempt groups organized under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code...
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