How to ask for a political donation

Ann Herberger just posted a great article in CampaignsAndElections.com on how to train your candidate to ask for money.Soliciting donations is a skill and is required for candidates of all levels, from town selectman all the way up to President. My personal favorite fundraiser is Haley Barbour. I've sat with him when he was making fundraising calls for the Republican Governors Association, and he is a fundraising genius. You can learn a lot by observing a highly practiced expert.Unless your candidate comes with a fundraising or sales background, they are going to need to be taught and practice making "the ask." Your candidate's time is your most valuable resource. Don't wast it on inefficient fundraising activities. Train them how to ask and make sure their asks are personal. Nothing can replace a personal meeting or a personal phone call. Use finance team staffers or vendors for email or social asks. Your candidate should be working their call sheets.Ann has refined the ask into 3 steps:

1. Who am I:

"Mr. Jones, thank you for taking my call. This is Bill Smith, and I am the Republican running in the open seat for Congress in District 25 in Florida." 

2. Why am I running:

"I am running because I want to work on tax reform, bring more jobs to Florida, and as a Veteran, I will work hard to make sure our men and women in uniform continue to have the benefits they deserve as they come home from service." 

3. Make the ask very specific:

"I am having a fundraiser in your town and I would like to ask you to serve on the host committee and raise $10,000. In addition, I would also like to ask if you and Mrs. Jones would agree to give the maximum to my campaign, which is $2,600 each?" Every ask should focus on these three key points. It is not hard but it does require, practice, practice, practice. Soliciting donations is a skill that can be learned and honed with practice.Also, spend time with expert fundraisers. It is amazing what you can learn from watching a Haley Barbour or Ann Herberger when they are in full-on pitching mode.