Networking and Fundraising

Fundraising. That word alone is enough to make most people squirm. But we all know that money is the lifeblood of politics. Without money, especially for local candidates, they cannot get their message out.

This month, I turn my attention to the subject of fundraising and political networking. When most people think of fundraising in politics, they think of the millions of dollars that presidential candidates raise in a month. The reality of the situation is that $100 donation to a presidential campaign really doesn’t have much of an effect on a campaign. $100 to a local candidate on the other hand could mean the difference between buying yard signs or having something to hand out on election day to help boost the candidate’s name recognition.

During this article, I’m going to direct you to two articles that I found that will be helpful as we examine political networking fundraising.

The first article is from a political consultant at Local Victory. It’s really a how-to guide for a local candidate on how to use their political networks to raise money. It’s well worth the read. Having managed several local-level candidates myself, I can say the author is right on. The key to local candidate fundraising is networking – who do you know and who do the people you know, know? Political networking in this case is utilized for two things – first real capital, and second relationship capital. When campaigns are raising money, they are essentially asking for an investment. And we all know that people buy from people they know, like and trust. This is no different in politics. In fact, it’s even more true – people will vote for someone they like, but disagree with on policy issues before they vote for someone they agree with but don’t like.

The second article is by Jon Garfunkel and was writing in 2004 during the last presidential campaign. This article is a great run down of how to campaigns have been using networking to fundraise. Again, forget that it’s about the presidential race, what’s important is the techniques and strategy of fundraising through networking.

I’d love to hear your comments about this topic. Please visit TNNW Blog, view my article and leave your comments. I look forward to reading them.

 

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