The Most Buck For Your Bang: Master Campaign Finance

You’ve got an excellent platform, ambition, and the support of your family and friends, but how can you turn all of that into fuel for your campaign? Fundraising can be tedious, and even frustrating at times, but these four tips will send you on your way towards successful fundraising:

1. Know who you are and how to present yourself

One of the toughest questions can be where to begin. Start by knowing who you are. Be able to clearly articulate why you are running, what you believe, what makes you different than your competition, why you can win, and how potential donors can help. Having this information on hand will enable you to present a dependable image to potential donors and will be an effective way to get your story out.

2. Use your voter universe and desired contact mechanisms to set your budget

Now that you can articulate who you are and what you stand for, the next step is to figure out how much you will need to raise for your campaign. The exact budget will depend on what voter groups you plan to target and the means by which you wish to reach out to them.

While contact mechanisms (i.e. canvassing, phone banking, and radio) will vary from campaign to campaign, the principles behind establishing an accurate budget remain the same: your budget should not exist as a vacuum, but rather must be increased in order to effectively communicate your message.

3. Ask Mom and Dad

Seriously. Everyone has a sphere of influence – family, friends, coworkers, etc.; the question is how extensive is that sphere? Writing down every group that you have a connection with (and who might be willing to contribute to your campaign) helps to gauge the pull you already have established. Don’t start by tracking down random strangers; start with who you know. In asking your various spheres of influence for financial support, you will establish a stronger, community-centered donor base.

Secondly, don’t be afraid to reach out to individuals who historically give larger amounts of money to campaigns in your area. This information is usually easily accessed via state, local, and federal election commission documents.

4. Open your planner

One of the most effective ways to meet financial goals is to set activity deadlines rather than monetary deadlines. Start from election day and work backwards to determine how much money must be raised in order to be expended by certain times. While you can’t control how much money you acquire on any specific day, you can control what activities and events your campaign will hold. Using these activities as goal marks rather than specific dollar amounts will put your budget in a more manageable light.

These tips can serve as a stepping stone into the wide world of fundraising. To learn more about how to get the most buck for your bang watch this video by American Majority President Ned Ryun.