Let's Do This: Six Tips for Surviving the Coming Fundraising Barrage
You think you have received a lot of fundraising requests so far? It's about to get more intense.
In my 20 years in progressive digital media and activism, I have been a part of fundraising efforts that have brought in over $150,000,000 for Democratic candidates, progressive causes, and disaster relief charities. Small dollar fundraising is something that I know a decent amount about, and which has played an important role in my career. I'm proud of the fundraising that I have done, and I have enjoyed doing it, too.
That said, you need to watch out for people like me, especially during the next 47 days. This is because—and I am just being honest here—during these 47 days I intend to raise as much money for Democrats in key races as I possibly can, and if you are reading this then you are exactly the sort of person I think I can raise it from. My goal is to transfer—with your approval—some of the money in your bank account into the bank accounts of Democrats in key races, and I am not even a little bit sorry about that. What's more, there are a few thousand other people like me around the country, and many of them are even better at small dollar fundraising than I am.
With all of this in mind, here are six tips for surviving the next 47 days, and for helping Democrats win this crucial election without bankrupting yourself:
Make a donation budget, and stick to it. Spend money on political campaigns the same way you spend money on everything else: with a budget. If you have not already done so, determine exactly how much money you think you can afford to give to Democratic candidates and associated progressive organizations between now and November 5, and then stick to that budget no matter what.
Choose a donation date. Once you have determined how much money you are going to spend on this election, determine a date when you will spend it. My spouse and I used to sit down, roughly two weeks before an election, and spend our predetermined donation budget in a single sitting. It was fun to do this together, and it also allowed us to focus our money on the campaigns we most believed in, and/or which seemed at that late point in the campaign to be the most crucial. (In the interests of transparency, we don't actually do this anymore, in part because I decided that I give at work. I still recommend it for others, though.)
Donate to advance your values and your hopes, not just to tipping point races. A lot of progressive media types will probably cringe when they see this suggestion, as I am openly blessing your decision to donate to non-tipping point campaigns. If you want to give money to whatever Democratic candidate is running a hopeless race against Mitch McConnell or Marjorie Taylor Greene, then I think you absolutely should do that. Also, while I am much more of a "more Democrats" kind of guy than a "better Democrats" kind of guy, your mileage may vary. If you only want to donate to candidates whose values are hyper-aligned with your own, then by all means you should go ahead and do that. This is your money, your activism, and your opportunity to make your voice heard. Don't let anyone guilt you into thinking that you should only give to candidates in tipping point campaigns, competitive campaigns, or to Democratic candidates of one specific type of ideological orientation. This is about how you want to participate in our democracy, so please make sure that you feel good about it. If you don't, then I can't imagine you will continue to participate much longer.
Ignore "matches." I am very dubious about claims that your donation will be matched 200%, 400% or, as I saw in a recent text, 800%. I suspect these "matches" are referring to large donations that were going to be made anyway, regardless of how many small donors stepped up to "match" them. Perhaps I am wrong about this, and if you are in the know and can correct me, I will issue a retraction and a correction. However, just so you know, I've made much of my career off of small dollar fundraising, and I'm pretty suspicious of these "matching donations."
Beware of September 30. You might want to put an auto responder on your email on September 29, and just not look at your inbox at all the next day. It is the final day of the final FEC reporting quarter in a presidential election year, and I expect a record number of fundraising emails and texts to be sent on that day.
Cut everyone off on Friday, November 1. Except for races that might go to a runoff, the Friday before Election Day is, realistically, the last possible day that you can give money to a campaign and have them receive and spent it before the polls close the following Tuesday. So, for the final four days of election season, cut off all your donations to candidates. If you cannot suppress the urge to donate during these final four days, choose to give to Democratic and progressive organizations instead of individual campaigns, as those organizations will continue on after November 5.
I hope you find this helpful and, as I wrote on Tuesday, make sure to enjoy election season instead of dreading the outcome. This is a wonderful time full of excitement and possibility, and donations can be part of the fun!
Also, before you go, consider spending part of your donation budget on one of these five fundraising slates from Bowers News Media PAC. As you can see, I really like to focus on tipping point races, but I am also not averse to aiming for the stretch seats, too. Hopefully, you feel the same way!
Donate to the tipping point races for U.S. Senate. As of right now, the three races that will determine control of the U.S. Senate next year are Ohio, Florida, and the White House (as winning the White House is effectively the same as winning a Senate seat). So, I have made an Act Blue page where you can donate to Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in Florida, and Vice President Kamala Harris all at the same time.
Donate to the "stretch" races for U.S. Senate. Unfortunately, Democrats can't hold the Senate just by sweeping blue and purple seats (which, right now, polling shows we are poised to do). We also have to win at least one red state where polls currently show Republicans ahead. Right now, our three best bets for this "stretch" state are Florida, Montana, and Texas, so I have put together an Act Blue slate where you can donate to the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in all three states.
Donate to Democrats in the six House seats most likely to flip to Democrats. If you are looking for what are perhaps the absolute, most crucial toss-up races that Democrats need to win in order to take back the House of Representatives, then my best guess is that the six Democrats on this page are the way to go.
Donate to Democrats in the next six House seats most likely to flip to Democrats. If you are feeling a little more bullish about Democratic chances in the House right now, instead of donating to the top six races most likely to flip to Dems, donate to the next six most likely to flip to Dems. I have to be honest, right now I am feeling a little bullish about Democratic chances, so this slate may well be the way to go.
Donate to all Democrats in key races for the House, Senate and White House races at the same time. This is a slate that allows you to donate to Kamala Harris, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) at the same time. If you can't decide where you should donate, then this is the fundraising slate for you!
This is great advice Chris. Thank you! I am a monthly donor of quite a few indibvidusl campaigns as well as PACs as well as the DCCC and DSCC.