4 proven reasons why your campaign isn’t raising enough funds
Donations drive every piece of your campaign. Why aren’t yours coming in?
As most of us know, running for office is an expensive process. Paying for advertisements, polls, staff, and even having to reach a certain amount of money in fundraising to get on the ballot, are all part of the process. Plenty of well-meaning Americans have dreams of running for office. They have the drive, the passion, and platforms that are popular. But what happens when that’s not enough to garner support? What happens when the funds are not coming in? Well, to tackle that question we have to get to the why. Here are 4 reasons why your campaign is not making any money.
Reason number 1: You’re not crowdfunding.
Corporate donations are not the only way to get financial support. Looking to rich donors in your district to cut large checks can leave you disappointed and indebted to nefarious interests. In Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid, he was able to raise 1.3 million dollars from over 650,000 individual donors. Crowdfunding is an excellent way to solicit support and funds from many people with a similar mindset. It’s important to have a website that has a direct call to action for a user to donate. It is also important that you promote donation efforts on social media, and show viewers what it is they are supporting. Which leads to our next point.
Reason number 2: You’re running a quiet campaign.
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, did it really make a sound? Well you can be the best darn politician to come out of your city, but if you do not have a team behind you to push your agenda forward, then you will not make any money to have a real impact in your community. It’s important to get your face and message out to the world so that people can rally behind you and be excited to fund your campaign. Utilize the power of social media and turn yourself into a BRAND, not just a candidate. Name recognition will take your campaign a long way. The more you advertise, do work in your community, and make your presence and purpose known, the more likely people are to donate to you.
Reason number 3: You’re not being creative enough.
It’s one thing to send a text and ask for a donation, but when that’s not enough there are plenty of more exciting ways to solicit funds. Hosting an event, selling merchandise, or collaborating with local restaurants and businesses to take a percentage of their earrings. Sometimes funding campaigns require you to think outside the box.
Reason number 4: You have no plan
We know that we need money in a political campaign but how much? What are the rules in your district? How many individual donors do you need? How much must you raise to qualify for the ballot? Going into your fundraising journey blindly can have you coming out with empty pockets. Creating a fundraising calendar, a network of potential/past donors, and having a fundraising committee on your team will take your earrings to the next level.
Running a campaign is tough, uphill battle. But, running an effective fundraising effort to support and drive all of it is an even more overwhelming task. The key to a positive attitude is not just identifying why things aren’t working, but understanding that it is a difficult and complex objective and that seeking help is better than accepting defeat. Many first time candidates are running emotional, passionate campaigns to drive change. Many of them, have no clue how to fundraise. But, we don’t elect fundraisers.
We elect people and vote for beliefs.
If you are struggling to fundraise, bring on your experts. It allows you to do what you should be doing. You shouldn’t be a digital media expert, or a fundraising expert. You should be an expert at being yourself and championing your movement.
