Politics and fundraising

It is interesting to see how the world has and continues to change with regards to political fundraising and the impact that it is having on other appeals.  One of the biggest trends over the past decade has been the increase in accountability for the non-profit sector with regards to use of and reporting on donations.  This is something that political fundraising has been able to remain separate from by virtue of how the funds are requested and used.

Political fundraising actually functions most of all like disaster relief in terms of the funding requests, sources and process.  The good news for those of us not working in that aspect of the industry is that many of the dollars being spent on political party funding are current household operating dollars - from this months paycheck.  That is good news because it means that most of our leadership donors are still in play for us and because it means that the dollars from the lower end of the donor pool are still available, maybe just in a different month.

Most importantly is the message itself.  Folks are being inundated with messages with a political and social spin, especially those in swing states.  The majority of those messages are targeted to folks who already agree with them.  Support that - focus your messages to the conservative segments on your values and mission, focus your messages to the liberal segments on social supports and engagement with the greater world.  Using that approach, time out your messages to those states where we expect the majority of the contest, and hence the messaging to be strongest and most influential.  These states include, VA, NC, PA, FL and OH.  Segment them out, get to them early and then follow up in the spring.  Use differentiated messaging and make a case based upon mission or impact.

Political fundraising can be of impact if you let it, but take advantage of the background support it provides and you can come out ahead!