Political fundraising can be regulated and requires creative ideas. The document outlines 23 fundraising ideas for political campaigns and non-profits, including crowdfunding, grassroots campaigns engaging volunteers in the community, writing contribution request letters, designing custom merchandise like t-shirts, hosting events like parades or auctions, and using digital tools like social media, email marketing, and mobile payments. Effective strategies try to build a donor base, ask for repeated small donations over time, utilize people's networks to bundle donations, and provide value for donors.

1. 23Political
Fundraising
Ideas
That
Works

2. Below we outline 23 BEST
POLITICAL FUNDRAISING IDEAS
for your political campaign

3. Applicable to all fundraising efforts, from political candidates to
non-profit organizations

4. Political fundraising
is highly REGULATED

5. CROWDFUNDING1

6. CROWDFUNDING PAGE -
Running in minutes and can
accept donations instantly

7. FOR EXAMPLE
The Bernie Sanders campaign attracted
1.3 million small donations
(from 650,000 individual donors)

8. GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGNS2

9. Think of a
(crystal clear)
idea
Develop a
clear strategy
Recruit
volunteers
Onboard
volunteers
Go out in the
community
yourself
power of
social media
Grassroots campaigns usually revolve
around an idea, make sure to

10. WRITE CONTRIBUTION REQUEST LETTERS3

11. CONTRIBUTION REQUEST
LETTERS should definitely
be mixed in

13. CHAIN FUNDRAISING LETTERS4

14. CHAIN FUNDRAISING LETTER, a
supporter is sent a letter in which
they are asked to send in a
donation

15. MAKE TELEPHONE REQUESTS5

16. Within 24 hours of the
PHONE CALL, send the donor
a letter of thanks confirming
the amount pledged

17. DESIGN CUSTOM T-SHIRTS6

18. CUSTOM T-SHIRTS are a great
product to help raise funds
for your political campaign

19. Create a campaign to promote your
t-shirts. Sell them at fundraisers,
parades, but most importantly – online

20. MENTORSHIP AUCTION7

21. Gives your donors
something of great value, so
it’s likely to incite HIGHER
BIDDERS

22. Set up bidding for one-on-one chat
sessions with thought leaders or
participating celebrities

23. TEXT-TO-GIVE8

24. Donor texts
your
campaign
Receive an
automated
response
Fill out the
online
donation
form
Donor
receives an
automated
receipt
For the donor, the process generally
goes like this

25. DOOR-TO-DOOR9

26. Schedule REGULAR DOOR
KNOCKING hours into your
schedule and take it seriously

27. WEEKEND PARADE10

28. ORGANIZE A PARADE through
the neighborhoods with a
candidate float decorated with
signs and balloons

29. Effective fundraising idea because it
utilizes the sentiment of urgency and
can, therefore, bring in many donations

30. BROCHURE NOTEPAD11

31. BROCHURES are easy to
produce and distribute, they are
typically more informational
than persuasive

32. Tip: Add a “Vote for XY” or at the top or
bottom of every notepad page as a
reminder to vote

33. SMALL DONOR FUNDRAISING12

34. Small donors can
contribute REPEATEDLY

35. FOR EXAMPLE
Many Obama donors who gave more
than $200 did so over the course of
months rather than all at once

36. MAJOR DONOR FUNDRAISING13

37. Make LARGE political
contributions

38. You can do this by researching
campaign disclosure records

39. YARD SIGNS14

40. Work well, if your
POLITICAL
CAMPAIGN is local

41. EMAIL MARKETING15

42. With email marketing, it’s
essential to grow and
NURTURE YOUR LIST

43. Every email should include a call to
action which will lead the individual
directly to a donation page

44. MOBILE FUNDRAISING16

45. Mobile fundraising could be
the new disrupter

46. FOR EXAMPLE
The Obama campaign has been using
the mobile payments provider and tech-
darling Square since 2012
(Allow staff and volunteers to accept donations in the field)

47. PAID ADVERTISING17

48. When considering paid
media, be mindful of the
cost per thousand
impressions (CPM)

49. Trump’s controversial statements which
generated a lot of earned media for his
campaign to reaching out to talking to a
local radio station or writing letters to
news editors

50. PLEDGES18

51. Asking people to COMMIT
TO GIVING to your
campaign

52. Don’t be afraid to ask for due pledges,
always thank your donors, and organize
a tracking system for pledges

53. SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS19

54. The number of social
media users is expected
to reach nearly 3 BILLION
BY 2020

55. Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest are
the leading social networks, boasting a
high number of user accounts and high
user engagement

56. UTILISE BUNDLERS20

57. A “BUNDLER” who has the
ability to raise a significant
amount from their own
network, friends, and
colleagues

58. ORGANISE A FUNDRAISER21

59. Gathering of donors for which
there is a pre-advertised price
of admission

60. Make sure you have a host committee,
an event budget

61. HOST A POLITICAL WALK-A-THON22

62. WALK-A-THONS are
essentially peer-to-peer
fundraising events

63. opportunities for raising money
and spreading the word about
your organization, without high
overhead costs

64. FUNDRAISING AUCTION23

65. Many candidates may have
CELEBRITY FRIENDS and
acquaintances willing to
provide endorsements

66. Fundraising auctions also provide value
to donors, as donors aren’t just making a
financial donation, but getting
something in return as well

67. READ MORE
Donorbox.org/nonprofit-
blog/political-fundraising-
ideas/