Political Fund Raising

Money is the mother’s milk of politics. You can hate it. You can disagree with it. You can spout a thousand platitudes about the virtues of “grass roots" campaigns. You can scream for reform. You can limit campaign contributions. But at the end of the day, one political mailing in Mahoning County can cost in excess of $15,000.00. One 30 second television ad on the WFMJ evening news costs $1200.00. The post office won’t deliver the mail without being paid. WFMJ won't run the ad without being paid, in advance!!! Somebody has to pay the freight.

So it’s a dirty business, but that is the nature of the beast. How much money have you contributed to your favorite candidate this year? I bet the answer from most of you is nothing. (Alright...I can hear you snickering what favorite candidate!!!) You run the other way when you see the fundraiser coming. You don’t answer the phone. You throw away the mail. And then complain when the candidate you don’t want wins, or when the candidates resort to the big money dudes to finance their campaign.

There are several ways to buy some of that mother's milk. The most obvious one is to simply ask for money. This can be done one on one, but most likely will be done by a mail campaign or internet campaigns. The other popular way is to have an “event.” The campaign, or a friend of the campaign, sponsors a fund raising event. This can range from a home pizza party to a gala event for the more affluent among us. In addition to serving as a money source, the event can also hide contributions by keeping the cost of the tickets under a certain amount. That way, the candidate doesn’t have to identify who purchases the tickets. Joe Mafia can give a grand to the ticket seller, who in turn would distribute ten $100.00 tickets to various individuals who then show up at the event. Nasty business…But if you look at the $400 million dollars not accounted for in Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, you will see this scheme in various forms. Do you really think millions of college students and inner city residents gave $100.00 each to Obama’s campaign through credit cards? I didn’t think so.

I have put on three major fund raising events this past year. I like my fund raising events to be on the classy side. It’s like dressing for success. You want the event and the candidate to look successful. In addition to selling tickets, a lot of effort goes into choreographing the event. WHere is it held...who is invited...what if nobody shows up...who's egos have to be stroked. The problem with my approach is that it may tend to look elitist. On the other hand, if you are trying to raise money, you got to give the folks with the bucks something to talk about. It's a fine line. The events I sponsored this year have had ticket prices of $75.00; $150.00; and $500.00 respectively. The most successful was the $500.00 event held just this past week.

Like any other type of merchandising, there are the high end fundraisers, and low end fundraisers. The low end can be just as successful and raise just as much money, but you are dealing with a lot more people attending the event at a much lower ticket price. Booze is not a problem…cash bar is king. You can get your friends and relatives to cook for it; get a tub and throw in some ice and pop…voila…you have a fundraiser charging $25.00/ticket.

Notwithstanding, the success of the event will depend on the candidate. The less established the candidate, the more difficult the fundraising, which is why it is so hard for folks to break into politics, and why politicians get so jaded after having to go through it again and again and again. It can be frustrating and depressing. The general rule is that a candidate will rarely win first time out of the gate. He/she has to run for office several times and lose before the ticket buying public feels it won’t be squandering $25.00 on someone who can’t win. Ironic, isn’t it?

America loves to hate its politicians. In many cases, that hate and scorn is earned. On the other hand, if Americans would take the time to get involved with a newbie candidate with potential, and support that candidate grass roots movements, in the low end fundraising, and offer the candidate some encouragement…maybe things would start to get better.

In the meantime, the next political fundraiser in which I am involved will be a $1500.00 ticket. How many can I put you down for?