Local Victory » Fundraising

Your Fundraising Calls Start in 30 Minutes

Joe Garecht — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 18:47:44 +0000

If you’re getting ready to run for office, but haven’t started making fundraising calls… this article is for you.

Likewise, if you’ve made a call here or there, but hated every second of it, read on.

Every political candidate needs to make fundraising calls. You can’t get around it. You can’t raise money just from events, or by hoping other people will do it for you. You have to make calls. You have to start early. You have to keep with it.

You’re going to start making fundraising calls… today. I’m going to help. Get a cup of coffee, sit down, and get ready to start. In 30 minutes, you’re picking up the phone and asking for money. Here’s how to do it.

1st – Get Out Your Holiday Card List

That’s right… your holiday card list. Get it out / print out a fresh copy and put in on your desk. This is our target list. If you, your family and / or your spouse is close enough to these people to send them a holiday card, you’re close enough to ask them for money for your campaign.

What’s that? You don’t want to ask your friends? You figured you’d ask “political” folks? Bigwigs with deep pockets? Sorry… it doesn’t work like that. You’ve got to start with your family, your friends, your co-workers and colleagues first. Then, and only then, do you have a shot at “political” money.

2nd – Set a Target for Each Person

Ok, you’ve got your list out. Now, go down the list, and next to each person, write down how much you think they could afford to give to your campaign, if they really wanted to. Not how much you think they will give, but how much you think they could give… if they really, really wanted to.

For instance, you may think your best friend from college will give you $200. But you know she is making gobs of money as an investment banker, and could afford to give you $2,000 if she wanted to. Write down $2,000, not $200.

Now, go down that list and cross off each number, and next to it, write down a higher number… at least 10% higher. For your friend making $2,000, cross it off and write $2,500 (or $3,000). That’s how much you are going to ask for.

Remember, if you ask someone for $100, it is unlikely they will say, “no, let me give you $250!” They won’t talk you up. If you ask for more that you think they can give, they can always talk you down, but they will never give you more than you ask for. Shoot high.

3rd – Practice

Seriously. Set your list aside, unplug the phone from the wall (or turn off your cell phone, if that is what you are using) and use the dead receiver to practice making calls.

Successful fundraising calls are usually no more than ten minutes long. Tell the person who is calling, why you are calling, why you are running, why you need the money, and make an ask.

I’m going to quote my wife when I tell you, “It’s only weird if you make it weird.” If you act like calling old Jim-Bob, who you haven’t seen in two years, to ask him for money is the most normal and regular thing you ever done… well, it will be. If you act like it is weird, and hem and haw and apologize for having to make the call and make the ask, it will be weird. Don’t make it weird. Just make the call.

Before you dial, spend 10 minutes practicing your shtick:

“Hi, this is Quinn. Yea, it’s been awhile. How are you and Nikki doing? Great, us too. Listen, I’ve got the craziest news. I’m running for Congress. Yep, how about that? I’m getting involved because I am so frustrated with the economic mess we’re in. It seems like no one is focused on the economy. You know me, I’m laser-focused. That’s how I’ll be in Congress. Laser-focused on the economy.

It’s going to take $2 million to win this thing, crazy, I know, but true. I need your help. Would you be willing to support me, and donate $1,000 to help me win? You would? Amazing. Thank you so much. I’ll send over a brochure and an envelope. Listen, I have to make more calls, let’s catch up next month. See you soon….”

It’s only weird if you make it weird, and the more you practice, the easier and more natural it will become.

4th – Make Your Calls

That’s right, its’ time to jump in. You’ve got a list. You know how much you are asking each person to donate. You’ve practiced your spiel. Don’t procrastinate now. Don’t take a break to read the newspaper, watch TV, or answer e-mails. Plus the phone back in and make a call.

Start with someone who can’t say no… your dad, your best friend, that guy who owes you big time… whoever it is, build your confidence by calling someone who will definitely say “yes.” Then keep going… work down that list. If someone isn’t home, leave a message, and then call back tomorrow. Keep calling back. Work though the entire list. Make calls every day, and it will get easier and easier.

See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?

If you want to go more in-depth on how to make asks, read: Political Fundraising 101 and Advanced Political Fundraising: How to Make an Ask.

How to Build Online Fundraising Networks for Your Campaign

Joe Garecht — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 16:10:35 +0000

Guest post by Rich Aberman, Founder of WePay

On his way to the presidency, Barack Obama set records by collecting $650 million in contributions from over 3 million donors, a huge percentage of which was collected online.

As somebody who’s mission is to help people collect money online, my first thought was, “Wow.”

My second thought was, “How”? And how could others achieve similar success?

The Internet tipped the scales in Obama’s favor by enabling him to reach younger, more online-savvy Americans. Obama was the first presidential candidate to effectively put the limitless possibilities of the Internet at the heart of his campaign. Now, in the current election cycle, the Internet is proving to be the most effective medium for raising money and reaching broad audiences with your message.

For everyone from town mayors to senators, the Web has become the future of political fundraising. Here are some of the most efficient strategies to tackle the three C’s—Company, Cash, and Contacts—in moving your campaign fundraising online.

1. Company: Choosing the Right Online Processor

Before you do anything else, you need to decide how you are going to accept donations online. Do not make the mistake of plunging into a “payment processing” relationship before doing your due diligence.

The most important consideration is cost. You don’t want to work day and night to solicit contributions if 20% of the money you collect goes toward credit card processing fees. Some payment processers will charge you a setup fee of a few hundred dollars, monthly maintenance fees, a gateway fee per transaction, and up to 4% of the transaction amount. You will also have to integrate the solution into your website, which may require some basic engineering skills.

Many companies that specialize in online fundraising can also help you collect campaign contributions online, so you can reach more people and collect more money. You should consider costs with these solutions, in addition to the value-add services that they offer.

2. Cash: Directing People to Donate

Once you’ve chosen a company to work with, the next step should be making donating as easy as possible. Although many of your contributors will be web-savvy, don’t bank on this being the norm. Make sure your website has an easy to access “Contribute” page that is visible above the fold on the homepage.

Tip: The more clicks it takes to contribute, the more people you will lose. Therefore, put the “contribute” form directly on your site rather than sending people to a different donation provider.

In addition to making it super-easy to make a donation on your site, you should also make it easy for your supporters to pay for special fundraising events. Selling tickets for fundraisers or special events should be a straightforward process. By making it easy to pay online, rather than forcing supporters to mail cash or paper checks, you will almost certainly attract more attendees. (For more information, check out How to Raise Political Donations Online).

3. Contacts

In addition to the monetary contributions that you collect, you will also start to generate a database of contacts. This information is invaluable because of an increasingly social Web. One of the many advantages of taking your fundraising online is that you now have instant access to the social networks of your supporters through actions like “sharing” on Facebook or posting to Twitter.

I can’t emphasize enough how your networks, and those of your donors, can be your biggest assets. Check into your service provider’s social networking capabilities—can you enable automatic Facebook status updates and Twitter posts for your voters? Seeing “I just made a donation to [your campaign]. If you want to donate as well, please click here” written by a friend is fantastic peer-to-peer marketing.

In addition, combine traditional voter-facing strategies with those online. While people are wary of giving credit card information out to a clipboard-holding youngster knocking through a neighborhood, odds are much better they will provide you with an email address. Instruct your team to collect as many email addresses and accompanying pledges as possible. Once you have this, you can plug them into your database and send a note with your campaign messages and a donation request.

The average Obama supporter donated more than once. How did he make that happen? The more than one billion e-mails the campaign sent had something to do with it, but no matter how small or large, making your system as easy to use as possible and choosing a system that fits applies to any campaign.

Once you master these key online campaign strategies, you should have a lot more time to spread your message and expand your campaign.

Rich Aberman is the Founder and President of WePay, an online payment processing solution that allows political campaigns to process donations and event tickets online, without the expense of a traditional payment processor.

How to Supersize Your Next Political Fundraising Event

Joe Garecht — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:45:10 +0000

Political fundraising events are part of the mix for almost every campaign, no matter how large or small. Events can be a lot of work… between coordinating schedules and venue, sending out invitations, providing food and drink, setting-up and cleaning-up, campaigns can spend dozens of staff or volunteer hours prepping for a fundraising event.

Yet, many campaigns regularly leave money on the table, by failing to raise as much as they could at a given event. Because events can be so time consuming, it is important that political campaigns raise as much as possible from every fundraising event they hold. (For basic tips on hosting a great event, read 10 Steps to a Successful Fundraising Event).

Here are some great ways your campaign can raise more money at its next event:

Supersize Your Host Committee

The single best way to raise more money at your event is to put together a better, and larger, host committee. This means seeking out people who will actually make calls and send personal letters to get people to buy tickets and write checks for the event.

Remember – the primary purposes of the host committee are fundraising and ticket sales. The more people your campaign can find who are willing to raise money and sell tickets, and the better their personal networks are, the more money you will raise.

Supersize Your Event Structure

Instead of just offering tickets to your event (or tickets and a host committee level donation), offer several levels of sponsorship or tickets to allow people to give at different levels.

For example, if you’re hosting a cocktail event, try having a VIP reception for $500, standard tickets for $100, and a private dinner after the event for $1,000.

Be careful not to have too many levels though – I once saw a candidate host an event that had twelve different giving levels, each with slightly modified benefits – and it backfired. People were so confused that most just gave the minimum amount. Generally, limit your event to three or four levels.

Supersize Your Asks

First of all, remember that no one will write a major check for the event without being asked – usually by the candidate, an influential member of the host committee, or a personal friend or colleague. Big checks generally don’t come in just from sending out invitations. (For a primer on making asks, check out How to Make an Ask).

Second, remember that it is often easier to raise $1,000 from one person than it is to raise $100 from each of ten people. Try to include some bigger donors into your event as sponsors, hosts, or event chairs, and ask them to write major checks as part of that sponsorship. Finding a few key folks to get involved can really boost the bottom line of any political fundraising event.

Beginner’s Guide to Political Fundraising

Joe Garecht — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 03:14:46 +0000

Several weeks ago, we posted the first in our “Beginner’s Guides” series: The Beginner’s Guide to Political Communications. We got lots of great feedback and requests for more.

Today, we continue the series with The Beginner’s Guide to Political Fundraising. This article brings together the best fundraising advice from the Local Victory Archives to walk you step by step through the most important facets of political fundraising. The articles below will present you with a complete overview of political fundraising, and will help you answer that age old question: “How do I raise enough money to win my campaign?”

Political Fundraising: Start Here First

Political Fundraising 101 – The basics of political fundraising, including why cold calling rarely works, and why you should always ask for more than you think you will get.

Advanced Political Fundraising: How to Make an Ask — Step-by-step system for the scariest part of all: asking people for money.

Finding the Money to Start Your Campaign — How to raise the seed money you need to launch your campaign.

Fundraising Plans

Why Your Campaign Needs a Fundraising Plan – Every campaign needs a fundraising plan, no matter how large or small.

Writing a Political Fundraising Plan - Here’s how to write a great political fundraising plan.

Fundraising Events

The #1 Tip for a Successful Fundraising Event - The number one tip for raising more money through political fundraising events.

10 Steps to a Successful Fundraising Event – The step by step guide to holding a successful event.

Online Fundraising

How to Raise Political Donations Online – How to raise money over the Internet.

Building Fundraising Networks

Political Fundraising Networks – How to build and motivate your supporters to raise money on your behalf.

Fundraising Direct Mail

7 Tips for Writing Political Fundraising Mail — Surefire strategies for raising money through political fundraising direct mail.

Minor Donors

How to Set Up a Minor Donor Program – Those big checks are important, but smaller donations add up. Learn how to create a scalable system for reaching smaller (“minor”) donors.

Raising Money from Political Action Committees (PACs)

What Are PACs? — What PACs are and what they do.

Raising Money from PACs - How to raise money from political action committees.

Advanced Reading

7 Creative Political Fundraising Ideas — Seven tried and true advanced fundraising ideas for your campaign.

The Best 5 Ways to Raise More Money for Your Campaign — Learn how to increase your profit and decrease your fundraising expenses.

The Complete Guide to Getting Your Campaign Off the Ground – This premium kit from Local Victory comes with Raising Money from High Dollar Donors, an 18 page report on how to raise big donations from big donors.

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7 Tips for Writing Political Fundraising Direct Mail

Joe Garecht — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 02:07:26 +0000

Direct mail fundraising is a staple of most modern political campaigns. If you’re running anything but the smallest campaign, direct mail should be part of your political fundraising mix as well.

Fundraising mailings help your campaign grow a base of support among small and medium sized donors. Raising money through the mail also gives you added opportunities to get your message out to voters, as part of your direct mail piece.

In this article, we present 7 great tips for writing your political fundraising mail. Before you start reading the tips, be sure to check out Effective Fundraising by Mail at The Fundraising Authority. It’s geared towards non-profit direct mail, but most of the post’s lessons are applicable to political campaigns as well. It’s essential reading, so we won’t rehash the topics from that article here.

1. Be Emotional

The best political fundraising direct mail appeals to core human emotions. Too many candidates try to avoid making a personal connection in their mail pieces. If you want to raise money through the mail, strike an emotional cord with your prospects.

2. Tell a Story

Good mail pieces tell a compelling story — they spell out for the reader why the election, and your candidacy, is so important that they should write a check and send it in now – today! Ideally, the story will tie back to your campaign message.

3. Use Urgency

Your goal is to get your prospects to write a check as soon as they finish reading the letter… that means that you’ll need to tell them why they should send in a check right away. Why do you need the money now?

4. Be Personal

In this day and age, “Dear Voter” letters don’t work. People expect you to be personal in your letters… at the very least, the salutation should address the person directly (i.e. Dear John, or Dear Mrs. Ragu). Even better is personalizing the letter several times, including the person’s name multiple times, and maybe even mentioning their town name or some other personal tidbit somewhere in the letter.

5. Make an Ask

You’d be surprised how many candidates send out direct mail fundraising letters without actually making an ask. Tell people why you are running, why the race matters, and why you need the money – then ask for it! (For more on making fundraising asks, read How to Make an Ask).

6. Mind Your P’s and Q’s

Political fundraising direct mail letters need not be overly stuffy or formal (in fact, for most races, they should seem rather conversational and informal) but… and this is a big but… watch your grammar and spelling. Voters may want to feel like you’re a “normal guy (or girl),” but they also want to know that you care enough to edit and spell check your letters.

7. Mix it Up

If your campaign is using lots of fundraising direct mail, be sure to mix it up – send most letters out signed by the candidate, but maybe one signed by the candidate’s spouse, another by the campaign manager, and yet another by the campaign accountant (“I just looked at the checkbook, and realized we need to raise $5000 this week in order to win!”)

Political fundraising direct mail can be a significant boost to your campaign’s bottom line, even if your campaign is fairly small and local. Use these tips to make your mail efforts effective within your overall fundraising strategy.

The Pros and Cons of Starting Your Own Political Action Committee

Joe Garecht — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:30:35 +0000

Have you ever thought about starting your own political action committee (PAC)? If you have, you’re not alone. I often get questions about PACs, how to start them, and the pros and cons of running one. (If you’re not sure what a political action committee is, read Local Victory’s What are PACs? )

Today, we’re going to take a look at 5 pros and 5 cons of starting your own political action committee. Before we get to the list, remember the following two important points about starting a PAC:

1. There are different rules for state and federal PACs. Generally, if you want to support candidates running for federal office, you’ll have to start a federal PAC. If you want to support candidates running for local and state office, you’ll have to start a state PAC.

2. Political action committees are highly regulated. Before you begin, check with your state elections / secretary of state’s office (for state PACs) or the Federal Election Commission (for federal PACs) and check on the rules, regulations, and reporting requirements that apply for committee you are thinking of starting. You should also talk with a qualified elections lawyer in your area for guidance.

Ok, on to the lists:

The Pros of Starting Your Own PAC

1. You Get to Set the Scope – PACs can exist to support candidates of one ideology or many and in a local area or across the country. They can be issues-based or more open, party-centric or party-blind, making large contributions or small. In short, your PAC can be what you make it to be.

2. PACs are Long Lasting – Unlike traditional campaigns, a political action committee is generally in existence for much longer than one cycle. This means that you can build an organization and donor structure within your PAC that lasts.

3. You Can Get Lots of People Involved – Political action committees have the power to get lots of people involved and become a real movement. They can have huge networks of leaders (but don’t have to) and can have grassroots as well as fundraising components. Starting a PAC is a great way to make the organization you are starting bigger than just you.

4. They Allow You to Think Big – Trying to make your mark on a specific issue, or in a specific area, as an independent operator may seem like a daunting task. The vastness of the political universe may cause you to think “small” about what you are trying to accomplish. Often, starting a political action committee will allow you to think “big,” because you know you can build an organization to help you accomplish your goals.

5. PACs Give You a Place at the Table – The leaders of large, mid-sized, and even some smaller PACs have a great deal of clout. If you’re looking to make a difference, you need a place at the table. Often, leading a political action committee will give you that place.

The Cons of Starting Your Own PAC

1. Rules, Rules, Rules – Political action committees are just as highly regulated as political campaigns, if not more so. If you start one, you’ll need to dot your i’ and cross your t’s… you’ll have to file lots of paperwork, keep lots of records, file regular reports, and more. And the worst part is, every state has its own rules and regulations.

2. It’s Hard to Build Traction – The political landscape is littered with hundreds of political action committees that couldn’t build traction, that were started, sputtered, and then abandoned. Building a successful PAC is just as hard as building a successful business, without the financial gain. Be prepared to work hard.

3. You’ve Got to Do a Lot of Fundraising – Money is the lifeblood of a political action committee. In order for your PAC to be successful, you’re going to have to do a lot of fundraising, starting with your own friends, family, and colleagues. That means lots of time on the phone, at meetings, and at events. PACs need a strong fundraising network in order to thrive.

4. It’s Easy to Burn Out – One of the greatest strengths of PACs is that they last from year to year, election cycle to election cycle. Unfortunately, that also means it’s easy to burn out… There’s something unsettling about waking up the day after Election Day and realizing you’ve got to start fundraising for the next cycle already.

5. Staying Relevant – Year after year, if your organization doesn’t stay relevant, your donors will stop giving. If your donors stop giving, your political action committee will wither and die. The solution to this problem is eternal (and tiring) vigilance. Your PAC must stay relevant in order to thrive.

There you have them – the pros and cons of starting a political action committee. Should you start one? That depends on your ultimate goals, and your willingness to work hard and follow the rules. That being said, those who have pushed through and created living, breathing organizations that make a real difference on the political landscape would tell you that the results are well worth the effort.

7 Creative Political Fundraising Ideas

Joe Garecht — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 17:36:20 +0000

Sometimes, those of us who work in politics get tied to thinking “inside the box.” We follow the herd – using the same tried and true tactics in this campaign that we did in the last campaign, and in the campaign before that. Nowhere is this truer than in political fundraising.

In this article, we present seven creative political fundraising ideas for campaigns and candidates who are willing to think “outside the box.” I’m not saying you should reinvent the wheel… and all campaigns, no matter how large or small, should make sure the fundamentals are covered first: that means personal solicitation, events, major donor groups, etc. are all covered. But for those campaigns that are looking for some fresh new political fundraising ideas, here are seven you can try:

1. Chain Fundraising Letters

These work on the same principal as those old fashioned annoying chain letters: sent out 500 letters to your supporters, asking them each to send in $5 and to forward the letter to 10 friends with a personal note asking their friends to send in $5 and forward the letter on as well.

2. Certified Mailing

Here’s a unique political fundraising idea for direct mail: send out a mailing to your top donors asking for major contributions – include some breaking news, like recent poll results – and send it out certified mail (this costs more money, but generates tons of excitement and gets through the clutter and straight to the decision maker). Tell your top contributors you need immediate donations to act on the breaking news you included in the letter. **Please note: only send these mailings to office / work addresses. If you send a certified letter to a residential address, and no one is home to sign for it, they may have to drive to the post office to pick up your letter — and they may be really mad for having to do so!

3. TV Ad Role Auction

Is your campaign running TV spots? At your next big event, auction off the chance for the winner to have a walk-on role in the ad.

4. A-Thons

Walk-a-thons, read-a-thons, dance-a-thons: they work well for non-profit fundraising, why not for political fundraising? Ask your supporters to solicit pledges and participate in an a-thon for your campaign

5. Family Events

Events are a staple of campaigns, but too many are plain cocktail parties and rallies. For your next event, use this political fundraising idea: hold a family-friendly event, like a barbeque or roller skating party. Keep the cost low, and charge per family, not per individual. Keep costs low, and make extra money by finding individuals to sponsor the event.

6. Money Bombs

These are becoming a standard fundraising technique among conservative and liberal grassroots groups, so why not adapt them to your campaign? Set a doable fundraising goal for a concrete purpose (for example, raising $1,500 to buy yard signs or $20,000 to buy TV ads) and tell people you want to raise the money all on a single day, and all through your website. Promote this “money bomb” for several weeks with as much hoopla and energy as you can.

7. Multi-Donation Commitments

This political fundraising idea works particularly well for individual one-to-one asks. Take a page from non-profit fundraising and instead of asking a supporter to make a $500 donation, ask him to make a $1,000 donation spread out for the whole year – get his credit card number, and bill him $250 per quarter for 4 quarters (or $84 per month). Often, people will give more because it is spread out. Offer them great recognition for moving up to a higher level of giving.

Keep it Legal

Remember, no matter what political fundraising ideas you are using, be sure to keep your fundraising legal by knowing and following the relevant laws and regulations in your area!

Advanced Political Fundraising: How to Make an Ask

Joe Garecht — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:36:56 +0000

(This is the 2^nd part of a 2 part series on political fundraising. Part 1 is available here: Political Fundraising 101)

For many candidates, asking friends, colleagues, or supporters to make a donation is scary and unappealing. But political fundraising need not be frightening. Making an ask can even be (gulp!) a pleasant and enjoyable experience. The two most important areas to consider in making an ask are planning and process. More on both below.

Planning the Ask

Before you make any ask, whether it is for money or for time, for tickets to an event, or for volunteers for your campaign, be sure you’re ready:

1. Decide Who You Are Asking: Who are you asking? Is it an individual? A political action committee? A party organization?

2. Decide What You Are Asking For: Are you asking for money? How much? Are you asking someone to come to an event or to volunteer? When? In what capacity?

3. Understand That There Will Be “No’s”: And that’s ok! Fundraising is like baseball… even the best, most experienced practitioners receive lots of “no’s.” Don’t let them get you down. They’re part of the game.

4. But Expect a Yes: Attitude matters in fundraising. If you go into a fundraising ask assuming you will get a no, you probably will. Remember, your mission matters! You’re trying to get elected (or helping someone else get elected) in order to make a positive change in the community. Go into every fundraising ask expecting a yes, and asking for a yes.

5. Show People How They Can Make a Concrete Difference or Reach a Concrete Goal: People like to know that their donation is doing something specific and concrete. If at all possible, ask them to contribute to help do something specific, even if it is only to help you reach your own personal fundraising goal. For example, “Would you contribute $50 to help us buy 25 yard signs?” or “I’m trying to raise $1,000 for Jim Reynolds, who is running for Congress. Will you donate $100 to help me reach that goal?”

The Process: Anatomy of an Ask

Great, you say: I’ve built relationships, I’ve planned out my ask. But tell me… how do I actually make an ask? The best way to make an ask (any ask, whether for money, time, volunteer hours, or anything else) is by following these simple steps:

1. Get the pleasantries out of the way. Talk about the kids, the family, work, the last time you saw the other person. Get the small talk out of the way first.

2. Make a transition. Once the small talk is out of the way, make a transition so that people know the topic has changed to something far more serious. Good transitions include, “Listen… I want to talk about something important,” “I’ve got a serious question for you,” or, “Jane, I need your help.”

3. Make the connection. Once you’ve moved into more serious conversation through your transition, remind the prospect of the connection that you personally have with the campaign (if you’re not the candidate), or the connection that the person has with you (if you are the candidate). For instance, “Jim, as you know, I’m helping Sara Jenkins run for school board…” or, “Colleen, you’ve always been such a good friend, ever since we met in the first grade…”

4. Make them understand what is at stake. You want to make sure that the person you are talking to understands the impact of this campaign… why it is important… why they should care. For example are, “Samuel, our state’s economy is in trouble. Instead of fixing the problem, our governor has spent the pats year playing golf and redecorating his office” or “Janet, I’m running for office because our schools matter. I can’t stand idly by while they continue to deteriorate, on the inside and out…”

5. Make them understand why you need what you are asking for. This is the background for your specific ask. Why are you asking them to come to an event? (“We’re trying to raise $10,000 to launch our campaign”). Why are you asking them to give $200? (“We want to run more radio spots this week”).

6. Make the ask. Remember to make it a question, and to ask for something concrete and specific.

That may seem like a complicated formula, but once you practice it a few times, you’ll see that is actually quite natural, and makes for a pleasant experience. Using this formula, your ask may sound like this:

Hi Ruth, how are you? How are the kids? (Pleasantries)

Listen, I’ve got something important to ask you. (Make the Transition)

As you know, I’m running for county commissioner this year, and you’ve always been a strong supporter of ours. (Make the Connection)

Our county has been running huge deficits for the past decade, and now our roads and schools are suffering. I’m running to change that and make our kids and our infrastructure our county’s top priority. (Make them understand what is at stake)

Ruth, as you know, campaigns are incredibly expensive. Our polling shows we can win, but know we’re going to need to raise $50,000 to run this campaign. We’ve already raised $30,000 of that total, but we need to get to $50,000 or else we won’t be able to be competitive. (Make them understand why you need what you are asking for)

Would you be willing to contribute $500 to help us reach that goal? (Make the Ask)

Don’t be afraid, as part of your planning process, to write out a script for yourself so that you’ll feel more comfortable once you’re on the phone with your contact. And remember, always profusely thank everyone who responds to your ask, and be sure to thank those who say no for their time and consideration. For more articles on raising money for your campaign, check out our Political Fundraising Archives.

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