Campaign Fundraising 02 - Candidate Outreach
Fundraising, for political campaigns, school field trips, or missions trips, all begin in the same way. Reach out, personally, to all the people who are close in your life. Some friends will have more ability to give than others, but this is a team sport that everyone you know needs to be a part of. Then, expand campaign outreach to your friend’s friends and beyond.
Immediately, you should have ways for your friends to get involved. Door knocking, phone banking, fundraising, social media, creative design, event organizing, and more. Every person you know, excited for you to run, should immediately be involved in the campaign at an increasing capacity. Keep the campaign about principle and people though, so you don’t lead people into burnout and affect yourself and others by a craving for power.
Not only are your friends going to be critical to your campaign, but moreover, your friend’s friends will become critical. Campaigns need to be bigger than your first circle of connections. Find new connections, schedule coffee meetings, get to know people, be genuine, honest, and friendly. However, don’t let these meetings and conversations be just about voting. You will need to expand your reach in order to compete with and win against well-funded incumbents and their consultants.
There are two primary methods of personal outreach:
- Personal outreach from the candidate
- Outreach from friends of the candidate
Candidate Outreach
To start fundraising, reach out to your friends and let them know about your campaign in the most personal way possible. For some people it might make sense to swing by their house for dinner, for others a phone call, and for others still, a personal letter followed by a message. Don’t leave anyone out when you are asking for money and telling people about your run. Although phone calls are the most common, methods include:
- Phone Calls
- Text Messages
- Social Media/Online Chat
- In-Person Visit
- Physical Letter
- etc.
Once you finish reaching your close connections, you can then expand outreach by having the candidate expand to prospects, associates, new introductions, and cold-calling known political donors.
Elections and politics come down to people. Many candidates struggle to raise money because they are reluctant to bring in their personal connections and wary to ask for money over the phone. Assuming integrity, your run for office is an important opportunity to represent those close to you in your community. It is a team effort.
If you have any questions on setting up your political campaign, please let us know. To learn more and get involved by running for office, contact us at:roosevelt.tech
February 21, 2024
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