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 Wednesday, January 30, 2008
I'm sure you all got this from Mitt today.
"I just want to thank you for being an early supporter of my campaign. I'm not all gloom and doom about Florida. I was really impressed with how much support Romney picked up in just the last week to make it that close. Sure McCain has a few more delegates at the moment, but Mitt is gaining momentum. Super Tuesday is coming and so are the Red States. Mitt hasn't had a chance to shine in truly conservative areas yet. I once again repeat my challenge. Super Tsunami Nuclear Tuesday is coming and this is where we go all in. Mitt needs our help. Again, I ask everyone to match my $25 donation and I will give another $5 for everyone that matches me up to $100. If you can do more than $25, please don't let me hold you back. Feel free to increase or match my challenge. We all know that this country needs conservative leadership, not the best friend of Bill, Hillary, and Ted Kennedy. If you believe in Mitt's leadership the time to act is now. Don't just sit back and enjoy the ride. If Mitt can donate millions of his own dollars, the least we can do is chip in $25 of our own. Let's leave it all on the field. It will take a lot of money to counter the mainstream media who are rooting for McCain, and Romney can't do it all himself!  Labels: fundraising, mitt romney Thursday, November 15, 2007
We've spoken on numerous occasions about the unique innovations that Romney has used to drive his campaign forward. Tonight, I spoke at the Leadership Institute's Internet Fundraising Forum... when I get back to my email I see that the Romney campaign has redefined fundraising once again.
One of the fundamental principles of fundraising is trust. How do I know (as a contributor) that you're going to use the money I give you in the right way. Well... now you know. Introducing the Victory Fund. The Romney camp gives you the ability to buy an actual ad in a local early state market. (see graphic below)  Just like you buy a brick to build your local library. Now you can buy a brick in the Romney media machine as he drives toward victory! Try it out! Contribute $175 to buy a 30-second TV ad in Charleston, South Carolina. Contribute $300 to buy a 30-second TV ad in Florence, South Carolina Contribute $800 to buy a 30-second TV ad in Des Moines, Iowa. Contribute $1,275 to buy a 30-second TV ad in Manchester, New HampshireLabels: ads, fundraising, fundraising team mitt, iowa, online fundraising, south carolina, tv
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Actually, Mitt is doing just fine. Its time for US to get SCARY for MITT.
Today is the last day of October. There are less than 75 days until the election. We need to keep pushing. We ask one thing today: Donate $10 for Mitt. Then pass this message on! It takes two minutes to donate... Imagine if everyone who got this message donated $10 to Mitt today. Send it far and wide! (also... see our special "NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEMOCRATS VIDEO")  Thanks for David C for this pic:  Labels: fundraising Thursday, October 18, 2007
Update: Just to clarify: This is an official deck from the campaign, forwarded to fund raisers to help them in their Q4 efforts.
When Romney first entered the fray he was dubbed the "Mr. PowerPoint" and for good reason. He is one of the few candidates who makes regular use of the medium for more intimate group settings and for making the case for his strategy across his network of advocates. Yesterday, MyManMitt obtained a copy of a "deck" entitled: "Romney vs. Rudy: Different Visions, Different Strategies". Here are some key slides from the deck. Be sure to come back tomorrow as we bring you live coverage from "The Washington Briefing".
Labels: fundraising, mitt romney, Polls, rudy, rudy giuliani, strategy Friday, October 12, 2007
 So, the primary season is coming to a close. And then... it starts all over again! Only this time... the opponents will be clear and the focus will be forward. Time to prime ourselves on what it takes to raise money.Here's the one rule you need to know about fundraising, everything else is ancillary. It is the one guiding principle I've used to set expectations and predict success over the last three years. In short: fundraising is very hard work. But with the right model in place and the requisite sweat equity, you can accomplish amazing things. Here are some quick thoughts on what it takes to raise money. First and foremost, understand some of the underlying rules of fundraising:
You may have heard about the $80,000 we've raised at MyManMitt.com for the Romney campaign. I should admit here openly and honestly that $40,000 of that money came from me working the phones. Of course, the website became the fulfillment engine for those donation, but the work to get the people there was manual. But once that momentum was in place I was able to do some amazing things online. In the last two days of the quarter we raised $5000 and I didn't make a single phone call. I basically customized an email to my previous donors and asked them to make a difference. Next week I'll talk in more detail about why I think the Democrats have been so much more successful at fundraising online that the GOP. Labels: fundraising Thursday, September 27, 2007
Later this morning we will be bringing down our traditional webpage for today's events to help rally the troops. If you can't be there in person consider a contribution: 10 or 25 dollars can go a long way.Click here to donate. Labels: fundraising Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Reports that Fred's money machine may not be firing on all cylinders leads me to share what I’ve learned about fundraising in the last three years: it is very hard work.
But if you have the right model you can accomplish amazing things. As a comparison note that Romney raised about $3 million before lunch was over at his fundraising kickoff. The contrast is stark. Here are some quick thoughts on what it takes to raise money. First and foremost, understand some of the underlying rules of fundraising: 1. “People give to people to help people” – I’ve been working with non-profit organizations for over a decade. Without fail, a general clarion-call for money will fail compared to a plea for a specific cause, especially when it’s linked with a picture and a story. You need to have a compelling story with a person who can conjure up a compelling reason to get people to open their wallets. 2. “People give relative to their means” – No matter what the cause, the amount of donations from the 35-60 crowd will far outweigh the 20-30 crowd for one simple reason. They have $ to spend. 3. “Those closest must set the pace” – When Romney kicked off the exploratory committee with a national call day January 8th the 5 Romney boys set the example for the other 400 fundraisers by sticking at their tables for the entire duration of the event. When Meg Whitman, CEO of Ebay take 9 hours out of her day to sit at another table and ask people for money it makes an impact on everyone around her. Next we need to take a look at the trends in fundraisings: 1. Growing use of the Internet for fundraising – “Growing” is the operative word. By most accounts donations raised via the Internet is pithy and underwhelming. Only a handful of non-profit organizations have shown more than 6 figures in online fundraising. The trend is obviously with the Internet but it has not been the harbinger of $$$ that many expected. 2. Innovation and adopting new practices and models – The key to fundraising is innovation. I wager that any one of us receives half-a-dozen letters a week soliciting donations. Standout out above the noise is the key to successful fundraising. Take for instance Romney’s “Students for Mitt” program where college students can receive 10% back on everything they raise for the campaign. 3. Involve everyone in fundraising – I know some professional fundraisers who were very upset at the Romney campaign for opening the fundraising floodgates to anyone and everyone. But it’s paid off. For example, as a “Patriot” level fundraiser I have the ability to create “associate fundraisers”. I get credit for whatever money they bring in and they in turn get credit for being part of a successful team of fundraisers. 4. Contemporary corporate marketing practices – Like any aged market, the political sphere has its own consultants, approaches, and software packages. Most every political campaign uses Aristotle Publishing for voter lists and most every 501(c)4 uses Capitol Advantage for online advocacy. Romney broke the mold by utilizing a contact management system called SalesForce.com typically utilized by large and dispersed sales and business development groups. 5. MOST IMPORTANT: FOCUS ON DONORS: When you give $2300 dollars to a campaign you are the man (or at least you should be treated like “the man”.) Next to your unpaid fundraisers you must focus like a laser beam on your high end contributors. By creating incentives and time factors into your efforts you create an energetic need to get involved and “max out”. Romney has held numerous incentive-bases time-sensitive fundraising efforts to meet this challenge Lastly, you need to understand WHY people give: • Believe we are making a difference in a cause they care about. • They value your work • They see it as an investment • Get something in return • Feel good about themselves • Return a favor • Solve a problem • Send a message • Received quality information • Align with peers • Bring justice to the world If you cater your message to these efforts your fundraising effort might just work. But note this: by my calculations 60-70% of the money that Romney has raised has been at in-person events. I’ve said this before but I believe that Fred is one election too early to concentrate on the virtual handshake. Romney has attended approximately 150 in-person fundraising events since January. The average take at these events is probably $150,000+. You do the math. Better yet, Fred better do it. Labels: fred thompson, fundraising
Monday, July 30, 2007
Mike Allen over at the Politico says that Fred's fundraising has left something to be desired by supporters:
But many Republicans have turned queasy as Thompson has ousted part of his original brain trust and repeatedly delayed his official announcement, which is now planned for shortly after Labor Day, in the first two weeks of September. Allen also quotes Fred's defense: “There has been some criticism that the testing-the-waters committee is not such a testing-the-waters committee and that he’s running some sort of campaign,” said a Thompson adviser. I could be wrong for using an old adage to rebut these things, but if it looks like a duck, smells like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. Also, as Jennifer Rubin notes, Romney was up to $3M between 1 and 2 pm on his first fundraising telethon day which netted $6.5M. Labels: fred thompson, fundraising Monday, July 23, 2007
The New York Post asks this morning:
What did Fred Thompson's son, Daniel, do to earn the more than $170,000 that his firm, Daniel Thompson Associates, was paid from his father's federal political action committee, the Fred D. Thompson PAC? When Thompson left the Senate in 2003 he had a leftover war chest of almost $400,000 which he transfered to the Fred D. Thompson PAC. Nothing unusual here. Except for this: ...very little of these funds actually went to candidates - the bulk of the money was paid to Daniel Thompson. The Post continues: In its first election cycle, the PAC made a total of only $18,000 in contributions to federal candidates and about $8,000 in contributions to Republican committees and non-federal candidates. So, the fund spent about 7 percent of its assets on candidates and elections in its first two years - and about 25 percent on Thompson's son. So what was it that D. Thompson was doing for the PAC? Let me be clear, this is not an attack on the Thompson family but I think it brings up some serious questions about Thompson's money management prowess and decisions. I should note that in previous months Romney took some grief for his savvy PAC workings. Two differences here: 1) Romney used these monies for political strategy and 2) pumping money into state and federal candidates, not his sons. (OK... that last line was a bit of an uppercut - I hope not a low blow) Ask yourself this: If this were Obama or Clinton or Dodd what would we say about it? Labels: fred thompson, fundraising Monday, July 2, 2007
To get an in depth look at the state of McCain's campaign right now, read this from David Freddoso at NRO.
One more thought came to me as I read through Marc Ambinder's run-down of the McCain numbers: McCain's campaign finances are an indictment on his ability to run a fiscally sound government. According to Freddoso, McCain raised $11.2 million in the second quarter, but spent $14.4 million, leaving just $2 million in cash on hand. Ambinder has another amazing number: Though he wouldn't confirm it, a back of the envelope calculation suggests that McCain has spent $23M this year, more than any of his opponents. Admittedly, McCain spent much of that money on ground-game organization (which as Justin continually reminds us is vital). It's not that the objects of McCain's expenses are frivolous or unworthy, but such expenditures make McCain's professions of fiscal discipline ring notably hollow. It begs the question: How can he reign in spending for the nation if he can't even do it for his campaign? How will he make the tough choices on federal spending? Labels: fiscal discipline, fundraising, John McCain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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