Building Your Fundraising Roadmap
So you recently announced your candidacy to run for office or launched a political organization, and you are now realizing you need money to achieve your desired political goals. How do you even go about starting to fundraise?
Enter the finance plan. A finance plan is your roadmap to the how of fundraising as a candidate for office or a political organization. It should be a living document that changes as political circumstances change and as you either meet or fall short of fundraising goals.
Below you can find the basics of how to put together your fundraising roadmap:
Who is your prospective donor audience?
You should start building your finance plan by thinking through your political goals as an organization or policy positions as a candidate. This will inform who is likely to donate to you. Are there other elected officials in your area who have similar policy positions? Are there organizations that are doing work aligned with what your organization wants to achieve?
Another great place to start here would be your rolodexing list. You can find our blog on the importance of rolodexing lists here.
How much do you need to raise?
The answer to this question should stem from a budget so you aren’t setting arbitrary fundraising goals. You should break down your budget into smaller bite-size pieces that determine your fundraising goals. We recommend having quarterly and weekly goals to make a very large goal feel more achievable and to allow for flexibility as the year progresses.
What are the fundraising strategies you are going to employ?
This is where you can start thinking about what is going to turn your prospective donor audience into actual donors. Are you going to rely on call time? Fundraising events? Texting? An email program? The options are endless, but you should hone in on what works best for you, your audience, and the time you have to dedicate to fundraising.
A quick note: call time can be daunting, but it should always be the cornerstone of your fundraising efforts. If that seems daunting and you want some tips on reframing your mindset on call time, you can check out our tips for getting over call time anxiety.
If you are searching for a roadmap to help you fundraise, a finance plan is the key to figuring out the who, how, and what of beginning to raise money for your campaign or political organization.
Questions? Need some guidance on putting together a finance plan? We’ve got you covered. Book a FREE 15-minute consultation call with us today!