Fundraising Donation Menu

This donation menu is designed to help you set goals for fundraising projects and make effective “asks” that illustrate for your donors how their money might be used to actually help your candidates win. We encourage you to present contribution opportunities at different financial levels that relate to specific costs of running effective campaigns. Important note: this information provides cost estimates only to describe what our campaigns could fund with the money we raise, and is not a guarantee of how campaigns will use our fundraising. These campaign costs are simply estimates and could vary based on location, campaign, and strategy.

The Ask: Help the Campaign Hire Talent

Talented staffers can be the difference between winning and losing a close election. We want our candidates to be able to hire talented Field Organizers and Campaign Managers right away. This first example shows how an overall goal can be broken into asks for different contribution levels.

Field Organizer

Field Organizers recruit, train, and direct local volunteers to have the right conversations with the right voters at the right times.
Cost: ~$4,500 covers a month
Suggested Ask: “A campaign Field Organizer recruits, trains, and directs local volunteers to have the right conversations with the right voters at the right times. Talented Field Organizers can make all the difference. Our goal tonight is to cover the cost of a Field Organizer for one month at $4,500”

Cost: $150 covers a day
Suggested Ask: “Perhaps you can cover the cost of a talented Field Organizer for a day. We have 30 people in attendance, so if we average $180 we can get there! Perhaps you can cover two days. Perhaps you can cover half a day or maybe only through breakfast, that’s OK! Everyone give what you can”

Cost: $75 covers half a day
Suggested Ask: “Perhaps you can cover half a day of a talented Field Organizer at $75! Half a day of organizing includes launching a canvass, training a new group of volunteers, and several hours of volunteer recruitment.”

Campaign Manager

Oversees the day-to-day implementation of a campaign’s strategic plan, hires staff, and ensures all operations are running as smoothly as possible. This is a great ask for encouraging early money donations! The rest of the campaign cannot begin until the candidate can fund a campaign manager through the course of the election. Jumpstart a campaign and give our candidates an edge by funding a campaign manager early!
Cost: $6,000 a month or $200 a day
Suggested Ask: “Our goal is to raise $6,000 tonight to fully fund a great Campaign Manager for one month! Can you fund a Campaign Manager for one day at $200?”

The Ask: Help the Campaign Refine Its Messaging

Messaging Poll

A messaging poll can help a campaign determine what messages will be most helpful in persuading voters.
Cost: $15,000 per 1 poll of 400 likely voters
Suggested Ask: “Ensuring that our candidates are using data-driven messaging, they need to conduct a poll. The earlier in the campaign they can do this, the more impact it will have in their communications. We have already raised a total of $11,500 for Rep. Smith. Our goal is to raise the final $3,500 to allow the campaign to go into their district with a poll. Can you chip in $100?”

The Ask: Help the Campaign Reach Voters

Targeted Digital Ad Production

A professionally produced, 15 second digital ad can be successful in reaching tens of thousands of voters on YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms.
Cost: $8,000 for one 15 second digital ad
Suggested Ask: “Our goal is to raise $8,000 tonight. The campaign could use this amount to pay for a high-quality, compelling digital ad that can reach tens of thousands of voters on YouTube and social media. These digital ads are important to get the candidate’s message out and make effective contrasts with her opponent. Can you donate at a level of $250 tonight? If we average that amount from everyone in attendance, we’ll get there.”

Campaign Literature

Campaign flyers and pamphlets help communicate a candidate’s background and top priorities to voters. Canvassers will leave literature at the door of every household and they are passed out at many campaign events.
Cost: $4,200 twice during the campaign (early lit and GOTV lit)
Suggested Ask: “Our goal is to raise $4,200 tonight which can fund Get Out the Vote literature for canvassers to leave at every door they knock.  Can you chip in $100 to help our candidate take their message and priorities directly to the doorstep of voters in their district?”

Broadcast and Cable Television Ad Placement 

What is an election without non-stop political ads on your television. In key races, our candidates will need to communicate as broadly as possible, which is where broadcast and cable television come into play.  Having an effective ad that is well placed can help reach voters as they begin to pay attention to the election.

Cost: $25,000 production
Suggested Ask: “We have already raised $22,500 for our candidate and our goal is to raise the final $2,500 tonight which will fund the production of her ad. We know that her message will resonate with voters as we have seen and heard from talking with her voters on our phone banks. Since it is impossible to talk with every voter, we must reach voters where they are on television.”