Candidate Fundraising
I present a startup guide to fundraising. I originally typed this up for the O’Conor campaign but thought it would benefit everyone. It is always a work in progress and intend on continually revising this document based on ILGP bylaws, state laws, anecdotes etc… Expect a more polished draft sometime after Feb. 5.
Campaign Fundraising Start Up
Click here. ç This will bring you to the “Campaign Disclosure” section of the IL State Board of Elections (ISBE) website.
It is a great resource to have bookmarked in your browser as it is not only a wealth of information but a good way to gauge what you are up against funding and strategy wise.
“Strategy,” you ask. Yes, “strategy”. On the left hand side of the site there is a list of hyperlinks (Main, Committees, Candidates, etc…). If you click on the candidates link you’ll get this page; it allows you to see how much (claimed) money your opponent has, who and how much they contributed, and what kinds of voters/dollars they are targeting (i.e. are there more donations of any kind from, say, a community organization that advocates for better funded public transportation and infrastructure or, do most of them come from the few community members or corporations that would benefit from building a coal power plant).
This information is a good starting point to build your donor list. Hypothetically, for every one person that would benefit from building a coal power plant in your district there are two or three GROUPS that oppose its construction. Don’t hesitate to ask the “untapped” for money, especially if they are sympathetic to your cause but remember, a donation does not always have to be cash.
SUGGESTION:
Develop a wish list of things you need for your campaign to be successful and have them donated to your committee. For example, “We Who Oppose Coal Plants” or WWOCP wants you to win (especially since you oppose coal plants) but they are a cash poor community organization. Ask them to donate time working for “The Committee to get Kevin Elected”. Yes, you should document their man hours—which reminds me, you should really document most everything on paper—but it helps reduce the odds of a campaign ending scandal involving the one thing most everyone is sensitive about: money.
AS A CANDIDATE YOU CANNOT ACCEPT PERSONAL GIFTS OVER $50 DOLLARS, ANY THAT COST LESS THAN $50 MUST BE DOCUMENTED WITH THE DATE, GIFTER’S ADDRESS AND SIGNATURE! For all intents and purposes, every ounce of support (money, labor, advertising, ANYTHING) you get should go through your state recognized “Committee to get Kevin Elected”. It both limits your liability as a candidate and makes it easier to raise money.
Click here. ç This will bring you to the D-1 form. The D-1, as described by the ISEB, is “the form, also known as
the Statement of Organization, which is to be filed by the candidate or treasurer of a political committee within 10 business days (5 business days if the filing threshold is reached during the period within 30 days prior to an election) after it reaches the filing threshold. The D-1 form provides basic committee information such as name, address, and officers of the committee; candidates or propositions supported or opposed by the committee; committee type and purpose; and financial institutions used by the committee.” YOU NEED TO FILL THIS OUT AND SUBMIT IT! Doing so, will prevent a lot of head and heartaches down the road plus, since you have to state party affiliation, it keeps our struggling party on the books.
Click here. ç This will bring you to the D-2 form. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY. It is basically your
political committee’s taxes. Remember when I said “document everything”; this is why.
Click here. ç This is a glossary of terms. Always handy.
Click here. ç This is “the handbook” provided by the state of IL. Always handier.
Click here. ç Heady reading but good to keep on hand, this is the actual laws that govern electioneering.
Always handiest.
RE: Your EIN
An EIN is an Employer Identification Number. I suspect whomever you spoke with at the bank didn’t know what they were talking about. Go back (or find a different bank) and ask to speak to an account specialist or something to that affect; when you meet with them explain your situation in no uncertain terms. I suggest you even script a few questions before you go in. If, for some reason, you can’t make any headway with this approach you can always open a checking account under your social security number.
All you really need is a joint account with your treasurer or chief of staff to get the ball rolling on getting recognized by the state. All the state wants to know is that you aren’t collecting its constituents money on the pretense of winning a campaign then use it to pay your rent and gas bill; this is best achieved by opening an account at a bank other than where you normally cash your paychecks or keep a personal savings/checking account. Since, I suggest you don’t pay any of your staff directly out of this account it should be okay until Springfield approves your D-1. Once your D-1 is approved, I believe you will be issued an EIN or something equivalent to it.
If you haven’t already found a third party accounting firm to keep a set of book independent from your treasurer. This will help keep the primary parties from questioning your accounting ethics and the cool thing is, you will probably only have to meet with this accountant twice a year.
