The 4 Core Methods for Candidate Fundraising

Running for office requires money. There's no way around it. Whether you're running for city council or Congress, you need resources to communicate with voters, build your team, and compete effectively. So, you should know the proven methods for raising those resources and diversify your fundraising approach.

When fundraising, it's critical to use multiple tools and diversify your techniques. Diversifying keeps your asks fresh, reaches different types of donors through their preferred giving channels, and maximizes the total amount you can raise. Relying on just one method means leaving money on the table and burning out the donors you do reach.

This post will break down the four essential candidate fundraising methods, explain why each one matters, and show you how to utilize them effectively. To run a successful fundraising campaign, you should likely be using all four of these methods consistently throughout your race.

1. Call Time: Your Most Important Fundraising Tool

Campaign call time is by far the most important aspect of fundraising. This is how you'll raise the majority of your money, and there's simply no substitute for it. As a candidate, you are your campaign's chief fundraiser, and making personal asks over the phone is the most effective way to secure contributions.

Overview of Call Time

Set up a dedicated call time space where you won't be distracted. Have a volunteer or staff member sit with you while you make calls to help you stay on task and record your results in real time. This call time manager tracks who you called, what the result was, and what follow-up is needed. Without good tracking, you'll waste time calling the same people multiple times or lose track of commitments.

It’s vital to your campaign that you are consistent with call time. Block it on your calendar like any other critical campaign activity, and protect those time blocks. Set weekly, hourly, and daily goals for yourself to make the most of your time on the phones. Many successful candidates aim for 3-4 hours of call time per day, especially in the early and middle phases of the campaign.

Expanding Your List

When you work through your main prospect list, expand your contacts by asking current donors for recommendations of other people you should reach out to. This "friend raising" approach is one of the best ways to build your donor base. People are more likely to give to candidates recommended by someone they trust.

Call Time Best Practices

Use a script initially, but make it conversational. People can tell when you're reading robotically.
Start with your ask and don't bury the lede. Be specific about what the money will be used for: "We're trying to reach 10,000 voters via direct mail" is better than "we need money for the campaign."
Follow up immediately with an email that includes a donation link.
Don't be discouraged by nos. Fundraising is a numbers game, and even experienced candidates hear “no” regularly.
Track everything you do. Know your call-to-commitment ratio and your commitment-to-actual-donation ratio. This data helps you understand what's working and what needs adjusting.

The Bottom Line on Call Time

If you're not doing regular call time, you're not serious about winning. It's uncomfortable, it's time-consuming, and most candidates hate it. But it works, and it's really non-negotiable.

2. Fundraising Events: Building Community While Raising Money

Fundraising events are an effective way to raise a significant amount of money in a concentrated period. You also build community support and give donors a chance to meet you in person. Events can be intimate house parties with 20 people or large-scale receptions with hundreds of attendees. The key is to match the event format to your fundraising goals and donor base.

Overview of Fundraising Events

Set up a host committee of people who will invite their networks and help you fill the room. Your hosts should be well-connected individuals who are willing to make personal asks to their friends, family, and colleagues to attend. The host committee does the heavy lifting of getting people in the door, which frees you to focus on other campaign activities until the event itself.

Make sure you tier the contribution levels so you don't limit who can attend or how much you can raise. Tiering allows people to participate at whatever level makes sense for them while giving your biggest supporters a way to contribute more and be publicly recognized for their support.

Event Logistics

Ask your host to provide the venue and refreshments so it doesn't come out of your campaign budget. The goal is to net as much money as possible, and venue and catering costs can eat into your take quickly. House parties, office spaces, and community rooms are all viable options that often come at no cost.

Another important tip: Always have the individual host send invitations to their contacts. People are much more likely to attend an event if the invitation comes from someone they know rather than from a candidate they don’t have a relationship with yet.

Making Events Work

Schedule your event strategically. Avoid major holidays, competing political events, and times when your target donors are unlikely to be available. I’ve seen a house party wind up getting severely reduced attendance because a Formula 1 race shut down a bunch of roads, and guests sat in traffic long enough to give up and go home. You never know what might get in the way of your event unless you do your due diligence here.

Prepare brief remarks, about 5-7 minutes maximum, that tell your story and make your case for support.
Have a clear ask, and a system to immediately collect contributions.
Sell tickets in advance and have staff and volunteers ready with iPads for people to donate on the spot.
Collect contact information from everyone who attends, even if they already donated, because these people are part of your network now.
And don’t forget to send thank you notes within 48 hours of the event!

Virtual Events

Since COVID, virtual fundraising events have become more common and can be just as effective as in-person events without the logistical heavy lifting. Virtual events work particularly well for reaching donors who are geographically dispersed, attracting busy professionals who can dial in from anywhere, featuring special guests or national figures who can join remotely, and hosting lower-dollar fundraisers where the overhead of an in-person event doesn't make sense.

The same principles apply: host committee, tiered giving levels, personal invitations. But the execution happens over Zoom or another platform instead of in someone's living room.

3. Direct Mail Fundraising: Small Dollar Donations at Scale

Fundraising mail is an effective way to solicit small dollar donations from a broad base of supporters. By sending mail strategically to current and potential donors, you can raise significant money, especially when it’s layered with your other fundraising efforts.

Overview of Direct Mail Fundraising

Direct mail fundraising is most effective when you have a list of previous donors or supporters to mail to, enough budget to mail at scale (you need volume for this to pencil out), compelling reasons to ask like campaign milestones, fundraising deadlines, or opponent attacks, and strong messaging that creates urgency.

How to Execute Direct Mail Fundraising

The key to successful fundraising mail is keeping costs as low as possible while still creating compelling pieces that get opened and acted upon. You don't want to spend more on production and postage than you take in.

Use a simple letter that conveys a personal message, not a shiny mailer that looks like it went to everyone on the block.
Create urgency with real deadlines like end of quarter, FEC reporting, or matching gift periods.
Tell a story because generic "we need money" mail doesn't work. Explain why this moment matters.
Include a response device like a BRM card or a tear-off slip with check boxes for suggested donation amounts.
Make it easy to give online by including a clear URL or QR code.
Test different approaches and track results so you know what works with your list.

Who to Mail

Start with your existing donor list. People who have already given are the most likely to give again. Then expand to volunteers, event attendees, petition signers, and warm prospects who have shown interest in your campaign.

Frequency

Don't over-mail your list. Quarterly fundraising mail is reasonable for most campaigns. For instance, you could send fundraising mail around major deadlines like when your financial reports are due.

4. Email and Digital Fundraising: Meeting Donors Where They Are

Email fundraising has become one of the most cost-effective and scalable methods for raising money. By building and maintaining a strong email list, you can raise significant funds with minimal overhead costs.

Setting Up a Digital Fundraising Program

Set up an account with ActBlue or a similar platform that makes online giving easy. Include donation links prominently in your emails, on your website, and across your social media profiles.

Email Fundraising Best Practices

The most effective email fundraising programs combine regular communication with strategic asks. You can't just email your list when you need money; you also need to keep them engaged with campaign updates, volunteer opportunities, and ways to get involved beyond giving.

Frequency and Content

Email your list regularly without overwhelming supporters. Most successful campaigns email 2-3 times per week during active campaign periods, with a mix of campaign updates and news, fundraising asks (typically 30-40% of emails), volunteer recruitment, event invitations, and voter education content.

Use Fundraising Deadlines as Urgency

Deadlines create urgency and give people a concrete reason to donate now rather than later. Effective deadlines include reporting deadlines, end-of-month goals, matching gift periods, countdowns to Election Day, and TV or mail buy deadlines like "We need to raise $X by Friday to keep our ads on air."

Writing Effective Fundraising Emails

Subject lines matter, so test different approaches and track open rates.
Get to the ask quickly and don't bury it in paragraph five.
Be specific about what the money does.
Vary your approach by alternating between candidate voice, campaign manager updates, and supporter testimonials.
Make the donation link prominent and include it multiple times in longer emails.
Keep everything mobile-friendly because most people read email on their phones.

Beyond Email: Social Media and SMS

While email remains the workhorse of digital fundraising, don't ignore other digital channels. Use Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms to share your donation link, especially around key moments and milestones. Organic social media fundraising won't replace email, but it supplements your efforts and reaches people who might not open emails.

Text message fundraising can be incredibly effective for reaching supporters in urgent moments like breaking news or same-day deadlines. However, use it sparingly—people are protective of their text inboxes, and over-messaging will lead to opt-outs.

While not strictly "fundraising," running digital ads to grow your email list through petition sign-ups or volunteer recruitment creates a pipeline of future donors. The cost per acquisition should be significantly lower than the lifetime value of an engaged supporter.

Putting It All Together: An Integrated Candidate Fundraising Program

The most successful campaigns don't rely on just one fundraising method—they use all four strategically and consistently throughout the race.

What an Integrated Candidate Fundraising Program Looks Like

Daily, the candidate does call time, targeting major donor prospects.
Each week, the campaign sends 2-3 emails to the supporter list, with at least one including a fundraising ask.
Monthly, the campaign holds or participates in at least one fundraising event, either as the beneficiary or as a guest at someone else's event where you can network and make asks.
Quarterly, the campaign sends fundraising mail to its donor and supporter lists, timed around FEC deadlines or other key moments.

Why Diversification Matters

Different donors prefer different giving methods. Some people will never attend an event but will respond to email asks. Others ignore emails but will write a check if you call them personally. Some give small amounts regularly online but would never pick up the phone. By using all four methods, you reach different donor types through their preferred channels and maximize your total candidate fundraising.

Diversification also protects you when one channel underperforms. If your event gets hit by bad weather and attendance is low, you still have call time, email, and mail working for you. If your email list has lower engagement one week, you're still making calls and planning events.

Tracking and Improving Your Fundraising Program

Whichever methods you use, tracking results is essential. You should know how much money each fundraising method brings in, what your conversion rates are (calls to commitments, email sends to donations, event invites to attendees), which messages and approaches work best with your donor base, and how much it costs to raise each dollar, especially for mail and events.

Use this data to refine your approach over time. Double down on what works and adjust or eliminate what doesn't.

The Bottom Line on Candidate Fundraising

Fundraising is hard work, and most candidates would rather be talking about policy or meeting voters. But without money, you can't communicate your message, build your team, or compete effectively. The candidates who win are the ones who treat candidate fundraising as seriously as they treat every other aspect of their campaign.

By utilizing call time, fundraising events, direct mail, and email and digital fundraising consistently throughout your race, you set yourself up to raise the resources you need to win. Start early, stay disciplined, diversify your methods, and don't be afraid to make the ask. Your campaign depends on it.

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