What Every Politician Should Know About Crowdfunding
Political fundraising has been reshaped by the process of using small donors to get around the big establishments. At no time in history has this sentiment ever been more true. The power of the people are speaking loud and clear and the political arena is finally listening. The 2008 presidential election strategy of Obama is what stirred the pot and made political fundraisers look on with amazement. Using their website to collect funds, the Obama campaign raised more than $750 million dollars from small donors (with the average being roughly $86 per person donated). This strategy was dully noted and replicated among the playing fields in the political arena. Crowdfunding WORKS for politics because it combines fundraising and campaigning into one single activity.
Fundraising dinners of $5,000 plates will still be part of the political fundraising plan…simply because it’s always been a staple, however, crowdfunding is gaining in popularity and rightfully so. Getting the message to thousands and inspiring them to donate at the same time…priceless. That’s the whole point of political activism…getting other people involved in what shapes our political system. By targeting groups of people, crowdfunding creates a community of people who have been inspired by the same message and direction and are moved to take action…to donate.
Money has always mattered in politics, but now more than ever with over 90% of candidates winning because they raise the most money. Getting your message to voters can use up about 80% of a campaign’s budget…and that’s HUGE! Crowdfunding can eliminate the overhead costs associated with running a campaign. From the building, phone lines, and travel…more and more politicians are turning to social media and the internet to get their word out.
Crowdfunding is FREE to set up. MoveYourMountain has made the process of starting a campaign seamless and easy. Once your campaign is set up and constituents start backing your campaign, you’ll have a list created of all backers to use for future fundraisers. Not only will you have created a detailed list of donations made, but you’ll also have the ability to share your message on all social media channels (as will your backers). This embedded social media sharing will allow your message to reach an exponentially larger crowd.
Face it…Donors EQUAL Votes. If someone donates to your campaign, they are vested in you and more likely to go to the polls and vote for you. Those same donors are also more likely to spread your message to others via social media channels.
The people have spoken….and they’re excited about being heard! Big Donors will always have their hand in politics, but the collective hands of all the small people will yield the same result (if not better). Politicians are more focused on winning “the people” now more than ever before.
Don’t underestimate how a collective crowd can help your campaign…
(originally posted on https://moveyourmountain.org/blog/why-politicians-are-turning-to-crowdfunding/)
