What the Obama Administration Can Teach You About Fundraising – 2

News & SocietyPolitics

  • Author Jolian Grant
  • Published March 3, 2010
  • Word count 416

In the previous article we looked at how Obama raised money for his campaign. With his master list of donors and campaign aids keeping in touch with them and always soliciting funds Obama was able to tap into money and easily pass the $84 million given through federal means.

"The unbelievable outspending that the Obama campaign has been able to do has just tilted the playing field enormously," says Josh Israel, director of the Buying of the President project at the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, D.C.

This past American presidential campaign was so big that in 2004 between George W. Bush and John Kerry they raised $696 million between them. Obama spent $650 himself just on the campaign and the inauguration will cost even more.

Political Fundraising Tapping Into Social Media

So just how did Obama raise those massive numbers from his master list of donors? The Washington Post says of Obama, "Along with thousands of first-time donors who sent $50 or $100 from their home computers, the report is to list scores of long time political insiders who funneled stacks of $2,300 checks to Obama's accounts. The campaign announced earlier this month that Obama has received money from more than 100,000 people, including 50,000 Internet donors "

This could translate into a non-profit or schools fundraising campaign by letting technology help them. Use all the sources to get your cause in front of people for exposure. A lot of these new media ways are also cost effective so help to keep down your advertising expenses as well.

Obama relied heavily on new technology for his win. He set up his website to accept donations, petitioned supporters through email and was well represented through his supporters on blogs and facebook. Anytime anyone said they supported Obama it was mentioned that they just donated to his campaign and how much they gave.

Make The Donor Feel Vital to Success

Obama is reported by some donors to make them feel like they are integral to the success of the fundraising campaign. This can be used as a great way to make people feel like they are important to the mission. Tap into their passion and speak to them how your organization helps people and changes lives.

You may say that this can’t be done at the level of your organization. Maybe not at the level of success that Barak Obama generated but the tools that he used are abundantly plentiful and with the help of the new media are extremely useful and cost effective.

Jolian Grant is owner and operator of http://www.justfundraising.comHe has over 16 years experience helping schools, churches and youth groups achieve their fundraising goals. To date Jolian has helped raise over 45 million dollars for charitable causes. Check out the justfundraising/charity blog at [http://fundraisingideas.com/blog/ ](http://fundraisingideas.com/blog/)

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