Reframing the ask
Most candidates who struggle with fundraising are operating from a flawed mental model: they think of asking for a donation as asking for a favor. It isn't. When you ask someone to donate to your campaign, you're offering them a chance to participate in something that matters to them – a race in their community, about issues that affect them, with a candidate they know and trust. The ask is an opportunity, not a burden.
That reframe doesn't eliminate the discomfort, but it changes what you're doing. You're not asking people to give you money. Rather, you're inviting them to be part of what you're building. Donors who give to local campaigns do it because someone they know asked them to, because the race felt real and close, and because they believed the candidate had a genuine chance to win.
The practical implication: the best fundraisers are candidates who are comfortable talking about why they're running, why the race matters, and what the money will actually do. If you can communicate those things with confidence, potential donors will want to bet on you.
Set your goal before you start asking
One common fundraising mistake is setting an arbitrary goal and working backward. A candidate decides they want to raise $20,000 because it sounds serious, then tries to figure out how to spend it. The better sequence is the opposite: build a realistic budget based on what your contact plan actually requires, then set a fundraising goal to fund that budget.
If reaching every voter in your target universe requires $12,000 in canvassing software, printing, postage, and digital advertising, your fundraising goal is $12,000 (plus a reasonable reserve for unexpected costs). If you raise more, you have options. If you raise less, you make tradeoffs. The goal, though, is grounded in something real.
For detailed guidance on building a campaign budget, see the campaign budget guide.
Once you have a goal, work backwards to a monthly fundraising target and figure out roughly how many donors at what average gift size you need to hit it. A campaign that needs to raise $15,000 and expects an average gift of $100 needs 150 donors. That number then shapes your outreach: you're looking for 150 people who believe in you enough to write a check.
Building your donor list
Before you ask anyone for money, you need a list of people to ask. The starting point for that list is almost always the same: people who know you personally, trust your judgment, and care about the community you're running to serve.
Start with who you know
Go through your contacts systematically – your phone, your email, your social networks, your professional history. Include friends and family, former colleagues, neighbors, people you know from civic organizations, faith communities, professional associations, PTAs, and neighborhood groups. You don't need to find people who are political. You need people who trust you.
For each person on that list, make a rough assessment: how likely are they to give, and at what level? A close friend who earns a good living and cares about local politics is a different prospect than an acquaintance who might give $25 if the ask is right. Prioritize your highest-capacity, most-likely-to-give contacts for personal outreach and your less certain contacts for later (or for lower-touch methods).
Be thoughtful about how you approach donors about volunteering and volunteers about donating. Some people will do both, but many will only be in a position to contribute either time or money. Both are real contributions, and it's important to strike the right balance between challenging supporters to contribute in new ways and showing gratitude for what they already do for you.
Expand through events and referrals
Your personal network has limits. To reach beyond it, you need other people to introduce you to their networks. Fundraising events hosted by supporters do exactly this – when a supporter hosts a house party and invites their own contacts, you're meeting people who wouldn't have found you otherwise. Ask committed donors if they know two or three people who might want to get involved. One engaged supporter who makes introductions can unlock a new tier of donors.
Capture inbound interest
As your campaign becomes visible – through yard signs, community events, earned media, social media – people who find you on their own are often strong donor prospects. They've already demonstrated interest. Make sure your website has a clear, low-friction way to donate, and that anyone who attends a campaign event or meets you out in the community has an opportunity to give. Inbound donors convert at higher rates than cold outreach because they came to you.
Fundraising methods
Different fundraising methods work for different relationships and different moments in the campaign. The table below gives a practical overview; the sections that follow go deeper on each.
| Method | What it takes | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Personal call or meeting | A list of prospects, a direct ask with a specific amount, follow-up. | Your highest-capacity donors and closest relationships. The method most likely to produce a yes and the largest gifts. |
| Personal text or email | A short, personal message. Not a template – something that sounds like you wrote it to that person. | Mid-tier relationships where a call might feel presumptuous. Effective for first asks to warm contacts. |
| Fundraising event | A host willing to invite their network, a venue (often a donor's home), logistics. The candidate's time for the event itself. | Accessing donors outside your immediate circle. Especially useful early in the campaign when name recognition is low. |
| Online donation page | A political payment processor, a clear ask amount on the page, a mobile-friendly interface. | Converting inbound interest (website visitors, social media followers, press coverage) into donors. Always-on. |
| Email list ask | An email list, a fundraising email with a clear subject line and a single ask, a link to the donate page. | Reactivating existing supporters, end-of-quarter pushes, deadline-driven asks. High volume, lower conversion, and only as effective as the quality of the supporter list. |
| Event ask | A moment during a campaign event where the candidate or a supporter makes a direct ask to a larger room. | Converting attendees who have already demonstrated interest into donors while energy is high. |
The direct ask
A personal call or meeting is the highest-converting fundraising method. Candidates have a lot of competing demands on their schedules, but failing to spend time regularly on direct outreach to donors is leaving money (that your campaign likely needs) on the table.
What makes a good ask
An effective fundraising ask has the same structure as an effective volunteer ask: it's personal, specific, and stakes-clear. But it has one additional element: a specific dollar amount.
- It's personal. Use their name. Reference your relationship or something specific about them. Make clear you're calling them in particular.
- It explains why you're running. Not a long speech – one or two sentences about what you're trying to accomplish and why it matters in this community, right now.
- It makes a specific ask. "Can you contribute $250 to help us fund our final push?" is far more effective than "Any amount would be appreciated." Donors who receive a specific ask are more likely to give, and more likely to give at or near the amount asked.
- It explains what the money will do. "That $250 covers the food for two Saturday phone banks" gives the donor a concrete sense of impact. It also signals that you have a real plan for the money.
Then stop talking. After you make the ask, wait for an answer. The instinct to fill the silence by softening the ask ("whatever you can do") undercuts it. Let them respond.
When they say yes
Thank them immediately and send them a donation link or a way to mail a check within the hour (or pick up the check right then and there if you're talking live). The faster you make it easy to follow through, the more likely they actually do. Send a personal thank-you within 24 hours of receiving the contribution – not just an automated receipt. Donors who feel appreciated give again.
When they say no
A gracious no preserves the relationship. Don't push, don't guilt, don't revisit it immediately. "I completely understand. I appreciate you taking the time," and move on. The same person who can't give now may give later, volunteer instead, or introduce you to someone who gives. Every fundraising conversation is also a relationship conversation.
Call time
Most campaigns designate specific blocks of time for the candidate to make fundraising calls – usually called "call time." This is one of the least glamorous parts of running for office and one of the most important. Block it on your calendar before the week fills up, and treat it like a meeting you can't cancel. An hour of focused call time with good prospects is among the highest-value activities on a candidate's calendar.
Fundraising events
A fundraising event like a house party, reception, or meet-and-greet serves two purposes: it raises money, and it builds a room full of people who have now made a visible commitment to the campaign. Both matter.
The hosted event model
Fundraising events work best when they are hosted by a supporter, not the candidate. When a supporter hosts a party and invites their own contacts, the candidate gets access to a network it doesn't already have. The host's credibility is doing work: their friends come partly because they trust the host's judgment, not just because they know the candidate.
When reaching out to potential hosts, make the ask specific: "Would you be willing to host a fundraising get-together for 15-20 people in your home? I'd handle the invitations and talking points; you'd just need to provide the space and invite people you think would be interested." A well-framed ask makes it easy to say yes.
Keep early events simple and low-cost
The goal of a fundraising event is net revenue: what comes in minus what it cost to put on the event. A high-overhead event – a catered dinner at a rented venue with an expensive ticket price – often underperforms a simple house party on net revenue because the cost eats the margin and the ticket price limits attendance.
A $25-per-person house party with 40 attendees ($1,000 gross, minimal costs) often outperforms a $150-per-person dinner with 15 attendees ($2,250 gross, but significant venue and catering costs). Keep early events simple, accessible, and focused on bringing new people into contact with the campaign.
Making an ask at the event
Every fundraising event should include a moment where someone makes a direct ask to the room – ideally a host or committed supporter, not the candidate themselves. The candidate should focus on making personal connections; a third-party ask is more effective than the candidate asking for money on their own behalf.
The ask doesn't need to be long. Something like: "[Candidate's name] can win this race, but only if we help. I'm giving $[amount] and I'm asking each of you to give what you can tonight. There are donation cards on the table and [Candidate] will be around to thank you personally." It should be specific, brief, and come from someone credible.
Online fundraising
Every campaign should be able to accept online donations from the moment its website launches. Online giving converts inbound interest into money – visitors who find your website through a news article, a social media post, or a yard sign that prompted them to look you up. If there's no donate button, that interest goes to waste.
Setting up your donation page
Rather than a generic payment processor, use a donation platform that's optimized for political campaigns. They are built to capture the donor information your campaign finance reports require: name, address, employer, occupation. A generic processor like PayPal or Venmo doesn't collect this information by default, and also doesn't allow you to enforce contribution limits for the election cycle automatically like many political donation platforms do.
Your donation page should be mobile-friendly. A significant share of small-dollar political donations are made on phones, often in the moment someone sees something that moves them – a news story, a social media post, a text from a friend. If your donation page doesn't work well on a phone, you're losing those conversions.
Keep the page simple: candidate name, a one-sentence pitch, suggested donation amounts, and a form (along with a splashy background photo). Donation amount buttons ($25, $50, $100, $250, and a custom field) consistently outperform a blank field where donors have to decide for themselves. Pre-filled amounts anchor donors toward a real number.
Email fundraising
Email is the highest-ROI fundraising channel for campaigns that have built a list. A well-timed email to a warm list (people who signed up on your website, attended an event, or indicated support when canvassed) can produce meaningful results with minimal cost.
Effective fundraising emails are short, personal in tone, and contain a single clear call to action: click here and give. Avoid buzzwords and generic subject lines, and write as if you're emailing a friend. Subject lines that work tend to be specific and human: "One week out" or "We're $800 away" outperform "Please support the [Name] for [Office] campaign."
The best time to send a fundraising email is when there's a real deadline or milestone: end of quarter, a matching opportunity, one week before the election, crossing a fundraising threshold.
Don't try to manufacture urgency with deceptive language, and don't shame your donors. Their trust in you is your most valuable asset, and you'll lose it quickly if the way you fundraise feels disconnected from their reasons for supporting you.
The fundraising calendar
Fundraising isn't evenly distributed across the campaign. There are natural moments of high activity and natural lulls. Understanding the rhythm helps you plan.
Early money: the launch push
The first fundraising push (typically in the first few weeks after announcing) matters disproportionately. Early contributions signal viability. Other donors, local press, and potential endorsers watch whether a campaign can raise money early as a proxy for whether it can win. A strong launch fundraising total also gives you resources to invest when the campaign is still building infrastructure.
Prioritize your highest-capacity donors and strongest relationships for the launch push. Call them before you announce publicly, or in the first week after. These donors set the tone for the rest of the fundraising effort.
Mid-campaign: maintaining the pipeline
After the launch push, fundraising tends to slow down unless you actively maintain it. Block call time on your calendar every week throughout the campaign, not just during pushes. The donors you haven't reached yet won't find you on their own. Keep working the list.
End-of-quarter deadlines (if your jurisdiction has quarterly reporting) create natural fundraising windows. Candidates who communicate "we're trying to hit $X before the quarterly report" give donors a concrete reason to act now rather than later.
Pre-election: the final push
The final weeks before election day are when fundraising urgency is highest and when money is most impactful, because it funds the voter contact work that directly determines the outcome. Make your strongest asks in this window. Donors who have already given once are often willing to give again for a final push, so ask them!
Be realistic about what money can do in the final weeks. Funds raised in the last week before election day may not arrive in time to fund late-breaking expenditures. Understand your cash flow and plan accordingly.
Tracking donors and following up
Every contribution should be recorded immediately: donor name, amount, date, and contact method. This isn't just a compliance requirement – it's also how you manage your donor pipeline. A donor who gave $100 at a house party in March is a candidate for a second ask in September. Your second ask will be stronger if you can reference the details of the first gift.
Thank-yous matter a lot. Send a personal note – not just an automated receipt – within 24 hours of receiving any significant contribution. Donors who receive a personal thank-you give again at higher rates than those who only get receipts. This doesn't have to be elaborate: a brief text or handwritten note is enough to make someone feel seen.
Track your pipeline, not just your total. A fundraising total tells you how much you've raised. A pipeline tells you who you've asked, who said yes, who said maybe, who you haven't reached yet, and who needs a follow-up. Managing the pipeline is the actual day-to-day work of fundraising.
Fundraising and compliance
Every dollar you raise has compliance implications: contribution limits, prohibited sources, reporting requirements, and record-keeping obligations. Fundraising and campaign finance compliance are two sides of the same activity. Before you solicit contributions, make sure your committee is registered and your bank account is open.
For full guidance on contribution rules, reporting deadlines, and setting up a compliant campaign finance operation, see the campaign finance guide.
Next steps
- Build your budget first. Set your fundraising goal based on what your contact plan actually costs, not an arbitrary number.
- Build your donor list. Go through your contacts and identify your highest-capacity, most-likely-to-give prospects. Separate the list from your volunteer list.
- Schedule your first call time. Block two hours on your calendar this week for fundraising calls. Start with your warmest, highest-capacity prospects.
- Line up your first host. Ask one committed supporter to host a house party within the first few weeks. Give them a specific ask and guidance on logistics.
- Set up your donate page. Make sure your website has a donate button connected to a political payment processor before you announce or do any public outreach.
- Register your committee first. Don't accept any contributions until your committee is registered and your bank account is open. See the campaign finance guide for setup steps.