- THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY'S SUCCESS '99
*
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100 Washington DC 20037
From 0 to $250,000 The History of the Jon Coon Fundraising Plan
BYBARBARAGOUSHAW
F
undraising is a Selling Job. You must
sell potential contributors on the idea of
contributing to your campaign. In politics
there are two types of contributors. Those who
are ideologically aligned with you, and those
who seek political access. Contributors to
Libertarian campaigns are primarily of the
ideological group, since selling the idea that we
will provide potential contributors (or PACs)
with access to the halls of power is not some-
thing that we generally have to offer, and is
potentially a violation of Libertarian ethics.
Access to the candidate, however, can still be a
motivation, as people love to have a political
candidate listen to their opinions and com-
plaints.
Step One: First we wrote the plan.
This is the political equivalent of a business
plan. We detailed, in keneral terms (specifics
remained confidential, but were also in writing)
who our targeted voters were, our plan to reach
them, why we thought they would respond to
our message, what the costs were to accomplish
the plan, and the time-frames for accomplishing
it. This became the foundation of our
fundraising game plan, as well as the campaign
plan itself.
Step Two: At first it was just Jon and
1. (Later there were others who volunteered to
help with this project.) We began the
fundraising process by obtaining the Michigan
Libertarian Party mailing list. Then we called
* (202) 333-0008 * www.LP.org
them. We did not write them a fundraising letter.
We called them, explained who Jon was, (outside
of a few party activists, no one really knew Jon)
what he was running for, and the basics of the
plan. Then we asked them, not for money, but
for an appointment to meet with Jon at their
horne. Closing with: Agree to meet with Jon.
Talk to him. Ask him questions, and if you like
what you hear, consider supporting his cam-
paign. We got about a 40% yes to the meeting.
Then Jon would go to their house, and
explain the plan, and pitch the pledge program.
The vast majority of people that he met with
became financial supporters, campaign volun-
teers, or both. Some folks were so dazzled
receiving the phone call and the offer of a
meeting they agreed to contribute without a
meeting. (Now that Jon has been identified as
"Michigan's most prominent Libertarian" by the
media, people actually brag: "Jon Coon came to
my house!'') Those who volunteered as a result
of the meeting were invited to join the phone
banking effort.
Some folks requested printed info when
they received their phone calls, so we sent out a
"basic information packet" with a contribution
form. Some gave as a result, but most times this
was a simple a way of getting us off the phone
without saying "no." Some gave later. Some
gave when they received the follow-up phone
call after we had sent the information.
Step Three: Once Jon had some
experience under his belt with this type of
fundraising, we organized public meetings. Some
were organized by us, (these generally went
better) and some were organized by the affiliates.
The first was timed to coincide with the
"official" announcement of his candidacy. We
rented the auditorium at a local community
center, then contacted a local talk-radio station,
and spoke with the producer of a "semi-Libertar-
ian" talk show host. Explaining that we wanted
to officially announce Jon's candidacy on his
show, we booked the interview for the day
before the public meeting. Jon went on the air
and as part of the interview, pitched the public
meeting. 150 people showed up at that meeting
and committed to contributing over $8,000 via
the pledge program.
This continued as part of the plan,
throughout the campaign: Organize a public
meeting, get a radio interview to promote it,
and pitch the pledge program. Many of the
people who came also "discovered" and joined
the LP.
The Pledge Program
A pledge program is generally a loser for
"D's and R's" but can work really well for an LP
candidate. Why does it work for us and not for
them? We believe that people commit to a
pledge and then bailout on it when the D's or
R's do something that they don't like. Political
pundits say that peopl= -n't fulfill their
pledges, yet we had a 9 'ulfillrnent rate.
Those who did bail on us .d a good reason (laid
off, etc.) A few quit, however, over his stands on
the issues.
During the events, or the home visits, Jon
would ask people to join the pledge program.
Contributing, on a monthly basis, what ever
they could afford, until the end of the cam-
paign. He always knew what the per-month
number would be to take them to the maximum
limit, and that was what he asked for. We kept
track of our pledges, sent them a monthly
reminder/newsletter and gently called to remind
the ones who fell behind. The pledge base gave
us a great budqeti /income tool.
Fundraising Chairman
Next to the Candidate and the Campaign
Manager, the fundraising chair is the most
important position on the campaign. Seek out
someone who sells for a living, i.e.: Insurance,
cars, stocks etc. These are folks who can take a
"no" and not get discouraged. Our fundraising
chair, an insurance salesman named Al Garcia,
raised thousands for us through a series of
"breakfast meetings" with business people. Many
of the people he invited were his friends, but as
this program progressed, other staffers and
volunteers thought of people that they knew
that were appropriate invitees for these ongoing
meetings. This program absolutely requires a
personal invitation from a supporter who will
encourage the person to attend the meeting.
Similar meetings that were promoted to the
business community simply by mailing invita-
tions were a dismal failure. Al also raised close
to $21,000 at our state party convention during
a challenge from a supporter who offered to give
the maximum if 10 others would match it.
Meetings with other groups
Jon did many personal appearances with
non-Libertarian groups. Optimists, Veterans,
Bikers, Gun Groups, United We Stand, virtually
any group that wanted him, got him, and our
supporters were actively encouraged to ask their
organizations to have him speak. We did not
fundraise at these engagements. Instead, Jon
would ask them to sign the "clipboard that was
being passed around" if they wanted more
information about him or the campaign. Then
we would follow up with a thank-you-for-
attending letter, a lit piece and a request for
funds. Time permitting, we would also make a
phone call. Many of these folks, particularly the
bikers, vets and gun people, became contributors
and volunteers.
Events
We also did a series of fundraising parties
and events: Your basic dinner and speech with a
pitch for funds after. Some of the most success-
ful were the "Wild Game" dinner and the
evening at the race track. The track event was
titled, "Put Your Money On A Winner." We sold
dinner tickets, and set up a competition be-
tween the tables of attendees to see who could
contribute the largest portion of their track
winnings back to the campaign.
The Brass Roots Rally
The gun issue was hot in '94, and we
organized the largest pro-gun rally in 20 years,
which was held on the steps of the Capitol
building in Lansing. (The extensive details of
the organization of this event are available, if
desired).
Several times during the event our volun-
teers passed through the crowd bearing five-
gallon pails collecting cash from the attendees.
After they made a donation, they received an
orange Jon Coon lapel sticker, so that they
would not get hit up again. (Although some
gave every time the bucket came around!)
The Newsletter
Our supporters and contributors received a
monthly update throughout the campaign. It
contained campaign news, a recap of media
coverage, dumb things our opponents had done,
upcoming events, etc. And of course, there was
always a strong pitch for funds and information
about whatever project we had going that
required them to donate. It kept them feeling
like they were part of what was happening, and
never, ever lost money. Usually it generated
double what it cost to get out.
The Final Push
In the last few weeks of the campaign, we
called all of our contributors again, requesting
money for advertising.
Summary
We asked, and asked, and then asked again
for support. We asked in person, we asked on
the phone, we asked at events, we asked by
mail, we asked in ads in the national IP News.
We asked when we thanked them for their last
contribution. (A thank you is a must!)
A word of caution
Because our contributors are primarily
ideological contributors, the majority of your
funds are likely to come in the last few months,
as things heat up. Access contributors, like PACs
and the politically savvy major donors, give
early. This can be challenging in the budgeting
process for us, and is one of the major advan-
tages that the incumbents will have; particularly
because the media tends to judge a campaign's
success by how much it has raised.
Finally, make certain that you have bud-
geted for the post-election expenses, because
contributions end on election day unless you are
the winner.