If you are actually sitting by your phone looking forward to the next fundraising call from the DNC, DSCC, DCCC, or one of the myriad of local/national candidates that are calling these days, and actually have the resources to make a donation to each and every hand out, then this is not the diary for you.
If you actually appreciate the flood of mail, from the above mentioned political organizations, and have the resources to drop a check in each and every envelope you receive, then this is not the diary for you.
If you are like me however and are simply overwhelmed by the phone calls and all the mail coming from political campaigns (it's only gonna get worse folks as November edges closer) and simply can not work another contribution into your budget then follow me over the jump and maybe I can help you help the Democratic party save some money.
Having worked/volunteered for several national/local Democratic political campaigns, in a myriad of functions - some in fundraising, I understand full well the necessity for political fundraising. The problem I have is not with political fundraising in general but specifically with the professional fundraising groups that almost all political candidates must now employ in order to remain viable and their overly aggresive tactics.
I could go on about how the business practices and the treatment of employees by these professional fundraising corporations flies in the face of all our Democratic ideals but that would be a very long diary indeed, another day perhaps. Today I will simply focus on how we can collectively save the Democratic party a substantial amount of money, as well as our time and perhaps sanity, with very little effort and absolutely no additional donations.
I'm sure by now most of you have experienced the techniques employed by these professional fundraising groups. "Ask high, drop slow". Is something of a mantra and is based on an equation involving your last donation, generally three times your last pledge - even if that was a $10 dollar donation to the J.F.K. presidential campaign in 1959 and you are now an 85 year old retiree living in a nursing home. These professional fundraising groups make no allowances for the human factor and treat each and every one of us as a 'bottomless wallet with a heartbeat'.
Of course the fault does not belong to these professional fundraising groups alone, the campaign and fundraising managers that allow these practices to flourish bear as much responsibility, but nothing will change until we, the 'bottomless wallets with heartbeats', demand that change.
'Emergency' appeals, matching donations, 'giveaways' (hats, key chains, tote bags, etc.), are all techniques used by these professional fundraising groups in an effort to have you make a spontaneuos decision hopefully getting you to pledge more then you can possibly afford and hopefully on a credit/debit card - after all they are playing upon your concern and belief in the organizations goals that you are donating to. "You still believe in what we're doing?" Is the most likely response you will receive regardless of any query posed.
What most people do not understand is that these professional fundraising groups simply do not care whether you donate or not they get paid. Simply pick up your phone and answer - "yes I'm 'Mr. Smith'" - and they just made a quarter, varying with their contract. Sure it is in their interest to get a donation, it proves their efficacy and attracts potential clients, but the fact remains - they just don't care. This is why the person on the other end of your phone seems so detached, so uninformed, so robotic, because they are given little incentive to care either.
It may not matter to the political campaigns if it costs them $15 dollars in fundraising costs to get your $20 dollar donation, but it matters to me and I hope to you as well. If so I have several tips towards helping you help the Democratic party become a more efficient fundraising organization.
1.) Never, ever, ever give a donation on a debit card. A debit card is your money and regardless of how desperate the telemarketer sounds or genuine the need - Never, ever, ever donate using a debit card. If someone does abuse your trust and steals your credit card info you are by law only responsible for the first $50 dollars, a debit card - it's all you.
2.) Before you donate using a credit card make sure you take down the a) full name of the person calling. b) name and phone number of the professional fundraising corporation calling. c) the group you are donating to d) your membership identification number - this is info all fundraising groups must supply by law and if they can not they are not legit.
3.) As much of a challenge as it might be for some - Never get angry with the telemarketer calling you - believe it or not they are actually in the best position to help you. Many people become irate at any phone call because they are on the so called "No Call List". What most people do not understand is that - not for profits, political campaigns, groups that you are a member of - are exempt from the so called "No Call List". So it does you no good at all to simply scream into the phone that you are on the "No Call List" and hang up, the telemarketer on the other end will simply re-schedule the call for a week or so later. How you should handle these calls is to calmly and pleasantly stop their pitch and ask them their name, if they did not already give it which by law they should have. Remember you are in control of the call, maintain calm. Then get the name and phone number of the professional fundraising corporation they are calling from and make it apparent to them that you are recording all the info they are supplying by repeating back to them what you have written down. Then politiely and calmly ask them to remove you from both the mail and call database. They will probably respond - "Don't you believe in what we're doing anymore?", which is how they're instructed to respond in such cases. If necessary briefly explain that you donate when, where, and how, you are able and that it is a waste of their time, money and resources to contact you additionaly. Then repeat your request to be removed from both the call and mail list. They have all your database info on the monitor in front of them and can remove your name from the database with a few keystrokes. If they persist further simply demand to speak with a supervisor immediately - do not argue or get upset with them it is not in your interests to do so. If they do remove your name with no issues, which has been my experience 95% of the time, then you must take a few more minutes by following up and calling the contact info supplied immediately. Speak with a supervisor and as briefly as possible tell them what just happened and that you were calling to confirm that your name had been removed from their database. Supply them with any info they request and exactly what campaign you were called about - remember these are professional fundraising groups and they are running multiple campaigns, some of their employees are calling for the DNC while others are calling for the NRA, sucks but it's reality. This may seem like a hassle and to be honest it is, but for a few minutes effort think of the benefits - no more mail to circular file and no more telemarketing calls in the middle of dinner, or while you are dripping wet from the shower you just left - most importantly think of the money, time and resources you will be saving the group who's efforts you actually believe in and support. The downsides are twofold - a) It will take a few months before the phone calls and mail actually does stop. Campaigns are ongoing and it is only until your information is actually coordinated and updated with the national headquarters database that you will notice a change. b) Depending on how engaged and generous you have been you will have to do this with each and every group you do not want wasting their resources by contacting you unnecessarily. 'One down and fifteen to go' may seem like a daunting proposition but you do not have to do it all at once - and the benefits are enormous.
4.) If you have the resources join the organization as a 'sustaining member' by giving a small donation each month, on credit card, rather then giving larger amounts once or twice a year when you can. The upsides are - a) It eliminates overhead involving processing checks and money orders making the groups more efficient and better spending your donation. b) It cuts down on mail and phone calls as a benefit of being a sustaining member then you don't have to deal with tip #3. c) You can cut down on the number of groups you give to. I have wrestled with the question of whether it is better to give a large donation to one group or spread out my charitable donations amongst several groups and the reality is that it is better to give one large donation and eliminate the other groups. In my case I give monthly to the DNC (they are the mother ship after all) and in off year elections they help the DSCC and the DCCC so it is the equivelant of giving to all three while minimizing my paperwork. d) Most importantly it gives these groups a reliable monthly income that they can count on and budget for. Makes them more efficient and helps to eliminate those annoyingly desperate 'emergency' appeals.
I hope these above tips are useful to you, I also hope they may have cleared up some of the confusion surrounding the issue of political fundraising. Again I have no problem with the necessary evil that is political fundraising in general, it is the specific and aggresive techniques used by professional fundraising groups that should offend all of us. It is only when enough people are able to get the message back to the fund and campaign managers that these techniques are not appreciated and not working that anything will change. Until we, the 'bottomless wallets with heartbeats', demand that they stop spending $10 dollars, cold-calling and sending out enough mail to deforest a small forest, to raise $20 they won't.
Below you will find additional resources if you wish to contact or become a sustaining donor to the BIG three (the exception being the DSCC who apparently has no sustaining program on their wepsite) and while it probably can't hurt to contact the DNC, DSCC, DCCC directly it probably won't do much good either. The absolute best time to change your database and contact information is when you have the telemarketer on the phone with you.
Good Luck to every Dem candidate this November.
To contact the DNC
To become a sustaining member to the DNC
To contact the DSCC
To contact the DCCC
To become a sustaining member to the DCCC