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Page 1: The history of the jon coon fundraising plan

- THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY'S SUCCESS '992600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100 *Washington DC 20037 * (202) 333-0008 * www.LP.org

From 0 to $250,000TheHistory of the Jon Coon Fundraising Plan

BYBARBARAGOUSHAW

Fundraising is a Selling Job. You mustsell potential contributors on the idea ofcontributing to your campaign. In politics

there are two types of contributors. Those whoare ideologically aligned with you, and thosewho seek political access. Contributors toLibertarian campaigns are primarily of theideological group, since selling the idea that wewill provide potential contributors (or PACs)with access to the halls of power is not some-thing that we generally have to offer, and ispotentially a violation of Libertarian ethics.Access to the candidate, however, can still be amotivation, as people love to have a politicalcandidate listen to their opinions and com-plaints.

Step One: First we wrote the plan.This is the political equivalent of a businessplan. We detailed, in keneral terms (specificsremained confidential, but were also in writing)who our targeted voters were, our plan to reachthem, why we thought they would respond toour message, what the costs were to accomplishthe plan, and the time-frames for accomplishingit. This became the foundation of ourfundraising game plan, as well as the campaignplan itself.

Step Two: At first it was just Jon and1. (Later there were others who volunteered tohelp with this project.) We began thefundraising process by obtaining the MichiganLibertarian Party mailing list. Then we called

them. We did not write them a fundraising letter.We called them, explained who Jon was, (outsideof a few party activists, no one really knew Jon)what he was running for, and the basics of theplan. Then we asked them, not for money, butfor an appointment to meet with Jon at theirhorne. Closing with: Agree to meet with Jon.Talk to him. Ask him questions, and if you likewhat you hear, consider supporting his cam-paign. We got about a 40% yes to the meeting.

Then Jon would go to their house, andexplain the plan, and pitch the pledge program.The vast majority of people that he met withbecame financial supporters, campaign volun-teers, or both. Some folks were so dazzledreceiving the phone call and the offer of ameeting they agreed to contribute without ameeting. (Now that Jon has been identified as"Michigan's most prominent Libertarian" by themedia, people actually brag: "Jon Coon came tomy house!'') Those who volunteered as a resultof the meeting were invited to join the phonebanking effort.

Some folks requested printed info whenthey received their phone calls, so we sent out a"basic information packet" with a contributionform. Some gave as a result, but most times thiswas a simple a way of getting us off the phonewithout saying "no." Some gave later. Somegave when they received the follow-up phonecall after we had sent the information.

Step Three: Once Jon had someexperience under his belt with this type offundraising, we organized public meetings. Somewere organized by us, (these generally went

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better) and some were organized by the affiliates.The first was timed to coincide with the

"official" announcement of his candidacy. Werented the auditorium at a local communitycenter, then contacted a local talk-radio station,and spoke with the producer of a "semi-Libertar-ian" talk show host. Explaining that we wantedto officially announce Jon's candidacy on hisshow, we booked the interview for the daybefore the public meeting. Jon went on the airand as part of the interview, pitched the publicmeeting. 150 people showed up at that meetingand committed to contributing over $8,000 viathe pledge program.

This continued as part of the plan,throughout the campaign: Organize a publicmeeting, get a radio interview to promote it,and pitch the pledge program. Many of thepeople who came also "discovered" and joinedthe LP.

The Pledge ProgramA pledge program is generally a loser for

"D's and R's" but can work really well for an LPcandidate. Why does it work for us and not forthem? We believe that people commit to apledge and then bailout on it when the D's orR's do something that they don't like. Politicalpundits say that peopl= -n't fulfill theirpledges, yet we had a 9 'ulfillrnent rate.Those who did bail on us .d a good reason (laidoff, etc.) A few quit, however, over his stands onthe issues.

During the events, or the home visits, Jonwould ask people to join the pledge program.Contributing, on a monthly basis, what everthey could afford, until the end of the cam-paign. He always knew what the per-monthnumber would be to take them to the maximumlimit, and that was what he asked for. We kepttrack of our pledges, sent them a monthlyreminder/newsletter and gently called to remindthe ones who fell behind. The pledge base gaveus a great budqeti /income tool.

Fundraising ChairmanNext to the Candidate and the Campaign

Manager, the fundraising chair is the mostimportant position on the campaign. Seek outsomeone who sells for a living, i.e.: Insurance,cars, stocks etc. These are folks who can take a"no" and not get discouraged. Our fundraisingchair, an insurance salesman named Al Garcia,raised thousands for us through a series of"breakfast meetings" with business people. Manyof the people he invited were his friends, but asthis program progressed, other staffers andvolunteers thought of people that they knewthat were appropriate invitees for these ongoingmeetings. This program absolutely requires apersonal invitation from a supporter who willencourage the person to attend the meeting.

Similar meetings that were promoted to thebusiness community simply by mailing invita-tions were a dismal failure. Al also raised closeto $21,000 at our state party convention duringa challenge from a supporter who offered to givethe maximum if 10 others would match it.

Meetings with other groupsJon did many personal appearances with

non-Libertarian groups. Optimists, Veterans,Bikers, Gun Groups, United We Stand, virtuallyany group that wanted him, got him, and oursupporters were actively encouraged to ask theirorganizations to have him speak. We did notfundraise at these engagements. Instead, Jonwould ask them to sign the "clipboard that wasbeing passed around" if they wanted moreinformation about him or the campaign. Thenwe would follow up with a thank-you-for-attending letter, a lit piece and a request forfunds. Time permitting, we would also make aphone call. Many of these folks, particularly thebikers, vets and gun people, became contributorsand volunteers.

EventsWe also did a series of fundraising parties

and events: Your basic dinner and speech with apitch for funds after. Some of the most success-ful were the "Wild Game" dinner and the

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evening at the race track. The track event wastitled, "Put Your Money On A Winner." We solddinner tickets, and set up a competition be-tween the tables of attendees to see who couldcontribute the largest portion of their trackwinnings back to the campaign.

The Brass Roots RallyThe 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 Capitolbuilding in Lansing. (The extensive details ofthe organization of this event are available, ifdesired).

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 anorange Jon Coon lapel sticker, so that theywould not get hit up again. (Although somegave every time the bucket came around!)

The NewsletterOur supporters and contributors received a

monthly update throughout the campaign. Itcontained campaign news, a recap of mediacoverage, dumb things our opponents had done,upcoming events, etc. And of course, there wasalways a strong pitch for funds and informationabout whatever project we had going thatrequired them to donate. It kept them feelinglike they were part of what was happening, andnever, ever lost money. Usually it generateddouble what it cost to get out.

The Final PushIn the last few weeks of the campaign, we

called all of our contributors again, requestingmoney for advertising.

SummaryWe asked, and asked, and then asked again

for support. We asked in person, we asked onthe phone, we asked at events, we asked bymail, we asked in ads in the national IP News.We asked when we thanked them for their lastcontribution. (A thank you is a must!)

A word of cautionBecause our contributors are primarily

ideological contributors, the majority of yourfunds are likely to come in the last few months,as things heat up. Access contributors, like PACsand the politically savvy major donors, giveearly. This can be challenging in the budgetingprocess for us, and is one of the major advan-tages that the incumbents will have; particularlybecause the media tends to judge a campaign'ssuccess by how much it has raised.

Finally, make certain that you have bud-geted for the post-election expenses, becausecontributions end on election day unless you arethe winner.