Possible to make a campaign contribution without being hounded forever?
October 25, 2016 10:11 AM Subscribe
I live in NC, and I am interested in making a non-trivial campaign contribution to the US Senate candidate here. If I do this, am I setting myself up to get put on a list of people to be hounded for contributions forever after? Is there a way to avoid this?
I am looking at polling results that show the Democratic candidate for the Senate in our state as having a chance to beat the incumbent Republican. Given the value this could have to the balance in the Senate overall, I am uncharacteristically moved to donate real $ to her campaign to help in the home stretch. But, supporting political candidates is not normally my thing, and I truly do not want to be putting myself on the radar of every political organization/cause as someone with "capacity". Is there anything I can do to avoid that? If I give to a different organization rather than her campaign directly, would that matter, or just have the same result?
I am looking at polling results that show the Democratic candidate for the Senate in our state as having a chance to beat the incumbent Republican. Given the value this could have to the balance in the Senate overall, I am uncharacteristically moved to donate real $ to her campaign to help in the home stretch. But, supporting political candidates is not normally my thing, and I truly do not want to be putting myself on the radar of every political organization/cause as someone with "capacity". Is there anything I can do to avoid that? If I give to a different organization rather than her campaign directly, would that matter, or just have the same result?
Maybe a cashiers' check from your bank. That's probably what I'd do.
I've given to the local NPR station in the form of cash - I live nearby. However, I wouldn't do this for an amount larger than a single ATM withdrawal.
I am with you on this. I used to volunteer with an arts nonprofit, and the way they worked to extract contact information from _printed checks_ really turned me off of donating.
posted by amtho at 10:20 AM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
I've given to the local NPR station in the form of cash - I live nearby. However, I wouldn't do this for an amount larger than a single ATM withdrawal.
I am with you on this. I used to volunteer with an arts nonprofit, and the way they worked to extract contact information from _printed checks_ really turned me off of donating.
posted by amtho at 10:20 AM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
You should be able to tell them when you make the donation that you want to remain anonymous and not be contacted. They are required by law to collect your information when you make the donation, I believe. But, you also have the right to not have it released.
I think Etrigan has a good suggestion; talk to someone in person. I can't see how they would refuse tot take the money if you made it conditional on not being put on the list.
Perhaps this article from Lifehacker (focused on non-profit fundraising) has something useful in it.
posted by HE Amb. T. S. L. DuVal at 10:24 AM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
I think Etrigan has a good suggestion; talk to someone in person. I can't see how they would refuse tot take the money if you made it conditional on not being put on the list.
Perhaps this article from Lifehacker (focused on non-profit fundraising) has something useful in it.
posted by HE Amb. T. S. L. DuVal at 10:24 AM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
Definitely don't give them your email address. Or, if they insist, create a new account and give them that one. You will definitely never get off the email list.
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 10:32 AM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 10:32 AM on October 25, 2016 [2 favorites]
A group here in city politics have discovered that the SuperPAC approach works well for local candidacies. There's about to be an issues related flyer mailed out, I've been approached for donations, but because it's a group of people unaffiliated with the campaign they don't have the usual reporting rules. Makes donating much more pleasant.
posted by straw at 10:44 AM on October 25, 2016
posted by straw at 10:44 AM on October 25, 2016
I can attest that the issue doesn't end with one campaign -- I donated a large chunk to Patrick Murphy (PA) back in the day, and now every race in suburban Philadelphia results in some new faces calling and contacting me, usually early in the process. I think that donation lists are not kept private -- that donation actually comes up in a vanity Google search of my name, so it's hardly hidden, even a decade + later.
Anyway, it's not that hard to kill -- a few unsubscribes and a polite note to candidate callers that you're not responding to solicitations will probably do the trick. It's worth it, I think, to get a good candidate into office. (That Murphy turned out to be a Blue Dog Democrat was a local problem, heh.)
posted by acm at 11:21 AM on October 25, 2016
Anyway, it's not that hard to kill -- a few unsubscribes and a polite note to candidate callers that you're not responding to solicitations will probably do the trick. It's worth it, I think, to get a good candidate into office. (That Murphy turned out to be a Blue Dog Democrat was a local problem, heh.)
posted by acm at 11:21 AM on October 25, 2016
Maybe a cashiers' check from your bank. That's probably what I'd do.
I've given to the local NPR station in the form of cash - I live nearby. However, I wouldn't do this for an amount larger than a single ATM withdrawal.
Just to be clear -- political campaigns cannot accept anonymous donations of more than $50. Its a violation of federal law.
The campaign likely has someone called the "Finance Director" - that's the person you want to talk personally with. If it is indeed a "non trivial" amount that person will be happy to have coffee or lunch with you (donor meetings is an important part of their job).
The FEC has a very good guide to contribution reporting and amounts. Here's one pertinent bit:
"If you contribute more than $200 to a committee, the committee is required to use its best efforts to collect and publicly disclose on a financial report your name, address, occupation and employer, as well as the date and amount of your contribution. Committees sometimes request this information even for smaller contributions, since the $200 reporting threshold applies to your total contributions to one committee during a calendar year. For example, you may make several small contributions to a committee during a year. Once these contributions add up to over $200, the committee must report the contributor information."
Because this information (like your voter registration information) is public record, it can be picked up by pretty much any campaign that wants to use the data. (Which is rude, but they certainly do it.) So you can ask the campaign not to mail you (and they won't if they're any good at all at their jobs) but that's not a guarantee that others might not further down the line.
But, yeah, scheduling a chat with the Finance Director for the campaign will clarify a lot of things for you. You might consider a PAC donation also.
posted by anastasiav at 11:25 AM on October 25, 2016 [3 favorites]
I've given to the local NPR station in the form of cash - I live nearby. However, I wouldn't do this for an amount larger than a single ATM withdrawal.
Just to be clear -- political campaigns cannot accept anonymous donations of more than $50. Its a violation of federal law.
The campaign likely has someone called the "Finance Director" - that's the person you want to talk personally with. If it is indeed a "non trivial" amount that person will be happy to have coffee or lunch with you (donor meetings is an important part of their job).
The FEC has a very good guide to contribution reporting and amounts. Here's one pertinent bit:
"If you contribute more than $200 to a committee, the committee is required to use its best efforts to collect and publicly disclose on a financial report your name, address, occupation and employer, as well as the date and amount of your contribution. Committees sometimes request this information even for smaller contributions, since the $200 reporting threshold applies to your total contributions to one committee during a calendar year. For example, you may make several small contributions to a committee during a year. Once these contributions add up to over $200, the committee must report the contributor information."
Because this information (like your voter registration information) is public record, it can be picked up by pretty much any campaign that wants to use the data. (Which is rude, but they certainly do it.) So you can ask the campaign not to mail you (and they won't if they're any good at all at their jobs) but that's not a guarantee that others might not further down the line.
But, yeah, scheduling a chat with the Finance Director for the campaign will clarify a lot of things for you. You might consider a PAC donation also.
posted by anastasiav at 11:25 AM on October 25, 2016 [3 favorites]
I believe that they are legally required to collect the name, address and, for larger donations, employer. I have no hesitation about using obviously fake phone numbers and email addresses when I make donations. If later campaigns want to send me physical mail, it is easy enough to toss that I don't mind.
posted by metahawk at 11:26 AM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by metahawk at 11:26 AM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
Nontrivial donations can't be anonymous. You can probably ask not to be on their mailing list, but if it's a larger donation it may be scraped from the disclosure database.
posted by jpe at 4:42 PM on October 25, 2016
posted by jpe at 4:42 PM on October 25, 2016
Having been driven mad by fundraising calls from "Unknown" throughout this election season, I urge you to use a fake phone number.
posted by actionstations at 8:51 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by actionstations at 8:51 PM on October 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by Etrigan at 10:18 AM on October 25, 2016 [7 favorites]