- “All you have to do is mass email your fundraising link and money will come in!”
As discussed in Part 1, fundraising is difficult and can feel downright awkward. Asking folks to invest in the future of their government via your candidacy doesn’t come naturally to most. It takes time and effort to build relationships that you can turn into contributions, and a simple mass email most certainly won’t achieve that.
According to 2025 research from email marketing giant HubSpot, the click-through rate (CTR) across all industries is 2.3%. CTR is the percentage of total recipients who clicked any link – e.g., your “donate here” link or your “about our campaign” page.
Just think of how many promotional emails you receive each day you don’t even open. If I’m not reading an email offering me a promotion or a sale on my favorite brand, why would I open one asking me for money?
This is not to say online contribution methods don’t work – in fact, I’m a big believer that everyone should have an online donation link – but you must use a hook in your email to capture attention. In my experience, the most successful hooks have included creative invites for in-person events, and timely end-of-quarter appeals. Each of Missouri’s top political fundraisers have their own favorites.
2. “Special interest (insert name) is going to bankroll my campaign”
As a certain adorable nine-year-old German boy I know would say, “but ARE they???”
Sure, you may have a background in a field that has a heavy political presence, and maybe members of that field even encouraged you to run for office. They promise you that money “won’t be an issue” and might even toss you a few thousand dollars to get your campaign started.
In my 14 years in the world of political campaigns, I can name at least a dozen candidates – high-achieving professionals from all walks of life – who were gutted when a specific interest group promised mountains of money but only followed through with chump change.
As cold as it sounds, remember that a potential donor’s verbal commitment is literally worthless until the check is in your hand or confirmed in your WinRed/ActBlue account.
Every top fundraising professional serves as an occasional therapist to their candidates, and I remind mine to not take donors’ lack of follow-through personally. Flaking and ghosting happens to every candidate! As a certain adorable 40-something German boy I know would say, “Half the people who buy Cardinals tickets don’t even show up to watch that God-awful team!”
The most successful campaigns raise funds from a wide variety of groups and individuals. Some of your most ardent supporters may think that writing you a check for $100 is a big deal – and it is a big deal for their household budget. Others may be more accustomed to political giving or have more money at their disposal to contribute. Showing diversity in the size and scope of your donor base is a sign of strength and positions you well for future campaigns.
3.“I’m not worried about money; we’re going to run a grassroots campaign.”
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but campaigns are expensive. It costs money to get your name and message in front of the average donor. Even the best grassroots teams need money behind their message. To use the words first written by the esteemed John Combest, “When I ask you, ‘How much money have you raised?’ do not tell me, ‘We’re going to run a grassroots campaign.’ When you answer my question that way, not only are you disrespecting me by not giving me a straight answer, but you’re also telling me that you have not raised any money, you are not putting any effort into raising money, and that you have no real plan to raise money.”
Having grassroots support throughout your district will be important in helping you earn votes, but it is no substitute for fundraising. Grassroots volunteer efforts and strong fundraising performance are not mutually exclusive, and a winning campaign succeeds on both fronts.
Your campaign needs fundraising help, but where to begin? We’ll talk about that in Part 3.
Founder of Leadbelt Strategies, a political fundraising and consulting firm based in Jefferson City. Since her start in 2012, Casey has helped candidates succeed on campaigns on the state and federal level and has worked with clients to fundraise millions of dollars for their campaign efforts.
