Don’t Get Ripped Off.

With Labor Day behind us, political fundraising is shifting into high gear. While   most don’t like the massive money that now infects our political system, without financial resources, we cannot win the great political struggle that we are facing. Yet, how do we know whether our money is being well used?  We want to offer some guidance.

We live in an era of scams, and that certainly is true in the political arena.  Our email, text and phone accounts are flooded with solicitations.  The sheer number is not only annoying, it’s also hard to separate the real ones from the phony.

Recent disclosures have shown that there are consultants – some are Democratic – who set up PACs and direct the bulk of contributions to themselves by paying exorbitant amounts for “overhead” services–such as research, targeting, writing, analytics and the like—provided by companies they own.  Then there are other PACs that simply lie about how they will spend your money.   Either way, your contribution is not being used as you intend.

So-called “scam PACS” have been a growing concern.  ActBlue, a digital platform for processing donations to just about every Democratic candidate and group, recently took limited action, telling its members that it is cracking down on

false, misleading, or aggressive tactics to raise money. To protect donors, it says it is establishing “clearer standards for respectful donor engagement”. While helpful, this step does not address how donations are used.  And ActBlue has limited ability to detect the misuse of donations unless it receives a donor complaint.

Protect Yourself

There are ways to protect yourself and your contributions.  One of the reasons P4D exists is to offer advice on making the most of your contributions.  Our recommendations to support particular grassroots groups are supported by a review of public information and, importantly, discussions with one or more of the group’s leaders.  Our goal is to maximize the actual political impact of your giving.

SOME POINTERS:

We do not recommend giving to issue-oriented PACs unless you are confident that your money will be well used.  Be skeptical of claims of 4X matches, contribution deadlines or other high pressure scare tactics that are intended to play on your emotions.  If you are receiving messages from a group out of the blue or are being inundated by their communications, be wary.

P4D will be making candidate recommendations once the primaries are over in the particular state.  Contributing directly to a candidate rather than a PAC should give you more confidence that your money will be used as intended.  Also, candidates pay less than PACs for broadcast ads, so your money will go farther.

Give to candidates that have a chance of winning, whether it is to flip a Republican seat or hold a hotly contested Democratic seat.  P4D recommendations are generally based on polling and ratings by multiple political organizations.   

If you want to do your own research, here are several useful resources.  The Cook Political Report provides ratings on all federal and many state races (click HERE) .  We suggest focusing on the “tossup” (or perhaps the “lean”) category.  Don’t waste your money on races in a state or congressional district where Trump or Harris won by a large margin.  (We know there could be surprises, but these approaches are prudent.)

All federal candidates and party PACs are required to register with the Federal Election Commission and disclose most contributions and expenditures.  You can find the disclosures HERE.  States also have disclosure laws that vary from state to state.  You can find them HERE.

Another good source of information about political giving is OpenSecrets.org which can be accessed HERE. They maintain comprehensive records on money in politics at the federal and state levels with links to candidates and party PACs, contributors, expenditures and the like. You can also search company and industry PACs to see how they are spending money and to whom they are giving. 

There are two shortcomings to disclosures that are made to the Federal Election Commission, or which appear on these sites.  First, the data is current only as of the previous quarter, resulting in an inherent lag in reporting.  Second, so-called “dark money” – contributions for which the law does not require disclosure – will not appear in FEC reports or on any of these websites.  As a result, contributions may be understated and not all sources disclosed.

We use ActBlue as a convenient way to make contributions.  ActBlue collects a fee of 3% to cover credit card costs (as other groups may do) plus a processing fee of .95% to cover the costs of its platform.  You may be able to avoid these fees by donating directly to a candidate or group. Please note that P4D takes zero percent of donations to the grassroots groups and candidates it endorses.

How To Reduce The Number of Solicitations You Get

Short of giving up your email, texting, phone and social media accounts, it is almost impossible to escape solicitations.  But there are a couple things you can do to reduce the deluge.

• Unsubscribe immediately from each new solicitation you get. This usually means replying “STOP” to incoming texts or clicking “Unsubscribe” at the bottom of emails. It will stop future correspondence from that solicitor, although the mailing list may be sold to others.
• If you receive a call from an unfamiliar number, don’t answer it. If it’s important, they will leave a message.

One Last Point

Grassroots groups need your support NOW, not just during an election year. Voter education and registration, voter rights advocacy, and relationship-building with voters occur year-round with the grassroots groups we recommend. (Click HERE  for a list of those groups).  Such operations enable the multiple contacts with voters, various social, political, and service events and community presence, and the social and other media initiatives that maximize trust, credibility, and effectiveness. So, don’t wait until next July to begin writing checks.

As we said at the beginning, no one likes the money that flows into politics. But being careful about how you contribute can at least make it more likely that your contributions will make a difference.