If you’re like me, you’ve been barraged lately with emails and phone calls asking for money for one political campaign or another. At an Organizing for America training session in Naples two weekends ago, a volunteer asked, “How do you decide who to give money to?”
A very good question – especially since we’ll no doubt continue to be inundated with requests until Election Day. Obviously, who to give to and how much to give is a personal decision, but I thought it might be helpful to list the major Democratic fundraising organizations for the federal elections and provide a web-link for each:
· Obama for America (OFA) – the national fundraising organization for President Obama’s re-election campaign. When you buy t-shirts, hats, buttons, etc., from the Obama Store, the money goes to OFA, too.
· Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) – the official campaign arm of the House Democrats. It is not an affiliate of and does not receive regular funding from the DNC. Representative Steve Israel (D – NY) is the current DCCC Chair.
· Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) – the official campaign arm of the Senate Democrats. It is not an affiliate of and does not receive regular funding from the DNC. Senator Patty Murray (D – WA) is the current DSCC Chair.
In addition, if you’re a Floridian like me, you might want to contribute to Senator Bill Nelson’s re-election campaign (D-FL) as he is in a tough fight, probably against Connie Mack IV, to retain his Senate seat.
You might also want to contribute to the CollierCounty Democratic Executive Committee (Collier DEMS) to help them maintain an office and a presence here in Collier County. The CCDEC has made their office available to the Obama campaign staff and volunteers, and continues to be extremely helpful and supportive.
Once you’ve decided which organizations to give to, how much to give to each? Here’s what I do: every three months, I decide how much I can contribute in total to political campaigns. Then I allocate that amount to my chosen organizations and make my contributions online. (If you click on the name of any of the organizations mentioned above, the web-link will take you to the related website.)
I try very hard not to respond impulsively to fundraising calls and emails – although I admit: I gave a little for a chance to attend George Clooney’s fundraiser earlier this month (I didn’t win), and to attend the Clinton/Obama and Sarah Jessica Parker/Obama events next month (hope springs eternal). Those contributions just come out of my “budget” for OFA.
Hopefully this information will be helpful to some of my readers. If you use another approach, or think I’ve left something important off my list, please let me know!