Les femmes rwandaises et la campagne électorale - Inter ...

Rwandan Women and the Electoral Campaign • 30 - 31 July 2003
The Electoral Campaign: Fundraising
Ms Phoebe Asiyo, Constitutional Commissioner,
Chairperson of the Women’s Political Caucus, Kenya
Introduction
Money is the mother's milk of a campaign. Campaign resources have been described as "the candidate, the
issues, the people and the money". Others have described campaign resources as constituting "the vote, media
or money" while still others talk of "people, time and money". However you describe campaign resources, money
is always a critical component in the definition of campaign resources. This is why campaign fundraising is a
critical aspect in a candidate's bid for political office.
Five Facts of Fundraising
1. No one can raise money more effectively than the candidate herself. The candidate has to be the
fundraiser-in-chief. Where the candidate is not committed to fundraising for herself, the financial aspect of
the campaign is doomed from the very beginning.
Although the candidate is the prime mover here, it must be noted that she must appoint individuals or a
committee to oversee the logistics of fundraising.
2. Many candidates lose because they fail to raise enough money to implement a campaign plan. No
candidate has ever lost because the candidate spent too much money on a campaign.
3. People never give donations to campaigns because they are never asked to do so in the first place. If
people are asked to donate, chances are that they will respond positively.
4. Do not rely on special fundraising events. Experience has shown that very little is raised from them. You
should rely on personal solicitations.
5. The true measure of a candidate's commitment to winning an election is her willingness to ask another
person for a contribution without feeling embarrassed.
The Fundraising Structure
Fundraising for a campaign should not happen by accident. It should be a well thought-out and structured
process. The fundraising structure in your campaign must therefore have mandatory components:
(a) a fundraising plan;
(b) a fundraising chair; and
(c) a fundraising committee.
The Fundraising Plan
The plan details the goals and time-frame for the fundraising effort. It interfaces revenue with activities. A good
plan must have the following:
• A fundraising schedule with a time-frame on when each activity is to take place and the probable
returns from each;
• A list of potential donors and their worth;
• The projections on the amounts of money needed to execute each of the components of the campaign
plan;
• The amounts of money needed to execute each of the components of the campaign plan; and
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