How political committees get items donated

The general guidance on getting donations applies to the persuasion. What is different here is that you have to establish whether you may accept something before you ask for it.

Screen first

• Is the donor an eligible source under this jurisdiction and this office
• Is it an individual, or a business — and does that distinction matter here
• Do they have headroom under their limit, counting what they have already given
• Would their association with the campaign be a problem if published
• Can the item's fair market value be established and defended

Where any of those is uncertain, ask the treasurer before asking the donor. Declining a donation already offered is worse than never having requested it.

Ask individuals, not businesses, by default

The structural difference from every other kind of auction. Most fundraisers work the local business community; a political committee frequently cannot, or can only under conditions.

So the supply comes from individual supporters — their properties, their professional services, their possessions and their networks — and the ask is built around that rather than around a shopfront walk.

The order

1. The finance committee and major supporters

People already engaged with the campaign's fundraising, who understand the constraints and have things to offer. Three contacts each, assigned and tracked.

2. Individual supporters at large

Ask the list directly, with examples: a holiday property, a skill, an experience, a dinner hosted. Supporters generally have more to offer than they think.

3. The candidate and campaign

Access lots and memorabilia, which cost nothing and sell hardest. Agree with the candidate how many hours exist before listing any of them.

4. Businesses, only where permitted

Where the jurisdiction allows business contributions, with the in-kind value recorded and the eligibility confirmed — not as a default assumption.

5. Allied organizations

Where the rules permit, and with the coordination and joint fundraising questions answered first rather than informally.

Record everything at intake

Donor name and contact details, the item, its fair market value with the basis, the date, and confirmation of eligibility. Done at intake this is thirty seconds; done in arrears it is unreliable and sometimes impossible.

Brief solicitors properly

Half a page, and it needs more than the usual:

• That contributions are not tax deductible, in the exact wording
• That a donated item is a reportable in-kind contribution counting against the donor's limit
• Who may and may not contribute in this jurisdiction
• That nothing touching official acts, decisions or influence may be offered or hinted at
• And to route anything uncertain to the treasurer rather than answering it

A volunteer who tells a business owner that their donation is tax deductible has created a compliance problem and misled somebody at the same time.

Timing

• Twelve weeks — counsel or compliance review of the plan; platform configured for required fields and tested export
• Ten weeks — finance committee assignments; candidate access lots agreed and capped
• Eight weeks — individual supporters, with examples
• Six weeks — permitted business and allied sources, screened
• Four weeks — gap-filling; every item valued and its donor recorded
• Two weeks — catalogue reviewed by counsel; disclaimers and non-deductibility statements in place on every page

And place the close well clear of a filing deadline, so reconciliation does not land in the same week as a report.

General information, not legal advice, and campaign finance law differs by jurisdiction and by office. Contribution limits, prohibited sources, disclosure and reporting are enforced with real penalties — your committee's own counsel or compliance professional decides how any of this applies before you run anything.

Committee structure: committee and volunteer roles.