Report: Rising Fundraising Tide Lifts All Boats … Probably
Barack Obama’s decision several weeks ago to forgo public funding of his presidential campaign was made for one reason: He had so much money already in hand or pledged that it would have been detrimental to his campaign to limit himself to the lower public amount. Expect a pricey battle between Senator Obama and John McCain between now and Election Day.
To those who fear that the deluge of political fundraising will leave nonprofit fundraising high and dry — money is not infinite, after all — Jeff Brooks of the Donor Power Blog has good news. Brooks is the creative director of the database marketing firm Merkle, whose new report, Examining the Impact of Political Fundraising on Nonprofit Direct Mail Performance, includes these conclusions:
- Elections have little impact on charitable contributions.
- We largely aren’t competing for the same donors. Political donors are typically younger, more likely to be male, and have higher incomes.
- While political fundraising grows to new records with each presidential election, charitable giving also continues to grow. Chances are, new political donors likely become better prospects for charitable giving.
I have some concerns about Merkle’s observations. For example, shouldn’t nonprofits be targeting younger people with higher incomes? Hook them now and reel them for years to come, right? And Brooks’s “chances are” worries me a bit; I’d love to see some data on whether those who have flocked to fund Obama, especially, have an inclination to support nonprofits. Like Brooks, I suspect that’s true, but can it be quantified? That could help organizations tailor messages to this new group of donors. | 501(c)
