Preparing for an FEC Deadline

The first quarterly FEC deadline is April 15th!

Is your campaign ready?

There are two things that every campaign needs to successfully meet each deadline:

1. A strict budget
2. A detailed system for tracking donations and expenses

Budget

Before you can really start working the numbers, you should know how many voters you have to persuade. That will help you determine your total budget amount and your fundraising goal. Already know your goal? Great! If not, take our Calculating Your Vote Goal course.

Your budget will be a living document that needs constant attention, updates, and adaptation. In order to manage all of your donations and expenses in the face of the unexpected, you will need proper timing and tracking strategies.

Timing

To help you properly budget on an on-going basis you’ll need to time out all of your expenses by delineating your expenses month by month. Your budget should include both final numbers for literature and rent, but also projections about how much you’re spending in each line item every single month.

Tracking

Once you start raising and spending money, you’re going to need to track your spending against your projections. For example, if you have $50 a month budgeted for postage, but you find yourself spending $75 a couple of months in a row, you should increase your postage budget moving forward.

Tracking Your Donations and Expenses

Every single dollar that goes into, or out of, your campaign must be accounted for. Depending on your race and budget, you should consider your options to ensure you’re properly tracking all of your contributions and expenditures. Follow the rules from the very first check that comes in. It’s a lot easier to get it right from the start than to double back when the report is due.

Ready for more campaign budgets?

For campaign budget templates, tutorials, and in-depth explanations that will make you a financial compliance superstar, check out our Budgeting & Financial Compliance course!