Complying with Campaign Finance Laws - National Democratic Training Committee

Complying with Campaign Finance Laws

By Rose Clouston
60 min
Fundraising

What You’ll Learn

  • The theory and benefits of campaign financial compliance
  • How to determine which compliance laws apply to your campaign
  • How to interact with the various financial bodies governing your campaign
  • How to properly process a contribution based on the giving body or individual
  • How to operationalize compliance by having a compliance plan
  • How to build a culture of compliance

Why This Is Important

Campaign finance is an area where following the rules is vital. Violating campaign finance laws and rules has a range of consequences, from resubmitting a campaign finance report to prison time — with bad press the most common consequence. Taking this course will lead to a better understanding of campaign financial compliance and hopefully, help you get it right the first time.

Key resources

  • Campaign Finance Startup Resources, by State
  • Sample Compliance Plan
  • Campaign Financial Compliance FAQ’s
  • Campaign Compliance Resources Handout

Related Trainings

  • Managing Your Fundraising Data — Set up the systems to keep track of your data properly — a key aspect of complying with campaign finance laws
  • Budgeting & Financial Compliance — Learn more about budgeting for a campaign, as well as how to create a compliance plan, which outlines how your campaign will track contributions and expenses

Rose Clouston

Trainer

At the time this course was created, Rose was the Director of Online Trainings at NDTC. She is currently the Director of Voter Protection at the Texas Democratic Party, where she leads the state party's efforts to create an easy voting experience for all Texans and support voters throughout the process.

At NDTC, Rose led the team in creating dozens of on-demand, online trainings. Prior to joining NDTC, Rose was a National Coordinator at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, where she managed the non-partisan Election Protection hotline, training and managing thousands of volunteers who answered tens of thousands of voters’ questions in the 2014 and 2016 elections. She organized state-level poll monitoring and election reform advocacy efforts in Pennsylvania, New York and Florida. Previously, Rose served as deputy director on a Virginia gubernatorial primary campaign and was a regional field director on a Florida gubernatorial campaign.

Rose has a Master in Public Policy from the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from the University of Florida. She lives in Austin and in her free time enjoys exploring Austin's trails, biking, roller derby, and cooking new vegetarian recipes.