What You’ll Learn
- How to compile and organize your candidate’s existing contacts
- How to assess your campaign contacts’ giving capacity
- How to develop a strategy to raise money from each contact
Why This Is Important
It can be hard to know how to start raising money. Fundraising begins with the candidate’s network: family, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. This course will give you the tools you need to start raising money and a knowledge of how to collect and organize data to allow your candidate to ask for donations effectively and efficiently.
Key Resources
- Guide to Compiling & Exporting Contacts
- Template Rolodex Spreadsheet
- Guide to Using the Campaign Rolodex Template
- State-Specific Sites for Researching Donors’ Giving Histories
- Rank Your Network Worksheet
- Compile Your List Activity Self-Assessment
Related Trainings
- Finding New Donors — Even if your candidate’s network is expansive, you’ll need to reach beyond it to find new donors they don’t know yet to cultivate. This course helps you identify those prospects
- Preparing for Call Time — Once you’ve researched the potential donors in your candidate’s network, it’s time to reach out and solicit donations in call time
- Managing Your Fundraising Data — This course explains how to keep the contact information and notes from conversations with donors organized and up to date
Kelly Dietrich
Trainer
As founder and CEO of the National Democratic Training Committee (NDTC), Kelly Dietrich brings more than 20 years of experience on dozens of Democratic campaigns across the country.
Kelly started NDTC in 2016, where at the time it was a collection of videos covering an array of campaign topics, available to campaigns and their volunteers for free. Five years later, those videos grew into a fully fledged training program with hundreds of courses, videos, and articles about running effective campaigns. Kelly’s expertise in various areas — fundraising, staff training, sci-fi (maybe not as much) — have shaped NDTC into an industry leader in Democratic politics.
Originally from Missouri, Kelly lives in Chicago, IL with his wife, daughter, and dog, Tulip, who is allegedly part cat. Beyond work, Kelly is a diehard Kansas Jayhawk and an avid poker player. Kelly also serves on the board of directors at his local park, Sheil Park. This is where he “plays” basketball, which according to his wife can only be loosely considered a hobby. Even with all these interests, Kelly remains committed to making sure high quality tools and training are available to any Democrat who steps up to run for office, work on a campaign, or make their community better.