It’s another Saturday, so for those who tune in, welcome to a diary discussing the Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic Campaign. If you’ve missed out, you can catch up anytime: Just visit our group or follow Nuts & Bolts Guide. Every week I try to tackle issues I’ve been asked about, and with the help of other campaign workers and notes, we tackle subjects about how to improve and build better campaigns.
We’ve talked a lot about how you can staff a campaign and try to raise money. Once you’ve raised the money, though, you have to decide how to spend it. Deciding what you want to do with your funds, and who to spend your funds on can be major decisions.
Let’s talk about some of the things you should look for in a vendor when your campaign starts to spend money.
Union vendors matter
When Democratic candidates send me mail or printed literature, one of the first things I check is to see if it carries the union label. Democratic candidates owe a lot to union organizations who support local, state, and national efforts. In turn, those same campaigns can do at least small things that show that the support isn’t one-directional. A big part of that is putting our money into union-run businesses.
When Democratic candidates don’t use union work, especially when union work is readily available in a field like printing, a lot of potential donors will write you off as a candidate who doesn’t walk the walk about supporting fair wages and worker rights. If you can’t be bothered to put some funds into union work, how seriously can I take your commitment to those issues?
This means no cheap online-only vendor who won’t tell you if they are union or not. Walk the walk.
Some general rules of thumb as to vendors
There are some rules regarding vendors that should always apply in every campaign.
- Ask if a vendor receives commission. If a vendor asks for a commission on work, then the commission must be calculated by what is actually spent, not by the budget provided. Do not commit to a vendor who sets their commission early and applies it whether you spend the money or not.
- Check for reasonable fundraising rates. If a vendor is offering to help do fundraising, via digital or in person, check the rates being charged. Get several quotes. If something seems wrong, or if the price feels too high it likely is too high. Do not sign agreements that give a vendor access to “all” fundraising, they should only ever receive a portion of the funds they directly raise.
- See creative work and have final approval. If your creative is being used in a lot of races, then you have a right to know that. While repeating creative work can save a lot of people money, it can also make your message look tired. Find out how often the creative work you are using is being reused, and where.
- Get back extra prints. If you do a print run for mail, odds are you will end up with more prints than addresses to mail. Make sure you have a way to receive the extra print work.
- Ask for itemized receipts.
Some vendors should not come to you.
There are large vendors who shouldn’t come to you, but should go to outside organizations. If someone comes to you with an offer of a product that seems great but outside your budget, direct them to your county, state, or national help. Campaigns can get trapped into taking on deals that seem great—and then find out that their state or local organization already has use of the product or service.
Don’t reinvent the wheel. If you know that your state or local are using a tool to help your campaign and others, let them. It’s money your campaign can save.
Next week: Forum Preparation