Running an effective fund-raising operation can be tough, but it can be even tougher when trying to understand all of the terms that are used. Below is a list of fund-raising terms that will help you get a head start in building a successful fund-raising operation!
House-file: A house-file is your internal list of contacts. These are individuals who at some point, opted-in to receive your communications and support your efforts.
Prospecting: Prospecting refers to any efforts to add new individuals to your house file. Prospecting can be done on the phone, on social media, over e-mail, or through in-person sign ups at events.
Finance Plan: A Finance Plan is exactly what it sounds like – a detailed plan that demonstrates how you will achieve your fund-raising goals.
Contribution Limits: Contribution limits refer to the legal amount that a person or entity can contribute to your race. The laws around who can give and what they can give varies from state to state, race to race, so make sure your team is up to speed on what you can and cannot ask for or accept.
Disclosure Reports: Every campaign is required to publicly report all contributions and disbursements on a schedule that is specific to the race. Disclosure reports are important as they show your competitors what you’ve raised and from who.
TIP: Make sure you have a compliance team that understands the contribution limits and reporting laws for your race. Majority Money can help you with that.
Call Sheet: A call sheet is utilized by the candidate during call time that contains pertinent information about the person they are trying to reach. This may include their history of donating to other candidates, their employer and occupation, and exactly what the candidate should plan on asking them for.
Call Time: The time a candidate spends calling donors.
Giving History: The lifetime history an individual has of donating to other campaigns and causes.
Revenue (or Rev) Sharing: Revenue-sharing agreements are set up between two parties where one is able to use the e-mail addresses of the other in order to solicit funds. Any revenue is shared between the two entities at a pre-determined price.
List Rentals: List renting involves paying a price up front to rent an e-mail list from a campaign or third party for your own efforts.