Fundraising Online

The internet was also a great resource for fundraising in the 2008 election.
An article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy stated: “[Obama’s] campaign relies primarily on three approaches to soliciting:
• Traditional e-mail solicitations.
• Online advertising on social networking sites and blogs.
• Social media Web sites like Facebook and the candidate’s own online social network.

Those tools allowed Mr. Obama’s staff to be much more flexible in their communications, to respond more quickly with communications to potential donors at key points in the campaign, and to develop a much larger pool of supporters than more traditional solicitation and recruitment techniques.”

Obama was able to push the envelope further than any previous Presidential candidate. The reach of his message was so broad; people of all ages and race were able to identify with him. This enabled him to raise mass amounts of money, surprisingly in small increments from individuals. That’s another reason his campaign strategy was so different from others. Many candidates, including his competitor John McCain, rely on lobbyists and larger donations to reach their fundraising goals.

Resources:
http://philanthropy.com/news/prospecting/5298/fund-raising-lessons-from-the-obama-campaign