Michigan GO RUN Live blog: Fund-raising

We're up and running at The White House Project's Michigan Go Run training at the Crowne Plaza in Grand Rapids!

First up, a fund-raising workshop with Cheryl Bergman of Bergman, Inc.

Let's talk about money...

Cheryl asked for simple statements of belief related to money. I've heard all of these, resonate with any of them?

It doesn't grow on trees

Women shouldn't ask for it.

It's private.

"I'm not made of money."

Money = power.

You get what you pay for.

You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.

"It's the price you have to pay."

Cheryl has the participants standing under signs on the wall to indicate whether they Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree or Strongly Disagree with a few general statements:

"I reward myself or cheer myself up by buying myself something nice" has the room about evenly split between women who reward themselves freely (who tend to be younger) and women who feel guilt about rewarding themselves because of children or having a family financial plan.

"I'm comfortable talking about how much I earn" has more women than not on the Disagree side of the room. Those who Strongly Agree don't seem to value how much they make. Either they don't really care or they don't earn enough to worry about it. On the other side of the room, women feel like it's really nobody's business. One participant talked about working for Americorps and having people look down on her, because she was volunteering/working for a non-profit: "It's something you don't need to know. Judge me on the content my work."

Judgment is a common theme. Another woman talks about it from the perspective of making a good salary and not having children: "People make judgments and plans for your money." Her father worked for an automaker and had his union-negotiated salary published in the newspaper. It caused issues with the extended family.

Women and money - what a complex relationship.

When you start fund-raising, Cheryl advises starting with your Personal Circle: family and friends, the people you deal with every day, the people you support. Ask the woman who does your nails every week to support your campaign - now that's an idea I never would have considered.

Next, look at your Ideological Circle, people and organizations with values similar to yours. The candidate is the best person to ask for the money, but if you know someone who works for an organization, that person might be better positioned to ask.

Look at folks with an Axe to Grind. They may or may not like you, but they HATE your opponent. Some groups are looking for Power; in other words, they want to support the winner. PACs and lobbyists fall into this category.

The best solicitations are personal solicitations, face to face, especially with larger donors and people you may not know very well. Other ways to reach out: a finance committee, events, direct mail, phone banks, house parties or e-mail. Keep the events simple and inexpensive.

When it comes to "making the ask," Cheryl says it's important to do your homework. Know as much as you can about your prospects. Deliver a customized message that tells someone how they will benefit from you being in office. And make sure they know you can win. Credibility is important.

Create a sense of urgency, by telling them why you need the money and how the donation will be used. Be specific, and catch people while they're "hot." Have a credit card donation system set up on your web site, like a Pay Pal option. When someone makes a pledge, follow up if you don't receive it when it was promised.

Once you've made "the ask," be quiet. Give the person a chance to respond, and then you can either cheerfully accept a "yes," or work on getting that first "no" to a "yes."

Cheryl is an excellent presenter, she's got a couple of volunteers role-playing a fund-raising call. Check out her web site; she's a Michigan woman you should know.

This is exactly what makes The White House Project Go Run training so valuable. The more experience women have with using these tools, the more comfortable they'll be using them to run for office. The role play turned out well, but one the critiques was that the "candidate" tried to get too much out of the "donor" - a campaign contribution, asking about a home party, etc.

"You only have so much time in a campaign," Cheryl said. "You've got to be pushy."

Indeed.

  -- JH-G