Golf Outings

• Golf outings make ideal fundraisers for the state senate because the cost can be relatively low and it will attract a wide range of people. Additionally, if you open the outing to teams of four, with one cost per team, it will make it more affordable to a larger number of people. Prior to planning the golf outing, contact golf ranges to find one that will be willing to donate the use of their facility either out of political support or in exchange for the publicity. You can have prizes either donated by business who support the candidate or have a cash prize. The downside of a cash prize is that the money will come out of the amount raised in the event.
  
  

Dinner

• Fundraising dinners are fairly common fundraisers because they are easy to plan and will appeal to a large number of people. The attendants are charged per plate to attend and then asked to make donations while at the event. A fundraising dinner may include dinner and speeches from prominent politicians, as well as the candidate. a fundraising dinner may also include dancing, casino type games or an auction. In order to keep costs down, the planning committee should get as much donated as possible, which may include the hall, catering, music and auction items. How much is charged per plate will depend on the level of guests that are being targeted. It is important for the candidate to be present and mingling with guests throughout the event.
  
  

Letter Campaign

• Letter campaigns are positive in that the cost is limited and they do not involve the time and volunteers needed to plan a large event. However, you will need volunteers to prepare the mailings, which can be time consuming depending on the size of your letter campaign and the number of volunteers you have available. Additionally, the success of a letter campaign will be dependent on the amount of support and name recognition the candidate already has. The best option is to do a limited letter campaign. That is, only send letters requesting donations to the people that are already likely to vote for the candidate. For instance, send letters to registered members of the candidate's political party, as well as individuals in districts that have voted for the candidate's political party for the same position in the past. You won't be able to get specific names of people and how they voted, but you will be able to get the voting history for each district, and this will allow you to identify how districts have voted in the past. All of this information is available through the political party state offices and the clerk of court offices that control the polls for each area.
  
  

Door-to-Door Campaign

• Door-to-door campaigns are generally seen as a fundraising method used only in local elections. However, they can be utilized in state elections to capture the swing votes. Through information obtained by the clerk of courts offices, identify which voting districts contain the most swing voters. Swing voters are the voters not committed to one party or the other. For example, if a district votes Democrat in every state election for years, it is likely to continue voting Democrat regardless of who the candidate is. However, if there is a district that has voted both Democrat and Republican in the last few state elections, than that is a swing-vote district. Target door-to-door campaigns in populated areas within swing-vote districts.