Bulldog Finance Group appears on Yahoo's Finance Top Stories!

In a recent article about campaign donations, Yahoo’s finance editor Tim Sprinkle quoted Scott Dworkin from Bulldog Finance Group about the reality of where fundraising is coming from during this election. The article’s mainly focuses on what kinds of donors are active in this election and the obvious slowing of Mitt Romney’s financial supporters and their change in focus towards winnable races in the House and Senate.  

Scott Dworkin of Bulldog Finance Group recently talked with Tim Sprinkle of Yahoo in regards to the notable disappearance of the donations from the financial sector; more specifically Wall Street. It would seem that some of the most recent legislation has left large donors around Wall Street feeling like their political voice has been all but silenced.

Scott Dworkin's quote below from the article confirmed the current trend:

"A lot of people in the financial services industry are less invigorated to give this time because both sides are taking the position of being anti-Wall Street," says Scott Dworkin, CEO of the Bulldog Finance Group, a group based in the nation's capital that specializes in campaign fundraising.

"Even though a lot of folks probably don't know what a hedge fund is, the candidates are talking in broad strokes of Main Street vs. Wall Street, and I think that's become disheartening to a lot of people in that line of work who are doing good things and playing by the rules."

The industry has also been paying attention to the types of laws that have been put in place since 2008 to limit their potential profits, and they're not impressed. "The whole system is working against them right now," Dworkin says.

click here to view the entire article:

This article goes on to mention that there is still “plenty of money on the table in Washington” which is true. But it’s also important to note that as the final month of the election season draws to a close there should be a strong surge in donations and even stronger ask from candidates who desperately need the money for last minute operations. Bulldog Finance Group goes into over-drive during these last weeks to help campaigns that still need the extra funds to push them through the finish line. As we continue to work with clients this month don’t hesitate to contact us for help or if you have questions about any of our services. 

Scott Dworkin of Bulldog Finance Group Appears on Huffington Post Live

Earlier this morning Scott Dworkin of Bulldog Fiance Group was invited to be a panelist on Huffington Post Live as a panelist for a discussion about Black Super PACs. Scott's experience fundriasing for the last ten years has given him invaluable insight into how the world of campaign finance has changed since just the last major election.

The discussion was centered around the role that black Super PACs play within the political spectrum and how Super PACs have shaped the political landscape as of recent. Below is a clip from early in the discussion where Scott begins to address Super PACs as a whole and their influence on today's politics. 

Reception for Shelli Yoder

On Wednesday of last week Scott Dworkin and the Bulldog Finance Group team put on a reception benefitting Shelli Yoder at the home of John Jameson. Mrs. Yoder is running for the 9th District of Indiana for the U.S. House of Representatives. Earlier this season, her campaign was recognized by Howard Dean’s Political Action Committee as a critical race to be won in 2012 and making her a part of the Dean Dozen. 

If you would like to learn more about Shelli Yoder’s race, visit www.shelliyoderforcongress.com/

Special thanks to:

Congressman André Carson
Congressman Pete Visclosky 
Congressman Joe Donnelly 
Hon. Baron Hill 
Hon. Lee H. Hamilton 
Hon. Andrew Jacobs, Jr.

If your organization or campaign needs help putting on a reception feel free to contact us with any questions using our contact page

Founder and CEO Scott Dworkin to Speak at "The Final Push"

As many of you are aware we’re under 60 days already until the elections in November. This means urgency for fund raising is at an all time high while all campaigns begin to ramp up their as the remaining days tick down.

In an effort to vocalize what is to come over the nearing weeks and how to best spend your time, a nearly full day of webinars with many top Subject Matter Experts will be giving precious advice and inside tips to maximize campaign efforts. As described on its website, “The Final Push is an exclusive video e-conference from Campaigns & Elections, broadcast live from Washington, DC for anyone who needs to Get Out the Vote in 2012. The last 60 days of a campaign are critical to victory. The Final Push reveals the strategies and tactics that will bring victory closer. If you are a candidate, campaign manager, volunteer, academic or political professional, The Final Push is for you.”

Bulldog Finance Group’s Founder and CEO, Scott Dworkin will be finishing out the day of webinars with invaluable best practices for raising last minute dollars. There is sometimes nothing more debilitating to a campaign than running out of funds too close to the actual election and having all of your hard work paralyzed to a standstill. Mr. Drowkin’s advice will range from how to appeal to your supporters, creating urgency in your donors, and the most important methods for staging asks as the end of the election season fast approaches.

Access can be purchased for the live webinar by clicking the green “register now” button on the website http://www.finalpushconference.com/. Tickets are $38 for students (with scanned ID) and $78 for all others. Don’t miss your chance to learn something that could save your campaign!

Common Mistakes in Campaign Fundraising: Doing Everything Yourself

Doing Everything Yourself
Many of us have worked for people that spread themselves too thin by trying to handle everything. Even in smaller campaigns it can be risky to take on massive workloads when there are plenty of other routes that are far less stressful. When you find yourself overwhelmed, ask yourself how you got there.

Associated Problems:
Being more active doesn’t always mean being more productive if you decide that you’re going to oversee all of the making of signage, compiling of call lists, and maintenance of all campaign finances you will find that you’re not going to get all of the job done as effectively because there just aren’t enough hours in a day.

What Should You Do?
Get a staff! Every election has a campaign manager. This person should be organized and detail oriented. You need some dedicated people to help you along that you can trust will work hard to get things done.

-When starting out, find interns from local universities or even friends and neighbors to help with campaign calls and miscellaneous duties associated with the campaign.

-As things get going you need to learn how to delegate. That’s one of the truest forms of a good leader. Understand that not all the work is always going to be done specifically the way that you would have imagined it happening. Accept that mistakes happen and nobody is perfect.

-Lastly, be open minded about taking criticism from others and allow the people working for you to suggest strategies and ideas that will help the campaign grow (within reason). 

Common Mistakes in Campaign Fundraising: Procrastination

Procrastination:
Most everyone, at one time or another in their lives, is guilty of putting something off until tomorrow. Due to the busy nature of campaigning, understand that this will happen to you at one point or another.  The way you prioritize your “to-do’s” will dictate how successful you are with fundraising and your overall campaign. Leading up to an election, money is always going to be tight. Realize that not all of campaigning is going to be shaking hands, kissing babies, and making speeches.

Associated Problems:
As with many candidates their least favorite activity in regards to fundraising is “call time.” If you can’t find the time for “call time” you’re not going to be successful.

Opting to put off chasing down big potential donors and not following up with pledges is just the same as throwing money away. Many times candidates don’t continue to follow up with people because they find it to be uncomfortable conversation. In some cases, these people might have been avoiding you. In many cases, these folks have just gotten busy with life and aren’t circling back around with you because it’s not their job to follow up. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone!

What Should You Do?
Don’t ever allow things to snowball out of control to the point that you’re losing money as a result of poor time management or even laziness. Build a daily schedule using a free online calendar (Cozi.com, Freeminder.com, Google Calendar, etc)  that can be followed and make sure to set aside plenty of hours for call time. There’s no magical secret for fixing procrastination but just understand that putting off the things that seem less appealing will not make those duties go away. 

Common Mistakes in Campaign Fundraising: Using Paypal

Using Paypal
Paypal might be a great way to ensure your auction items on eBay are properly bought and paid for but PayPal has proven to be a poor choice when it comes to managing your campaign donations.

Associated Problems:
The percentage PayPal automatically takes 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction. That’s too high especially for races that raise funds that reach well into six figures. Consider this, a thousand transactions would be $300 in fees and that doesn’t take into account the percentage fee.

There are plenty of stories that can be found online about 10 day holds, account freezes, and delays that will stop all fundraising efforts in their tracks.

None of the funds you receive go directly into your bank account so if you ever find yourself in a pinch for immediate funds, don’t count on them being instantly and readily available.

What should you do? 
Get an account with ActBlue.com, go through a third party company like FirstData (supported by NGP), or create your own merchant account through your bank. ActBlue.com is a fundraising tool specifically for Democrats.  Even though ActBlue has a charge per transaction, it gets you noted on its extensive political network if you have high fundraising days.  It also helps support the Progressive community.  Merchant Accounts often have monthly fees but can be worth the time it takes to set one up if you’re bringing in a range of donations varying from large to small. Put yourself in a more active role with your finances and steer clear of PayPal. 

To Use Scripts Or to Not Use Scripts?

When you’re trying to find financial support for your candidacy should you develop a structured script to adhere to on each call as you peruse donors for funding?  The answer is NO! We’ve all received calls from a telemarketer at some point or another in our lives and many of us are very quick to recognize what kind of call it is within a few seconds. And For many people the next logical step is to make an effort to get off the phone with this “telemarketer” as quickly as possible. Why?

Because we often pick up on the sullen tone in the caller’s voice. We’re not connecting with this nearly robotic sounding voice on the other line. This tone can be attributed to a number of things but often times it’s from someone plainly reading words off of a page.  In some cases it can also be directly correlated to the repetitive nature of these calls that make the caller sound like they’ve been saying the same string of five sentences over and over and by the time they’ve reached you, the words have lost all meaning to them.

So what do we do to fix this?

Don’t use scripts. We all have our own natural cadence and way of speaking, so the choice wording that works for one individual might come off as forced or awkward for another. Work off of a list of bullet points or key ideas. These bullet points can be related to groups, events, key legislation, whatever, get creative. But keep in mind depending on the donor; you will need to speak more to the bullet points that relate the closest to their interests.

 One of most important things to have on the phone is a natural flow. If you sound confident and the words seem to flow off your tongue in a comfortable way, you’re going to see better results. The way we condition ourselves to sound more natural is talking points and practice. The first few calls are going to be the hardest. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve had to dial up people to support your candidacy or you don’t feel like you’re “ready” to ask for help. These are fears that are all overcome by the act of practice. It’s not uncommon for people to practice in the mirror or in the shower in the morning before heading to work. The results speak for themselves.

 The last thing to keep in mind is that you need to be sure to break up your dials. If you spend eight hours of the day making the same types of calls, by the time you’ve reached the last few calls your mind is likely in different places and you don’t sound much like yourself. Schedule things throughout your day will allow you to digest some of the good and bad calls and give yourself a moment to reflect. This allows you to bounce back on the phone with more fervor than ever and produce better results. Best of luck!

Aziz Ansari in Raleigh Today

We had a great experience today at the Young Americans for Obama event in Raleigh, NC. (which just so happened to be in the same building as our Raleigh offices)  Aziz Ansari is pictured below with Bulldog Associate Director Robert Sherwood on the right, and Super Interns Colin and Nate on the left.

Winkie Wilkins's Wins!

Congratulations to Rep. Winkie Wilkins!  In yesterday’s North Carolina primary, Winkie beat Rep. Jim Crawford by a vote of 56 percent to 37 percent on the Democratic ticket for North Carolina’s District 2 seat.  A native son of Person County, Winkie graciously thanked his supporters, “This outpouring of support has been overwhelming.  I am still trying to let it soak in.” 

Winkie extended special thanks to Bulldog Finance Group. "The presence of Bulldog Finance Group became increasingly important.  Assisting early on with fundraising, once the voting process began, they were right by my side at the early voting locations and at the traditional polls on Primary Election Day.  They were a huge contributor to the success of the campaign.” 

Congratulations are also in order to two of Bulldog Finance Group’s own, Associate Director Rob Sherwood and Associate Brad Kennedy, who ushered in Winkie’s victory!  As Winkie said, “Rob and Brad were my primary contacts with Bulldog.  They were always willing to work and willing to help plan strategy.  They became like members of our family."

Winkie made a point to connect with voters at each polling location.   “Our campaign all along was built around people and personal contact with people.  We took the voting process very seriously, whether it was during early voting or during the traditional day of voting.  My volunteers and I were very well received by voters.”

To be sure, voters in North Carolina’s 5^th District voiced yesterday that they’ve had quite enough of Rep. Jim Crawford’s voting record.  A top budget-shaper who was picked by Republican House leaders, Crawford was one of 5 Democrats who voted for the Republican budget.  North Carolinians clearly prefer a candidate who stands strong for a just economy, protects educational funding, and supports women’s rights.  A lifelong advocate for economic justice and fundamental civil rights for all, Winkie has been officially endorsed by North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE statewide), Granville County Chapter of NCAE, Person County Chapter of NCAE, North Carolina League of Conservation Voters and, most recently, Rep. William Wainwright.