A week or so ago, Ronald Hansen of the Arizona Republic and USA Today included Slatecard.com in his round-up of companies on the Right and Left which candidates use to process their online donations. I was quoted in the piece:

Processing fees already may be viewed as an unavoidable expense as basic to campaigning as phone bills and plane tickets.

"Your average online donor is an impulse buyer," said David All, a Washington, D.C.-based consultant who last year founded Slatecard.com, which he hopes to be a Republican answer to ActBlue. So far, the site's donors have raised more than $5,000 for GOP presidential candidates.

In charging a 4.5% flat fee, All said he loses money on small donors, which is hopefully offset by the bigger ones. In any event, he sees the site as filling a critical void for the GOP.

"With online donors, the sooner you can seal the deal, the better," he said. "You're risking not sealing the deal if you can't donate online." 

While I appreciate the mention, I think Ronald missed some important points about Slatecard that I added to the comments of the post. Here's what I wrote:

Thanks for including Slatecard.com in your round-up. This a very important discussion to have.

Transparency, openness and honesty are just a few of the guiding principles we cling to at Slatecard.

In fact, that's why one of our first blog posts back on October 11, 2007 (we launched October 8) dealt with this issue specifically, titled "Transparency in Processing."

We're proud to be one of the most cost-effective online processing solutions for Republicans and while we're doing this as a volunteer effort, we believe it's necessary to helping give the Right the tools it needs to better leverage the power of the Internet.

One point I'd like to include is that while we may have only raised a little over $5k for Presidential candidates, we've raised well over $325k for other Federal Republican candidates and committees. In fact, we're proud that over 41 candidates have already signed up to use Slatecard to exclusively process their donations.

We're just getting started but we're making tremendous progress given the fact that we've only been up for six months.

Thanks again.

David All
Executive Director
Slatecard.com PAC

The bottom-line is that a processing fee for online donations will always be a part of the process. However, we're proud of our lowest-on-the-market rate of 4.5% regardless of what credit card a donor uses and the fact that we don't charge a per transaction fee or a set-up/monthly fee to candidates.

To keep this operation running - we instead rely on generous donations from you - the Slatecard community. And, as you know, we appreciate it.

This past January, we pulled back the curtains on Slatecard's proprietary Donor Analytics utility.

Sendhil and I have dug back in to the data since then and have compiled the information in a Google Doc that you can share, download, and mash-up as you please. If you make any neat charts with this data, please send them to us at Team AT Slatecard.com and we'll include them in this space.

Here's a quick overview of the top FIVE issue badges based on three categories (total $ received by issue, total # badges rec'd, and issue badge value).

Top 5 Issue Badges by Total $ Received

1. Protect & Defend America    $13,216.99
2. Cut the Pork    $10,538.51
3. Jobs & Economy    $7,588.59
4. Defeat Radical Islam    $7,555.76
5. Comprehensive Immigration Reform    $5,953.18

Top 5 Issue Badges by Total # Badges Received

1. Defeat Radical Islam    141
2. Cut the Pork    114
3. Protect & Defend America    113
4. Pro-Life    89
5. Jobs & Economy    71
   

Top 5 Issue Badges by Average Gift (Value)*

1. Available and Affordable Health Care    $355
2. Expose Liberal Media Bias    $340.33
3. Stop Hillary    $181.94
4. Reduce Red Tape    $162.5
5. Free Trade    $158.25
   

*Ed. Note: Typically, the top issues by value are based on a very small number of gifts.

An internal poll obtained by lanewslink.com shows Republican Woody Jenkins with a 45-40 lead over Democrat Don Cazayoux. The Jenkins campaign internal tracking poll conducted by the Washington Political Group also shows a rapid increase in Don Cazayoux's negatives since the NRCC and other conservative groups began exposing Cazayoux's record on taxes.

• As a former state Representative, Woody authored over $3 billion in tax cuts.
• Woody also established a right to property in Louisiana for the first time by amending the Constitution. The amendment limits the power of the state government to take property and requires fully compensating owners for their full loss.
• As evidence of his success in the legislature, Woody Jenkins was named "Legislator of the Year" by the National Taxpayers Union in 1977.
• He was also named “Outstanding State Legislator in America” by the Eagle Forum.
• Woody has been endorsed by the Club for Growth, House Conservatives Fund, National Rifle Association, and the Family Research Council among others.

Six months ago we launched Slatecard.com.

My co-founder, Sendhil Panchadsaram and I wanted to build a new kind of utility for activists on the Right. A platform built on pillars of innovation, fairness, openness, honesty, and transparency. A website platform that could finally counter the Left's ActBlue, and do even much more.

Today, we're pleased to announce that we've crossed the $300K milestone and have nearly 5,000 individual donors on our list.

* Total: $310,363.58
* Supporters: 4,942

To be sure, we've made great progress without any resources. Though some political operations have the luxury of being funded with millions of dollars from big donors or make a profit by charging ridiculous credit card processing fees, we've done things a little bit differently.

From day one, we have "charged" a flat 4.5% credit card processing fee -- and we've been honest with you and our candidates about that cost. We've never charged a monthly or set-up fee to candidates. And a majority of that processing fee goes to Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and our merchant account fees. We've relied on the Slatecard community for donations to keep the operation up-and-running.

And remember, our goal is to get this processing fee even lower. We're working on it.

On the financial side of things, we're pretty deep in debt. As you may imagine, running a comprehensive, 100 percent volunteer operation like Slatecard is tremendously expensive.

If you want to ensure our continuity and help our effort succeed, I'm hopeful you'll consider making a generous donation of $250, $100 or even just $25 to Slatecard.com PAC today.

We value the early adopter candidates who use Slatecard. In fact, 39 federal candidates are using Slatecard exclusively to process their online donations. They are a huge part of contributing to our early success and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude for believing in us. We will not let them down and we hope to double this number before the election is over.

And you can see how the Slatecard utility has empowered candidates themselves to use the Internet smarter through our top Slatecard: Iraq Veterans For Congress, who have collectively raised more than $12,000 for each other by working together as a team. Their effort is even getting noticed by media hubs like the Wall Street Journal.

Which leads me to what's in store through this election and how you can help impact our vision for 2009.

Through 2008, you may notice a few upgrades particularly with regard to the candidate's secure donation page. They've asked for changes and we're going to make them. There will be some other changes that we'll let you know about on the blog.

As always, we need your help to spread the word on a continuing base. Please consider forwarding our emails around to your friends and ask them to join up at Slatecard.

We have a vision for what Slatecard will be in 2009, but we need your help today to make it even better.

Consider this an open invitation for you to send your ideas -- no matter how big or small -- regarding what you hope Slatecard will be in 2009. We're planning a strategy session in the near future and we promise to review every single idea that comes in.

Want to add your picture and website to your Slatecard? How about a directory for Slatecards and a featured list of Slatecards? State and local candidates? Want to be able to completely remove candidates from your Slatecard? More widgets?

Look, I promise, we are listening. Send me an email and let me know your wish list. If possible, please try and flesh out your request as much as possible and put them all in one email. Take some time and think about it. Make a solid argument.

Today is the first day of the next six months, and we're glad that you're a part of this effort. Thank you for your continued support.

On Friday, I sent out an email to Slatecarders asking them to join me in supporting John McCain.

I noted that I was going to give $25 to John McCain for the next nine months through Slatecard (and hopefully more). What that means is that I'm going to be putting in at least $225 to help ensure that a liberal Democrat doesn't take the White House.

A few people have already joined me in the effort and I'm proud to report that John McCain will be receiving over a $1,000 over the next nine months from me and the few that have already stepped up to the plate.

I'm pleased with the early response I've received through this effort and I plan on sending more emails to help garner support for McCain.

If you haven't already, I'd ask you to join us by making a $25 donation to John McCain today and make it a recurring monthly donation for the next nine months.

Remember, every effort, no matter the size, starts small. Together, we will continue to make a difference. 

Today's Wall Street Journal has a piece on the rising strength of small dollar donors in politics. This is a trend I've called the Long Tail of politics.

The recent flood of Internet donations that has helped pump 2008 presidential campaign coffers to highs also is accomplishing what Watergate-era campaign-finance regulations set out to do: dilute the influence of special interests and wealthy donors.

The main beneficiaries of the boom in small donors are Democratic contenders Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Both were expected to file reports with the Federal Election Commission Thursday night detailing their February fund raising. The Obama campaign has released numbers indicating the Illinois senator would report raising about $55 million in February, a one-month record for a primary candidate. About 90% of the total came from donors who gave in increments of $100 or less.

I'm quoted twice in the piece:

Political strategists are trying to replicate the Obama model. David All, a Republican political consultant, admired how the campaign last year chose five small donors to have dinner with Sen. Obama, and then made a video about each one and posted them to the Obama campaign Web site. "It told their story, and Barack Obama was merely the thread that connected them all," Mr. All said. "What he's doing is creating a community, and this community is spreading his message virally" by word of mouth and emails to friends, he said.

And:

Internet giving at the congressional level also is spreading, albeit more slowly. Web sites such as ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democrats, let donors contribute to individual candidates. ActBlue has directed more than $14 million to federal Democratic candidates this election cycle, compared with $16 million for the 2006 congressional elections.

Mr. All, the Republican consultant, started a rival site last October called SlateCard.com. It has raised just $300,000. "What I'm finding is a lot of Republican campaigns are just hiring college kids or using their son who has a Facebook account," said the 28-year-old Mr. All. "They don't understand what this is all about." 

 

A few quick items:
 
1. Slatecard's record is now 1-1 with regard to supporting candidates in a Special Election. Republican underdog Jon Elrod was defeated on March 11 by a liberal Democrat whose biggest backer was Jack "Porker" Murtha. Sometimes the mountain is just a bit too steep. However, I'm proud of our efforts to raise $1,765 from 38 grassroots activists.
 
2. So far, we've raised a total of $277,536.49 from 4,468 supporters. Progress, slowly.
 
3. If you have a few minutes (and are a political junkie), we could really use your help to update the Slatecard directory. All you have to do is check out the directory, navigate to your state, and cross-reference our directory with a website like Politics1.com to ensure that we have every Republican currently seeking Federal office. Send updates to directory@slatecard.com.
 
Thanks for all you're doing to help us make a difference.

Back to work...

Last night I spoke with a small group of conservative activists at the Leadership Institute about some of the emerging technologies and tips I offer with regard to fundraising online.

Via my SlideShare account, you can see (and download) my presentation:

Of course, a presentation is only as good as its presenter, and since most of the slides in my deck offer little text, I'll elaborate.

I kicked off the discussion by noting that the Internet has done one major thing, "helped us communicate more effectively with real, live people -- 'smarter, better, faster, NOW.'" We no longer have to wait for checks to be written by our supporter and mailed to our campaign -- instead, we're seeing a trend of folks who are giving donations online.

I use the example of Barack Obama as the latest evidence of this shift from offline giving to online giving. I site Barack's online fundraising numbers that have been reported well by Patrick Ruffini.

With regard to how Democrats have been able to amass so much treasure from previously unturned stones, I always use a personal example to help relate what I call the Long Tail of Fundraising.

Now that the stage is set, I talk about the Left's ActBlue and how Slatecard has helped provide a similar utility for the Right. I then talk about some of the tools that I believe will change the online fundraising space forever like Slatecard's proprietary innovation, Donor Analytics, and our deployment of anywhere fundraising widgets and facebook applications (still in private beta) to help drive donations in popular watering holes.

I conclude by offering four quick and easy tips to help better embrace online supporters.

1. Capture Emails at Every Possible Turn. Use a splash page before folks enter your website to make your supporters make a choice -- join your team or don't -- but the choice must be made before entering a website.

2. Ask for Realistic Gifts. Ask your online community for $25, $50 or $100. Your community will give you what they can afford but the folks that will give you low-dollar amounts online will likely give more to you over time. The point is to lower the barrier of entry and build your donor base.

3. DonationTubes. Have your principle/candidate make the final "ask" via video embedded directly to your secure donation page. Read this blog post for a more thorough answer.

4. Thank Your Supporters. It's hard to believe, but some politicians (and I know from personal experience) do not thank their online supporters. As an example of how to properly thank your supporters, I relate the fact that I received a personal note from Senator Tom Coburn when I contributed a mere $20 to his campaign through Slatecard. The benefit of him taking the time to personally recognize my donation is that, well, here I am blogging about it and I told a room of 30 conservative activists about it last night. In other words, treat every donor on an equal playing field and it will likely yield a great ROI.

The bottom-line with regard to online fundraising is that there's no silver bullet. I can't tell you how to mirror what Ron Paul did or what Barack Obama is doing. But we can keep an eye on the space and help relate what works and what doesn't.

In just a few days, Indiana voters will head to the polls for its Special Election to help elect a Congressman to fill the seat held by the late Julia Carson.

Slatecard has firmly stood behind Republican candidate Jon Elrod. We've backed Elrod when no others would because we believe in his proven track-record of winning races against all odds in heavily Democratic districts. And in a true about face which could prove the tipping point in this race, the Indianapolis Star has endorsed Elrod noting his commitment to fiscal responsibility and his strong work ethic.

At Slatecard, we believe that donations from people throughout the nation, $25 at a time, can help defeat the special interest money that Elrod's opponent has taken. And we've been successful.

Over the past two weeks, 37 Slatecarders have stepped up to send $1,730.00 to help Jon Elrod get his message out to Indiana voters. Thanks to our help, Jon is airing the following commercial to help promote his brand of independent leadership:

 

If you haven't yet made a contribution to Jon Elrod's campaign, I'd ask you to join our movement by donating $25 to help keep Elrod's message on the air.

Elrod has been outgunned and outmanned from day one in this election. He's fought hard to pull the race to within single digits. I believe. 

While the Slatecard community's $1,730 contributions may quickly get glanced over by Washington insiders, I'd note that we're just getting started, and that we were willing to take a chance on an individual simply because he's a Republican who needed help with a good shot at winning. Elrod doesn't owe the Slatecard community a "yes" or "no" vote on legislation if he's elected.

This is the beginning of how average citizens can help change the way Washington works and operates, and I'm proud to be a part of it.

Revolution.