The Campaign Budget; It’s a topic most candidates want to avoid, which is why we’re addressing it today.
The reality is that once you boil it down (which we’ve done for you), the task of budgeting for your campaign needs should be less daunting and more closely aligned with your fundraising situation.
We’ve identified three spending plans (determined by different fundraising scenarios) so your campaign is prepared for both the best and worst case scenarios.
Here are the three plans that we believe you should account for:
1. The “Bare Bones” Plan – This is the first spending strategy, which will plan for if the campaign only manages to fundraise the absolute minimum amount that it would take to win.
2. The “Optimal” Plan – The second spending strategy should plan for having fundraised enough to put the campaign in a good position to succeed.
3. The “Cadillac” Plan – The last plan, based on the estimate from the consultants and fundraisers for the maximum amount that the campaign can raise in a perfect world.
Although all of the fundraising efforts should be focused on obtaining the amount needed for the “Cadillac” plan, the campaign should be prepared to operate under “Bare Bones” if necessary. Having these three plans makes it easy to adapt, reveals campaign funding priorities, and verifies the campaign won’t run out of gas before ballots are cast in any circumstance.