If there is one thing that can make or break a political campaign, it’s the budget.
You either make a campaign budget that is good enough to help you reach the public office, or you end up making a budget that is impractical and does not align with your campaign needs.
And there is no exaggeration in this claim when there are billions of dollars poured into elections every year or two.
This is why making a political campaign budget is so important that you should not hesitate to put in good time and financial resources to make it.
At the end of this blog post, I am giving the political campaign budget sample and political campaign Excel budget template for absolutely free.
How to make a political campaign budget
Here is your step by step guide of making your campaign budget
Define Your Campaign Goals
The first thing which is critically important in any election campaign is the scope of that campaign. If you are not defining the goals of your campaign at the beginning, you can never make a successful political campaign budget.
Always start by determining your campaign’s specific needs. These specific needs will vary greatly from one campaign to another. Whether you are running for local mayoral office, Congress, the presidency, or even for school board elections, your campaign needs will be highly specific as per the demands of the campaign.
Convincing voters is the ultimate goal of any political campaign. So always start by having this goal in mind and list down all the things that are necessary to make people convinced.
Begin by identifying your campaign’s key objectives and the necessary resources required to achieve those goals. This will help you prioritize spending and allocate funds more effectively.
Create a List of Expenses
Once you have defined your campaign goals, make a comprehensive list of all the expenses you will incur during the campaign. This list should include all the expenses, such as:
- Staff salaries and benefits
- Office rent and utilities
- Campaign materials (signs, buttons, brochures)
- Advertising (TV, radio, print, and digital)
- Travel expenses (gas, lodging, meals)
- Event costs (venue rentals, food, supplies)
- Professional services (consultants, legal fees, accounting)
- Technology (website, social media, donor management software)
- Contingency fund (unforeseen expenses)
We have a complete blog post about the things on which political campaigns spend their money which will be a helpful resource on the possible expenses you might face during your campaign.
Determine Your Fundraising Goals
Unless you are Donald Trump, who can afford to put his own $66 million into his campaign, there is a strong possibility that you will need fundraising for your campaign. After listing down all the expenses, you need to list down all the funding sources for your campaign.
Once you have a clear understanding of your campaign’s needs, it’s time to set realistic fundraising goals. Start by researching how much money similar campaigns have raised in the past and set achievable targets based on this information.
Remember that fundraising is an ongoing process, so adjust your goals as your campaign progresses and gains momentum.
(No worries on this, we have it covered in the template given later in this post.)
Save Your Money for the End of the Campaign (That is the Time Where Voters Are Convinced the Most)
Whether or not you are tight on budget or have more funds than your campaign expenses, it’s time to prioritize your campaign needs and cut off unnecessary expenses. Even if you have more funds than your needs, you have to follow this step.
Saving campaign funds till the end of the campaign is extremely critical for any politician. Data shows that political campaigns spend more money in the last months of the campaign compared to the start of the campaign. This is due to the fact that even if you convince voters well before the elections and you have too much time left in the elections, there are ample chances that your voters can change their minds in the follow-up of the elections.
But if you convince them just before the elections, they don’t have much time to change their voting decision. This means that the more money you spend in the later stage of your political campaign, the chances of you winning the elections increase dramatically.
Prioritize Campaign Expenses
Once you have prioritized the campaign expenses, it’s time to allocate funds for those expenses.
If you have a political campaign manager, well and good, they can probably take care of the allocation process. Otherwise, you always find a political campaign manager with this skill.
Start by assigning a percentage of your total budget to each category based on its importance to your campaign. This will help you prioritize spending and ensure that essential areas are properly funded.
By categorizing your expenses, you can better track spending and ensure that all aspects of your campaign are adequately funded.
Review Your Campaign Budget and Make Any Necessary Changes
It is important that you reflect on the existing budget to find any existing loopholes that are hindering the progress of your campaign. At the end of every month, check whether or not you are hitting your targets and what things you can do in order to optimize your campaign.
Do you need to cut down some of the expenses? Are you in need of changing your campaign strategy? Do you need some additional things to keep your campaign going? All of these things need to be answered so that you can make any needed changes in your political campaign.
Use the Campaign Software if Needed
If you are too busy to do the paperwork yourself, budgeting software can also help you in keeping your campaign budget under control.
Good budgeting software can provide an easy-to-use platform for creating and managing budgets, tracking expenses, and generating reports. With the right software, you can monitor your campaign’s financial health, allocate funds efficiently, and make informed decisions about where to invest your resources.
Also, budgeting software can help you stay compliant with campaign finance regulations and avoid costly mistakes. By taking advantage of budgeting software, you can run your political campaign more effectively and focus your attention on the important issues that matter to your constituents.
Political Campaign Budget Template Excel
Now as promised, here is the budget template for your political campaign (for absolutely free)
Final Words
Creating a political campaign budget is crucial for any candidate running for public office. It allows for effective management of resources, prioritization of expenses, and the ability to track spending throughout the campaign.
Defining campaign goals, creating a comprehensive list of expenses, setting realistic fundraising goals, prioritizing campaign expenses, and regularly reviewing and making necessary changes to the budget are all essential steps in creating a successful political campaign budget.
By taking advantage of budgeting software, candidates can ensure compliance with campaign finance regulations and make informed decisions about where to invest their resources. With a well-planned and executed budget, you can increase their chances of success in elections and effectively communicate their message to voters, not to mention that this budget will also help you in writing the effective political campaign proposal.
