FUNDRAISING

Please be advised that any donations made to Amy’s 2022 campaign were rolled over to the 2024 campaign with approval from the FEC; any donations made since June 30, 2022, have been reported, in accordance with the campaign’s earlier announcement and FEC regulations, as being intended for the 2024 campaign.

The T-shirts show the campaign’s logo on the back, and Amy’s viral tweet regarding the Georgia voter suppression bill on the front (text: “‘I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink.’* - Matthew 25:35 *Offer not valid in Georgia.”). The tote-bags show the campaign logo, email address, and Facebook page URL, plus the URL for Amy’s X (formerly Twitter) profile page, on one-side only.

Some may not be aware of the rules regarding donations to US election campaigns, so here’s the short version of the rules pertaining to individual donations from people (as opposed to corporations) for a federal election (for example, running for the US House of Representatives).

Any US citizen or green card holder, no matter where in the world they live, may donate up to a total of $2,800 per candidate, per election. There is no minimum donation requirement. A primary counts as one election, and a general election is separate – so, in an election cycle that has both, up to $5,600 can be donated, but any amount over the first $2,800 per candidate must be earmarked as being intended for use in the general election, and must be refunded to the donor if that candidate loses in the primary. Donations of less than $2,800 that are not specifically earmarked by the donor as being for a particular election are considered earmarked for the next upcoming election. The candidate can donate as much (or as little) as they like to their own campaign, and can also make loans to the campaign without restriction.

Once a candidate has raised* or spent at least $5,000 on their campaign, they must register with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as an official candidate, and must file quarterly and year-end reports regarding donations received, debts incurred (if any), and expenses paid.

*Note: most online donation collections agents, such as ActBlue, require that a candidate be registered with the FEC before an account can be opened with the agent, so a candidate having registered with the FEC does not necessarily mean that they have raised or spent that minimum $5,000 yet).

Once reports are required, any single donation of $200 or more has to be itemized in the candidate’s quarterly or year-end report to the FEC, while any single donation of $1,000 or more has to be reported to the FEC within 48 hours of the candidate’s having received it. A donation made through a candidate’s donation collections agent, like ActBlue, is considered by the FEC to have been received by the candidate immediately. A candidate is required to report each donation received; itemization means that the individual donation report becomes a searchable public record.

For each report made, the candidate is required to list, for each donation reported, the donor’s name, address, amount of the particular donation being reported, and the total amount the donor has donated to the candidate in the election cycle. The candidate is also required to obtain at least one additional means of contacting the donor – usually email address or phone number – in case there is a question regarding the donation. The FEC also requests that candidates collect information regarding their donors’ employment, including their occupations and the name and address of their employers. ActBlue collects all of this information, and passes it on to the candidates it represents.
 

WASHBURN FOR WISCONSIN SIXTH
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