Where is My Donation Going? November Report

As of November 4th, 2009, the campaign expenses are summarized below.  I want to highlight that this is a grassroots campaign, I have zero prior political experience, and for the time being I am also the campaign Treasurer, so apologies in advance for slow responses.  I did promise campaign donation transparency and any donors with questions can leave them below or email TowneForCongress@gmail.com.

Why donate to Towne for Congress? Besides supporting spreading the message of liberty in a VERY cost-effective manner:

• I do not and will not take donations from lobbyist PAC groups and corporate PAC groups like my career politician opponents. The reason for this is principle – how could the citizens of my district trust that I would not sell them out if the campaign receives money from lobbyists and corporations?  There is no reliance on lobbyists and corporations to support the campaign; my allegiance is solely to the PEOPLE of the 15th District and to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
• 100% of your contribution will be used expressly for the purpose of Towne For Congress. While this sounds obvious, I have discovered that in politics it is “normal” for politicians (and both of my opponents) to transfer money back and forth to LOTS of their “buddy-buddy” politician pals, and to fund their local Republican/Democratic county parties and PAC groups.  While the FEC allows this, my principle is that people donate to my campaign because they are entrusting me to spend it as best as possible to support the mission statement.
• 100% of all contributions to-date have come from individuals.
• We have very little overhead expenses, such as no expensive office to maintain.
• There are no staff salaries to pay out since the campaign is 100% grassroot volunteers - who are self-motivated and superior to most political mercenaries, like those of the Republican and Democrat parties.
• No irrelevant expenses like paying for haircuts, clothing, political consultants, advertising consultants, or expensive private investigators to “dig up dirt” on opponents rather than focusing on the issues.

Suggestions are very much welcome.  I must say that while huge amounts of attention are given to the amount of donations raised by the media, what really matters are volunteers willing to spend their time spreading the message.  Anyone can volunteer by emailing TowneForCongress@gmail.com, but do not be surprised if you are kept very busy.

As a reminder, the attractive “Who Is Jake Towne?” yard signs are available for displaying in your yard – see here.  Even though we have a year before the election, it’s a great way to get people intrigued enough to learn more about the campaign, and details on the “Who Is Jake Towne?” advertising campaign are here.

The below is a summary – I must add it is not an official FEC report – the latest FEC September 30th quarterly with more details can be accessed here. Through September 30th, in just 6 weeks of fundraising, our donor count was at 151, and the total raised was over $8,100.  My notes are:

• I donated a total of $2,042 to the campaign and fully funded the computer/projector expense below, which is a one-time expense, so overhead will decrease over time.
• For credit card donations, I removed the transaction fees paid for their processing since the campaign is not able to use these funds. We have chosen a very cost-effective provider that also provides detailed campaign reports since we do not have a volunteer Treasurer.  The most effective way to donate is by check via snail mail or delivered in person at campaign events. Donations from individuals are limited and subject to FEC regulations.
• The one expense that I believe requires further justification is the Advertising Indirect for three books – The Law by Bastiat, What Has the Government Done to Our Money by Rothbard, and Economics in One Lesson by Hazlitt.  These were purchased in bulk and are given away as thank you gifts for assistance and at the campaign’s discretion.  While all 3 books are available on this site in PDF – and not everyone will take the time to read a book – they are so crucial to understanding what is occurring today that I strongly encourage any supporter or resident in my district to read them.

At the current time, the campaign has very little cash on hand.  You can help by donating with the below button, or during the Money Bomb on November 5th!!