Late money - CN4 Partners
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Friends,

If you’ve worked on a campaign, you know the sting that comes with big checks that arrive close to Election Day. If only it had come earlier, the thought goes, the practical uses could have been immense. But faced with the choice of spending it vs. not spending it, we usually argue to spend.

“Late money” is relative. We’re not really talking about cash flow in early October. Meeting the budget and staying on schedule are still fundamental at this point. When we talk about late money, we mainly mean the stuff you did not budget or plan for. The extra donation(s) that were unexpected, ill timed, and appreciated.

You can still be strategic if you get funds late in the campaign, and we’ve made a top ten list of things to do when the inevitable happens!

10. Does someone else need help?
It’s not typical that campaigns will give away their money, but there is an efficiency to be considered. If there are party committees or coordinated tables, they will definitely know where the programmatic holes are. Your late cash could be just what your c4 table needs to complete rural radio, or your local county political party needs it to complete ballot chase programs. If these programs align with your goals, it might be a wise investment.

9. Do something for the campaign team.
We don’t necessarily mean the consultants, either. Treating your staff well goes a long way.

8. Post election bills
Win or lose, post-election bills always materialize. Have you fully accounted for those in your budget? Even the ones the candidate hasn’t told you about yet?

7. Election “day” activities
The day’s activities include everything from a paid canvass operation and a catered election night event, to signs for visibility on the street corner and even GOTV radio ads. Costs for campaigns that deal with in-person voting rack up quickly, so any late donations could logically go to bolstering your campaign in the closing days.

6. Post-election research
Sometimes a campaign will honestly have no idea how to spend extra cash. Rather than have pyrotechnics at your watch party, what about investing in post-election polling and focus groups? For campaigns with wind at their back, or for those that have a longer time horizon for success, might benefit from hearing from voters as to why they did what they did.

5. Digital ads
There is much less lead-time needed to get digital advertising in front of voters, which makes it ideal for “get out the vote” and last minute pushes. If late money arrives a week before Election Day, this should be on the top of your list to consider.

4. Texts
If you wait until Oct 30th to reach out to a phone vendor, you are doing it wrong. Reach out to someone now, because mass texting isn’t as easy as it used to be.

3. Invest in staff for field
If you can get past the short timeline for training, putting money into people power is not a bad idea. Send them to knock on doors walking distance to a polling location; get them on the phones to chase ballots; or, rent every 15-passenger van in the tri-county area.

2. Have something in the can
Often for clients we will produce extra content that has gone through the lengthy campaign editing process with the anticipation of spending additional funds there. The design or video production cost is small compared to the ultimate price of the voter contact, so it might be wise to have something ready to go.

1. Expand existing programs
Being able to turn on a dime is a prerequisite for effective campaigns, so when the opportunity presents itself, consider expanding your existing paid programs. This can mean increasing the points on your TV or radio buy, bumping up the frequency of your digital ads, more canvassing shifts.


Campaigns need to be ready to act when an opportunity arises. Being strategic with late money is doable, if you are thoughtful and build on existing programs.

And if it is really a problem, just reach out and we’ll help you come up with a creative solution.