Before coming to law school, I worked as a fundraising and communications consultant for a number of House and Senate campaigns. Sometimes, being involved in one race would lend opportunities to help a client in another. For example, I would sometimes have clients in nearby districts who would do joint events, or who would each take a turn with a visiting speaker or leader during the same trip.
Most common, however, would be when one prominent figure (usually a sitting Congressman or popular party leader) would agree to write a fundraising email or letter for one client, and I would convince that figure to allow me to send a second letter on behalf of another client while we were at it. My clients were often unaware that I was performing this service, but it’s actually quite common: the world of DC fundraisers is surprisingly incestuous, with fundraisers each attending events hosted by their colleagues and regular donors. Think about it: if a campaign fundraising consultant doesn’t regularly attend events at the home of a prominent donor, what are the odds of developing a close relationship with that donor and getting her to host an event for your clients down the line? It’s also about networking: at some point, each of us found that we had to turn down a prospective client (for whatever reason–everything from ideological disagreement to prior commitments in the race), so we’d pass their information to a colleague and hope for reciprocity down the line. It’s just good business. [Read more…] about Synergy and Citizens United