Political fundraisers are broken
What if they were optimized for the attendees?
I’m realizing how limited political fundraising events are. Whether online or in-person, they have a rigid user experience with no opportunities for deeper engagement. Guests show up, hear remarks and Q&A, and then leave.
That’s probably because they are optimized for immediate fundraising to the presenting candidate or organization.
What if instead we designed a fundraising event that’s optimized as a step on attendees’ journey up a ladder of engagement? What would be different?
If events were optimized as parts of a larger journey, here are some examples of what attendees might be able to do:
Before the event
Access background materials specific to the event
Discuss the event topic with presenting organizations/campaigns
Share questions with the presenters
During the event
Have side conversations about the presentation (e.g. questions, comments, or critiques)
After the event
Discuss the presentation with other attendees
Freely ask follow-up questions about the presentation or its topic
Browse deeper resources about the presentation topic
Find other groups doing similar work
Let’s fix events
Have you experimented with more engaging event formats? Are you curious to try? Or are you just frustrated with political fundraisers? Whichever it is, please reach out.
