Government & Legal Affairs >> Federal PAC Fundraising Guide

CBA Federal PAC Fundraising Guide

	Fast Facts on the CBA Federal PAC
	Fundraising Campaign Checklist
	Fundraising Campaign Suggestions
	Solicitation Guidelines
	Contribution Guidelines
	Writing and Talking Points
	Sample Letter

Fast Facts on the CBA Federal PAC

The CBA Federal PAC is the bipartisan political action committee of CBA, whose purpose is to solicit contributions from individual bankers in California.

• The CBA Federal PAC uses the funds raised to support candidates for the United States Senate and House of Representatives who help promote a strong and competitive banking system.

• The CBA Federal PAC can only receive individual contributions. Corporate contributions are prohibited.

• All of the CBA Federal PAC's operating expenses are paid for by CBA. Individual contributions are used exclusively for candidate support and political activities.

• The CBA Federal PAC is operated by a committee representing all geographic areas of the CBA membership. Members of the CBA Federal PAC Committee determine which candidates to support by considering the recommendation of individual CBA members in the congressional district and carefully reviewing the following set of criteria:

  • The candidate's positions on banking and business issues.

  • The candidate's voting record, leadership ability, and committee assignments.

  • The probability of the candidate's success
    
• The CBA Federal PAC is affiliated with BankPac, the political action committee of the American Bankers Association. A majority of CBA Federal PAC and BankPac contributions are delivered in California by CBA members in the candidate's district.
  
• Contributions to the CBA Federal PAC are not deductible for state or federal income tax purposes.
  

Fundraising Campaign Checklist

1. Familiarize yourself with the information on CBA's Web site regarding the CBA Federal PAC.

2. Distribute a memo or letter to your eligible employees announcing the commencement of the CBA Federal PAC fundraising campaign. Include the industry's legislative accomplishments, and give them reasons why it is so important to make an investment in the CBA Federal PAC. Writing points have been included to help you compose a memo or letter.

3. Make a verbal pitch at management and board meetings. Show your own commitment to the long-term health of the industry.

4. Provide your employees, directors and shareholders with CBA Federal PAC brochures (Contribution Form included) and reply envelopes. You may want to ask contributors to return the contributions and forms back to you so you can collect and aggregate your bank's contributions.

5. Call Mary Boruff at 916/438-4407 if you have any questions or need assistance.
   

Fundraising Campaign Suggestions

The following recommendations are from CBA members who have implemented successful fundraising campaigns in their institutions. However, every financial institution is different and the best campaign is one that works for you and your eligible employees.

• Start your internal fundraising campaign early in the year.

• Set a fundraising goal for your institution. The CBA Federal PAC has provided suggested guidelines based on asset size.

• Circulate a written piece from you to all your eligible staff stating your support of the CBA Federal PAC. Keep your letter under one page in length, any longer and the letter may not be read. Writing points have been provided.

• Gain the support from the upper echelons of your institution (including the board of directors, CEO/president, through the top management). Their personal dedication sets an example for the rest of the eligible bank employees.

• Educate your board of directors and eligible bank officers about the long-term benefits of contributing to the CBA Federal PAC.

• Set a time limit for the Contribution Form included in the brochure to be completed and returned to the contact collecting contributions. Make sure that there are two pay periods in that time span.

• Individual contribution guidelines have been provided to stress the importance of everyone participating in the CBA Federal PAC. If these are not applicable, emphasize that participation at any level shows a commitment to the industry. By having everyone contribute, regardless of the amount, the total adds up to a sizeable investment.

• Highlight the importance of participation and that together you are ensuring the voice of the banking industry is heard by those who set our country's political course.

• Send a follow-up memo at a later date to serve as a reminder to those eligible contributors.

• Have eligible employees return the Contribution Form along with their contribution to you, to be forwarded to the CBA Federal PAC.

• Make contributing to the CBA Federal PAC a tradition in your institution.

• Call Mary Boruff at 916/438-4407 for the year-to-date contribution total for your institution.
  

Solicitation Guidelines

Please familiarize yourself with these guidelines before distributing CBA Federal PAC solicitation materials to your eligible employees. If you have chosen a group or department volunteer to assist you with the campaign, please be sure they understand these rules before beginning the solicitation process. The Federal Election Commission defines the legal parameters for a CBA Federal PAC solicitation, as follows:

• Who may be solicited:

  • Executive and administrative salaried personnel who have managerial, policy making, professional or supervisory responsibilities.

  • Executive and administrative personnel may include individuals who run your institution's business (officers, branch managers, division or group managers) and professionals, such as lawyers and accountants.

  • Board members and other stockholders, if they have a vested beneficial interest in the stock as well as the power to direct how their stock will be voted (if it is voting stock) and the right to receive dividends.

• Who may not be solicited:
  
  • Hourly wage employees.
  • Professionals represented by a labor organization.
  • Salaried foremen and others who supervise hourly employees.
  • Retired or former personnel who are not stockholders.
    
• Points to remember when soliciting eligible employees:
  
  • All contributions must be voluntary. No form of coercion, expressed or implied, may be used to solicit a contribution.
  • A suggested contribution is just that, a suggestion. The individual is free to contribute more or less than the suggested amount.
  • The individual must not be favored or disadvantaged due to the amount of their contribution, or their decision not to contribute.
  • Contributions to the CBA Federal PAC are not deductible for state or federal income tax purposes.
  • Federal law requires political action committees to report the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer for each individual whose contributions aggregate in excess of $200 in a calendar year.

Contribution Guidelines

The following individual contribution guidelines are only suggestions. If these guidelines are not appropriate for your bank, please feel free to revise them to suit your needs. What is most important is participation in the political process so we can work together to make a difference. If 20 of your eligible officers gave $50, the resulting $1,000 would be a significant investment in the future of the banking industry.

Fundraising goals are determined by a formula based on an institution's total assets. Your institution's fundraising goal is equal to $750 plus $2 for every one million dollars in total assets. Examples of fundraising goals for various asset sizes are provided below.

Writing and Talking Points

The following talking points are designed to assist you when writing a letter or memo to solicit your eligible employees for contributions to the CBA Federal PAC (see the following Sample Letter). Keep your letter under one page in length, any longer and the letter may not be read. Use bullet points to stress key points.

• The annual CBA Federal PAC fundraising campaign has begun in our institution and I encourage you to become a part of this important tradition. I have already made my own personal contribution to the CBA Federal PAC and I hope you will do the same.

• The CBA Federal PAC is the bipartisan federal political action committee of the California Bankers Association. The CBA Federal PAC's purpose is to solicit contributions from individual CBA members who support candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who share the conviction of competitive financial institution system.

• To those of you who have contributed to the CBA Federal PAC in the past, I thank you. To those of you who have not, I urge you to give serious consideration to making an investment for the future of the banking industry.

• Your individual contribution assists in the process of supporting candidates and elected officials who share our common interests.

• The financial institution industry has had an exceptional legislative year, and we need to keep the momentum going. These victories did not happen overnight, but after years of working to lay the foundation for political change.

• This year, our goal is $115,000. I encourage you to become part of the tradition of contributing in order to participate in the political process. Invest what you are able to at this time. If we all give what we can, we as an institution will have done an outstanding job.

• The CBA Federal PAC provides an opportunity to pool financial resources to support political candidates who share our common business interests.

• Our industry must have a strong voice to achieve a level playing field with our competitors.

• Change in our industry is inevitable. We must be actively involved in shaping these changes as they occur. We must be proactive in this process and one way to do this is by contributing to the CBA Federal PAC.

Your contribution to the CBA Federal PAC is a long-term investment which helps to lay the foundation for continued change in the legislative process.