Candidates Benefit from Lowest Unit Costs
Did you know candidates are entitled to the lowest unit charge (LUC) – also referred to as lowest unit rate (LUR) – during election cycles which is the lowest advertising rate “of the station for the same class and amount of time for the same period.”
This provides a candidate the benefit of all discounts offered to a commercial advertiser for the same class and amount of time, without regard to the frequency of the candidate’s advertising.
What is Hard Money?
When cash is contributed directly to a political candidate, it is known as a "hard money" contribution. These contributions may only come from an individual or a political action committee (PAC) and must follow the strict limits set forth by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
What is Soft Money?
Cash contributed to a political party or political action committee with no limits attached to the amount that can be received is known as a "soft money" contribution. The funds can come from individuals and political action committees as with "hard money," but they can also come from any other source, such as corporations.
What does that mean for my grassroots dollar?
Let's say you want to support the 200+ candidates endorsed by Planned Parenthood to help codify Roe v Wade. Using movements on Sprinkle, you can donate to them all directly all at once with 90% or more of your money received directly by the candidates who then enjoy the benefits of the maximum available discounts on advertising.
On average, a Super PAC would have to spend around $ 2-3 million to acquire the same level of advertising weight that an official campaign could purchase for around $ 1 million.
During election seasons, if you are a new political donor who is willing to provide your money to help candidates as long as you know your dollars are being put to good use, you should prioritize direct to candidate contributions [hard money] so that your dollars go further by way of discounts and promotions that only candidates benefit from & receive.A $30 donation on Sprinkle to your top 10 favorite candidates, $27 is distributed equally to your candidate picks directly.
With the same $30 donation to a PAC, $0 is distributed to your candidate packs with your money spent against 200-300% advertising markups.
You are in charge of your money. The same $30 donation on Sprinkle has the purchasing power of only $9 (est.) provided away from Sprinkle.
OK, so direct to candidate contributions [hard money] have a 3:1 bang for my grassroots buck.
Why not email a candidate and donate directly to them via ActBlue or WinRed?
When you go to a candidate's website, they likely use a processing tool for donations that will ask for your phone number + email address. On average during election seasons, donors receive 25+ calls/emails/texts per week AFTER a first time donation from other candidates than who they donated to.
With Sprinkle - donors get secure processing that doesn't result in spam that also has value of hard money. On Sprinkle users get privacy and easy impact that hasn't been available to donors before.