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      Joint fundraising with other candidates and political committees

Joint fundraising with other candidates and political committees Joint fundraising is election-related fundraising conducted jointly by a political committee and one or more other political committees or unregistered organizations. The rules described apply to political committees and unregistered organizations engaged in joint fundraising. Please note that nothing in these rules supersedes the fundraising restrictions of 11 CFR Part 300.
 Joint fundraising basics
          
            Joint fundraising representative
          
            Allocation and written agreement
          
            Separate depository account
          
            Joint fundraising notice
          
            Screening contributions and recordkeeping
          
            Paying expenses
          
            Continue learning
          
          
            Legal citations
 Joint fundraising basics

  
  
    All participants in a joint fundraising effort, including unregistered organizations, must:Create or select a federal political committee to act as the joint fundraising representative;Agree to a formula for allocating proceeds and expenses;Sign a written agreement naming the joint fundraising representative and stating the allocation formula;Establish a separate account for joint fundraising receipts and disbursements;Notify the public of the allocation formula and certain other information when soliciting contributions;Screen contributions to make sure they comply with the limits and prohibitions of the Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act); andReport allocated proceeds and expenses (applies to political committees only).The committee named as the fundraising representative has additional responsibilities.
      
      Levin fundraising (party committees only)State and local party committees may not raise Levin funds through joint fundraising activity with any other state or local party committee. This prohibition applies to committees in different states as well. However, state and local party committees may jointly raise funds which are not used for Federal Election Activity (FEA).In addition, national party committees may not participate in any joint fundraiser where nonfederal or Levin funds are raised.
 Joint fundraising representative

  
  
    Joint fundraising participants must either establish a new political committee (using a Statement of Organization (Form 1)) or select a participating political committee to act as the joint fundraising representative. (It is strongly recommended for ease of compliance with the law that participants establish a new political committee.)This committee is responsible for:Collecting and depositing joint fundraising contributions;Paying expenses;Allocating proceeds and expenses to each participant;Keeping records; andReporting overall joint fundraising activity.Registering and naming the joint fundraising representativeA new political committee established for the joint fundraiser must register with the FEC using Form 1 (Statement of Organization), and must include the name of each participating federal candidate in the new committee’s name. (An existing committee would be required to amend its Statement of Organization.) Thus, for example, a joint fundraising committee established to raise funds for a candidate and a party could not be called "Victory '24," but might be called the "John Doe Victory '24" committee. Any federal candidate participating in the fundraiser must designate the fundraising representative as an authorized committee (by amending the Statement of Candidacy (Form 2)).
      
      Icon of an example
      How to report
        Registering a joint fundraising representative

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      How to report
        As a joint fundraising representative
      
      Collecting and forwarding contributionsIf a new committee is established, it collects all the contributions. Note that such a committee may not itself be a participant in any other joint fundraising effort, though it may conduct more than one event or activity on behalf of its own participants. Alternatively, if a committee participating in the fundraiser serves as the joint fundraising representative, it and any other participating committees may collect contributions; however, all contributions received by the other participants must be forwarded to the joint fundraising representative within 10 days of receipt.Use of commercial firmAlthough participants may hire a commercial fundraising firm or other type of agent to assist with organizing and holding the joint fundraiser, they are still required to establish or select a new political committee to serve as the fundraising representative.
 Allocation and written agreement

  
  
    Before conducting a joint fundraiser, all participants must enter into a written agreement that identifies the joint fundraising representative and states the allocation formula—the amount or percentage that the participants agree to use for allocating proceeds and expenses. The joint fundraising representative must retain a copy of the written agreement for three years and make it available to the FEC upon request.
 Separate depository account

  
  
    The joint fundraising participants or the joint fundraising representative must establish a separate account solely for the receipt and disbursement of all joint fundraising proceeds. Each participating political committee must amend its Statement of Organization (Form 1) to show the account as an additional depository.Depositing contributionsThe joint fundraising representative must deposit contributions into the account within 10 days after receiving them. Only contributions permissible under the Act may be deposited in the joint fundraising account. If any participant is an unregistered organization which may, under state law, accept prohibited contributions, the participants may either establish a second account for such contributions or forward them directly to the participants that may accept them.Start-up costsParticipants may advance funds to the joint fundraising representative for start-up costs of the fundraiser. (Note, however, that individuals may not advance such costs or pay for expenses out of pocket to be reimbursed later.) The amount advanced by a participant should be in proportion to the agreed upon allocation formula. Any amount advanced in excess of a participant’s proportionate share is considered a contribution and must not exceed the amount the participant may contribute to the other participants (However, an exception is made for funds transferred between party committees.)
      
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      Example scenario
        Allocating joint fundraising start-up costs
      
      Unregistered organizationsAn unregistered organization (such as a party organization that has not yet qualified as a political committee) must use permissible funds when advancing money for start-up costs. If an unregistered participant advances more than its share of start-up costs and thus makes a contribution, the contributed amount may trigger registration and reporting requirements under the Act.
 Joint fundraising notice

  
  
    In addition to any fundraising or disclaimer notices required, a joint fundraising notice must appear with every solicitation for contributions. The notice must contain the following information:The names of all participants, regardless of whether they are registered political committees or unregistered organizations;The allocation formula (the amount or percentage of each contribution that will be allocated to each participant);A statement informing contributors that they may designate contributions for a particular participant (notwithstanding the formula); andA statement that the allocation formula may change if any contributor makes a contribution which would exceed the amount he or she may lawfully give to any participant.In two situations, participants must include additional information in the joint fundraising notice:If a participant is engaging in the joint fundraiser to pay off outstanding debts, the notice must state that the allocation formula may change if the participant receives enough funds to pay its debts.If, under state law, any unregistered participant is permitted to receive contributions prohibited under the Act, the notice must say that such contributions will be given only to participants that may legally accept them.
      
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      Joint fundraiser disclaimer example
 Screening contributions and recordkeeping

  
  
    Screening contributionsThe fundraising representative and participants must screen all contributions to make sure they are neither prohibited by the Act nor in excess of the Act's contribution limits. The maximum amount a contributor may give to a joint fundraiser is the total amount he or she may contribute to all participants without exceeding any limits.To facilitate screening, participants must provide the joint fundraising representative with records of past contributions so that the representative may determine whether a donor has exceeded the contribution limits.
      
      RecordkeepingReceiptsWith regard to gross proceeds, the joint fundraising representative must collect the required recordkeeping information and later forward it to the participating political committees. The date of receipt is the date the joint fundraising representative receives the contribution.Prohibited contributionsThe joint fundraising representative must also keep a record of the total amount of prohibited contributions received, if any, and of any transfers containing prohibited funds made to participants that may accept them.DisbursementsThe joint fundraising representative must retain, for three years, the required records on all disbursements made for the joint fundraiser.
      
      Learn more about keeping records
 Paying expenses

  
  
    In general, expenses must be paid before proceeds may be transferred to the participants. Thus, the joint fundraising representative may make payments for fundraising expenses from gross proceeds collected at the fundraiser (and from funds advanced by the participants). Nevertheless, it must allocate (but not transfer) gross proceeds among the participants.Step 1: Allocate gross proceedsGenerally, the joint fundraising representative must allocate gross proceeds according to the allocation formula. However, as stated in the fundraising notice, the formula may change if the allocation results in:An excessive contribution from a contributor to one of the participating committees; orA surplus for a participant raising money solely to pay off campaign debts.Reallocation under these circumstances must be based on the other participants’ proportionate shares under the allocation formula. If reallocation results in a contributor exceeding the contribution limits for the remaining participants, the joint fundraising representative must return the excess amount to the contributor.
      
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      Example scenario
        Allocating gross joint fundraising proceeds
      
      Designated contributionsDesignated or earmarked contributions that exceed the contributor’s limit for a participant may not be reallocated without the prior written consent of the contributor.Prohibited contributionsProhibited contributions must be distributed only to the unregistered participants that may lawfully accept them; they do not have to be distributed according to the allocation formula.Step 2: Allocating expensesAfter gross proceeds are allocated, the joint fundraising representative must calculate each participant’s share of expenses based on its actual share of gross proceeds. This allocation may differ from the original formula. (Prohibited contributions may be excluded from the gross proceeds when determining the ratio.) Expenses for a series of fundraising events must be allocated on a per-event basis.
      
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      Example scenario
        Allocating joint fundraising expenses among participants
      
      Step 3: Calculating net proceedsThe joint fundraising representative may delay transferring net proceeds to participants until after it receives all contributions and pays all expenses for the fundraiser. To determine net proceeds, the fundraising representative subtracts the participant’s share of expenses from its share of gross proceeds.Reporting by joint fundraising representativeThe joint fundraising representative must also report all disbursements made for the joint fundraiser in the reporting period in which they are made. Transfers of net proceeds to the joint fundraising participants are reported as transfers to affiliated committees and itemized on a separate Schedule B for that category.
      
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      How to report
        Joint fundraising transfers
 Continue learning

  
  
    Video: Joint Fundraising
 Legal citations Regulations 11 CFR 102.13(a)Authorization of political committees 11 CFR 102.14Names of political committees 11 CFR 102.17Joint fundraising by committees other than separate segregated funds
 Advisory opinions AO 2013-13Application of disclaimer requirement to written communications by joint fundraising committee AO 2007-24Permissibility of joint campaign fundraising and spending


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This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public. The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.


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