Can I donate small amounts to political candidates anonymously?
Today’s mail brought an envelope from the Bernie Sanders for President campaign. I’d like to send him a contribution, but I hesitate for two reasons:
1) I don’t want the campaign to sell my name and address to other candidates and other causes. I don’t want to get a lot of junk mail from groups I have no interest in. Once on a mailing list, you’re tagged for life.
2) I don’t want my name and address to show up on the Federal election Commission web site (and others) where people can look up a city, state, etc., and see who is contributing to who.
Is there a way to give $$ to a political campaign and not show up on these sites and mailing lists?
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
8 Answers
Give to a Superpac. They don’t have to disclose shit.
Or get a bank money order and donate without giving your name and address. It cost a couple of bucks but your ID is protected.
I found this answer on a political board….
Either:
– go to a fundraising event held by that party. There will be a basket by the door where people put checks. Instead of a check, put $199 in cash. If they have a guest book, don’t sign it.
or
– mail an envelope with $199 in cash to the party office, with no return address. Put opaque paper around the cash, so it isn’t visible thru the envelope, lest it get stolen in the mail.
or
– walk into the party headquarters, say I want to donate to the party, and hand them $199 in cash. Then walk out. They will ask for your name, address, etc. so they can send you a Thank-you note. Just say that’s not necessary, and decline to give them that info. They will still be polite (& grateful), since you did just donate to them.
P.S. This really isn’t necessary.
I help maintain the database for a political party. We have specific flags on it for ‘Do Not Phone’, ‘Do Not Mail’, and ‘Do Not Email’. And we do mark those flags when requested, and definately pay attention to them when sending stuff. (I just marked a couple dozen as Do-Not-Email this afternoon, based on peoples’ requests.) We pay attention because we don’t want to upset our supporters, obviously. But also, just like you dislike getting unwanted stuff from us, we dislike wasting our money sending it to you if you’re not going to respond.
So you really don’t have to go to this extent to donate ‘anonymously’; just give a donation and clearly state that you want to be kept off their phone call / letter / email lists. They should pay attention to that.
And it always takes less energy for you to hang up the phone or throw away the letter than it took them to make the phone call or mail you the letter.
I had this conundrum with a recent “Smith&Jones” campaign.
A local promotions shop agreed to make car magnets for around .75¢ each. I think I donated $40 worth and maybe had to order a second batch.
Donate to your local political party headquarters and be prepared to donate the copyright/Image.
Bernie Sanders is a candidate for federal office and, thus, is subject to federal election law. Under 11 CFR 110.4©, an anonymous cash contribution is limited to $50. If you donate more than $50 to Mr. Sanders, in cash and anonymously, the his campaign committee will be required to use the excess for some purpose unrelated to a federal election (usually, the amount gets forwarded to a charitable organization).
The rules are very different for state and local elections. You need to do some research before you contribute, but information’s generally easy to find online.
I serve as Treasurer for a Virginia state senator’s campaign committee. Under Virginia law, we’re not allowed to accept any anonymous donations. If someone drops cash into a basket at one of our events, I have to send the money to a qualified recipient.
Response moderated (Spam)
Answer this question 
This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.
Composing members:
0
