Personalized Political Fundraising on the Web

The advent of political fundraising has emerged online. The 2004 election series saw a dramatic increase in the amount of donations submitted via the Internet. The largest demographic of online donors were first time contributors and young voters (18-34 respectively). 80 percent of this demographic submitted a donation online and 67 percent of people ages 35-50 did as well.


With such an increase in the popularity of contributing to a political candidate, party or cause via online means, what will upcoming elections bring to the mix? It might be plausible that online promotions for political candidates will take a more prominent role on the Web in the years to come. As Enid Burns of Clickz Network states, “The Internet is viewed as a cheaper, more engaging way to request money. Exchanges between a political party and potential donor can be highly personalized, and requests can be tied to issues seen as important to an individual user” (2006).