Electoral Dysfunction?

Back in 1992, Bill Clinton and Al Gore ended 12 years of Reagan-Bush rule, and many environmental organizations, still aglow from the victory, found their revenue dropped — because their donors figured that with the election, they had won the battle.

If we move beyond anecdotal evidence, there is precious little data to prove whether the presidential fundraising season helps or hinders direct-response fundraising results for nonprofits — either for acquisition or cultivation. According to Giving USA, "the Center on Philanthropy's statistical analysis of total giving and individual giving shows no correlation between rates of change in giving and presidential elections — either the year before the election or the year of the election."