CMDI releases Spark, the latest Republican secret fundraising weapon

TYSONS CORNER, Va., May 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- CMDI has launched what could become one of the most important online fundraising tools of the 2014 election cycle, Spark™ Smart Donation Forms.  Much like Amazon's recommendation engine that suggests products that will most likely appeal to a shopper based on their past shopping behavior, Spark looks at a donor's past giving history and generates custom donation amounts optimized for each donor's giving behavior.

"With current online fundraising methods, campaigns are leaving money on the table," said John Simms, CMDI founder. "Campaigns are pushing donors to generic forms that may ask for less than the donor has already given and fail to ask for an upgrade lift. Spark optimizes the 'ask' for each donor so campaigns can get the highest yield from each supporter."

Fundraising is not a one size fits all business. You shouldn't ask a $500 donor for $5. Nor should you ask a $5 donor for $1,000. By customizing the ask amount for each individual donor, campaigns can substantially increase their online fundraising totals.

In addition, Spark utilizes best-in-class online fundraising methodology to convert supporters into donors, including:

One-Click Donations

Popularized by the 2012 Obama for President campaign, enterprise one-click donation processing has not been available to Republican campaigns… until now. Starting today, Republican campaigns across the country have begun accepting political donations, sparked by the single click of a button. 

Spark's innovation is in how it allows campaigns to use any action by a supporter to trigger a donation. Donations can be triggered by:

• single clicks on a "donate" button,
• text messages,
• a link in an email,
• QR code scans,
• or any other action that takes place on an internet connected device.

"One-click is just the tip of the iceberg when you think about taking the friction out of fundraising," commented John Simms, CMDI's Founder. "With Spark, imagination is really the only limit in how campaigns can collect donations."

Another significant benefit of Spark is that donors who give to any campaign through Spark, can also one-click donate to any other campaign who also utilizes Spark. The pre-existing network of Spark donors will be a huge advantage for the 2016 Republican presidential cycle.

As friction is removed from the giving process, supporters are more likely to give more and more frequently.

Sequential multi-step contribution forms

For new donors to a campaign, it has been proven that sequential multi-step contribution forms can increase donation rates by 5%-10%. Spark now makes multi-step donation forms available to all Republican campaigns.

Learn more at cmdi.com/spark.

About CMDI – www.cmdi.com  
CMDI is America's largest Republican campaign finance services platform, providing software and FEC compliance services that have managed over $8.5 billion for federal campaigns and committees. During the 2012 cycle, CMDI's flagship software, Crimson, was used to manage $2 out of every $3 raised for Republican federal committees.

As a close partner with the Republican Party, CMDI has consistently provided innovative solutions throughout the company's 30 year history.

SOURCE CMDI