Comments on Fiscal Organization
Submitted by Jeff on 13 August 2007 - 8:46am.
Fiscal | Funding | Green | greens | Money | Montana | MT | Organization | Organize | Outreach
This summer is illustrating a need for an organized party strategy within the state of Montana. Allow me to explain. At present the Montana Green Party is running on a zero dollar budget with no evident plan for getting the signatures we need to regain ballot access. If we had collected some funding three months ago we could have taken advantage of the opportunity to make a presence at each of the major fairs within the summer by renting booths in the expo centers. Due to a lack of foresight and a greater lack of planning we have missed this fantastic opportunity. So where do we go from here?
Now that we have become affiliated with the national party our state organization is entitled to quarterly profit sharing. However the GPUS is forced to make those payouts retroactively due to fiscal shortcomings. Because of this we have yet to receive any funding from the national party. If we cannot rely on the national party for funding then we must supply our own. One option to supply our own funding base is to charge an annual state party membership fee. A $4 fee (which coupled with the GPUS fee is a total of $40) is a small price to pay in this situation. Of course this would require the establishment of a collection apparatus but it needs to be organized now so that we can be prepared for more intense work and fundraising in the future.
Funding will help us in two ways; one, it will allow us the opportunity to broaden our outreach efforts and two, it will serve as a motivator to existing and future party members when we can start to realize our outreach goals. Of course arguments can be made in both support of and opposition to this proposal. However the state party is practically comatose. Without statewide outreach organization and project funding there will not be a Green presence in 2008.
Growing the Green Party in Montana
Submitted by Paul Stephens on 13 August 2007 - 6:06pm.
Would you like to be Treasurer, Jeff? I agree with your analysis entirely. Fund-raising must be a priority if we are ever to get anywhere. Now that there seems to be a genuine groundswell of interest in a Montana Green Party -especially among the younger people, we need to build on that and get something going for next year.
We could have collected a lot of signatures at the fairs, no doubt, but in Billings and Great Falls, our past efforts (some of them large and well-funded) have been largely unsuccessful. I ran twice as a GP candidate in local elections, in each case getting 5-10% of the vote. People will vote for us and sign petitions, but they are actually fearful of joining or making public their support for the Green Party. This is a well-founded fear - I know of more than a few people who have lost jobs, friends, and even spouses or other family relationships because of supporting the Green Party.
For those motivated by fear, and unwilling to resist the Stalinist tactics, there is no hope except at the ballot box, where their votes are supposedly secret (The fact that each ballot is numbered discourages some people from even voting, and there are many others who have opted out of politics altogether, knowing how corrupt it is. Getting them to register is a big step in itself.) And this greatly reduces contributions over the anonymous minimum, because they are public information, and the fear factor enters here, too.
In any case, we appreciate your leadership, and hope you will be able to make a big impact on the large Green population of Missoula.
Paul Stephens, CasCoGreens
Raising the Money We Need
The truth hurts! We don’t have any money.
Actually, we have about $80, but that won’t go far. At MGP meetings, we have discussed dues, but we thought it would be unfair to low income people. And it’s embarrassing for them to have to ask for a waiver. I think giving should still be voluntary.
So we have been using the “pay it yourself as we go” plan. For signature gathering, it seemed reasonable that each petitioner pay for his/her own forms and flyers to be printed. Expenses like printing can be documented as “in-kind contributions” to the MGP. Just send your receipts with a short description of what it was for, along with your name and address, to our Treasurer. He will include in-kind contributions on his regular reports to the state.
Most cities have Farmer’s Markets, so we can still gather signatures there. Here they don’t charge just to have a clipboard and walk around. And of course you can be on any public sidewalk. In Billings we can only have a clipboard and walk, but folks in Bozeman said they can set up a table right on the sidewalk. I guess it’s different in every city. And there’s always door-to-door. Those wouldn’t cost us any money.
But after we get on the ballot, we will need some money to campaign next year. And maybe we could raise enough to help send our delegates to the National Convention. How are we going to accomplish this?
One way is to ask members to pledge money. I don’t think $4 a year will be enough. We all know that it’s easier to make payments than to pay a larger amount all at once. So how about pledges? Each member could look at their own budget and decide how much they could afford to send each month; maybe $5 or $10, or more. In-kind contributions could be included in that amount. Let’s say you decide on $10 a month, and next month you spend $5 on printing for the signature drive. You would send your receipt plus $5.
Here's some math. We have about 50 members; $10 per month x 50 members = $500 per month. Sept 2007 to May 2008 is 9 months, which adds up to $4500. That should give us a really good campaign. Most people should be able to give $10 a month.
Anyway, I'm pledging $10 every month, including in-kind contributions, to the MGP. Anybody else have a better idea? (There are no rich Greens to ask for large contributions. There's just us.)
How much does the success of the Green Party mean to you?
Our Treasurer's info:
Bob Beck, MGP Treasurer
P O Box 162
Somers, MT 59932
You can send a check or money order, and/or your in-kind contribution info. Make checks payable to Montana Green Party. The state wants to know your name, address, date and amount of contribution, occupation and place of business.