In-kind contributions Goods and services Goods or services offered free or at less than the usual charge result in an in-kind contribution. How to report In-kind contributions. Advances of personal funds When an individual uses personal funds or personal credit to pay for a campaign expense, that payment is generally an in-kind contribution from that individual.
Learn more about advances by individuals. Coordinated communications When a committee, group or individual pays for a communication that is coordinated with a campaign or a candidate, the communication is either an in-kind contribution or, in some limited cases, a coordinated party expenditure by a party committee.
Learn more about coordinated communications. How to report Contributions received through conduits. Learn more about earmarked contributions.
Learn more about lobbyist bundling. Joint contributions A joint contribution is a contribution that is made by more than one person using a single check or other written instrument. Each contributor must sign the check When making a joint contribution, each contributor must sign the check or other written instrument or a statement that accompanies the contribution. Attribution If the check or statement does not indicate how much should be attributed to each donor, the recipient committee must attribute the contribution in equal portions.
How to report Joint contributions. Joint fundraising Joint fundraising is election-related fundraising conducted jointly by a political committee and one or more other political committees or unregistered organizations.
All participants in a joint fundraising effort, including unregistered organizations, must: Create or select a federal political committee to act as the joint fundraising representative; Agree to a formula for allocating proceeds and expenses; Sign a written agreement naming the joint fundraising representative and stating the allocation formula; Establish a separate account for joint fundraising receipts and disbursements; Notify the public of the allocation formula and certain other information when soliciting contributions; Screen contributions to make sure they comply with the limits and prohibitions; and Report allocated proceeds and expenses applies to political committees only.
In AO , the Commission allowed a federal officeholder to use campaign funds to cover her costs for a Spanish immersion class that she took to better communicate with her constituents. However, the Commission has allowed the use of campaign funds to pay for home security enhancements made in response to threats to an officeholder's safety.
The campaign may not pay for admission to sporting events, concerts, theater and other forms of entertainment. Campaign funds may be used, however, if the entertainment is part of a specific officeholder or campaign activity.
They may not be used for a leisure outing at which the discussion occasionally focuses on the campaign or official functions. Campaign funds may be used for membership dues in an organization that may have political interests. Any salary payments to family members in excess of the fair market value constitute personal use. For other expenses not mentioned on this page, the Commission will determine, on a case-by-case basis, whether the expense is one that would exist irrespective of the candidate's campaign or duties as a federal officeholder and would be considered a personal use expense.
For example, the Commission addresses payments for meals, travel, vehicles, mixed-use and legal expenses on a case-by-case basis. Campaign funds may be used to pay for meals during face-to-face fundraising events.
By contrast, a candidate may not use campaign funds to take his or her family out to dinner. The regulations, however, prohibit the use of campaign funds for personal expenses collateral to travel—either campaign or officeholder—unless personal funds are used to reimburse the committee.
Campaign funds may be used to pay for a vehicle that is used for campaign-related purposes, assuming that the costs related to the personal use of the vehicle are de minimis. Campaign funds cannot be used to pay for expenses relating to the personal use of a campaign vehicle unless those expenses are de minimis , that is, unless they are insignificant in relation to the overall vehicle use.
The reimbursement does not constitute a contribution. The committee must maintain logs of the expenses to help the Commission determine on a case-by-case basis what portion was for personal use rather than for campaign-related activity or officeholder duties. Using the irrespective test summarized on this page, the Commission decides on a case-by-case basis whether legal expenses are considered "personal use" and thus are expenses that a candidate may not pay for using campaign funds.
In several advisory opinions the Commission has said that campaign funds may be used to pay for up to percent of legal expenses related to campaign or officeholder activity, where such expenses would not have occurred had the individual not been a candidate or officeholder.
Generally, when a third party not the candidate or the candidate's committee pays for personal use expenses, the third party makes a contribution, subject to the restrictions and limitations of the Federal Election Campaign Act. Candidates and Political Action Committees — super PACs — established in their name collect millions in contributions. These are the official committees run by the candidate and their campaign team.
The Federal Election Commission has put into place rules that control how money is spent after a candidate bows out or the election process ends. Expenses that are automatically considered personal use include household items, mortgage or rent for a personal residence and salary payments to the candidate's family, unless the family member provides a bona fide service to the campaign and the payment reflects the value for the service in the free market.
The contributions can be used in the following ways:. Alternatively, the candidate can redesignate or redistribute their general election funds with the contributor's permission. Contributions, ideally, should not be lying around. They should be spent as quickly as they come in to maximize the chances of the candidate. However, a super PAC can have money left if those at the helm were reluctant or inept.
Super PACs cannot coordinate with a federal candidate or donate to a national political party committee. Also, the treasurer of the super PAC is not legally obligated to refund any of the money to donors but often do. Federal Election Commission. Federal Election Committee. Tampa Bay Times. The Federal Election Commission has strict rules about what federal candidates can and can't do with leftover campaign money, and the biggest directive is that they can't pocket it for personal use.
However, those regulations don't apply to the relatively new super PACs Political Action Committees ; this is only the third election where they have played a role, and there are currently no rules to stipulate what happens to that money beyond that it cannot go to fund another federal candidate. Much of that money tends to be returned to its original donors, used to wrap up the failed campaign, or donated to back a state-level candidate.
The goal, however, is always to spend all of that money. As for winning or sometimes losing politicians, they'll often put their leftover funds toward their next race.
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