Number of Small Campaign Contributors Soars
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The number of people making small contributions to citywide electoral campaigns has soared in the past six months, largely due to campaign finance reforms, according to a report issued yesterday by the city’s campaign finance board.
As of January 11, only 57% of all donors to citywide campaigns gave sums of $250 or less, which is the board’s definition of a “small donor,” the report stated. But during the six months following that date, about 72% of all donors gave small contributions.
If that upward trend continues, the 2009 election cycle could have the highest proportion of small donors in the past decade, according to data issued in the report.
The board attributed the shift to recent legislation that encourages small donations by placing more restrictions on donors who have business dealings with the city and by providing matching funds for the first $175 of any contribution from a city resident.
In the same six months, however, overall fund-raising slowed by about 15%, according to data from the board database.
