For Immediate Release Contact: Michael Malbin February 8, 2012 (202) 969-8890

Presidential Candidate Reports through Dec. 31



48% of President Obama’s 2011 Money Came from Small Donors – Better than Doubling 2007. Romney’s Small Donors: 9%



Attached tables summarize all of the 2007 and 2011 Candidates’ Donors Follow CFI on Twitter:



President Barack Obama’s small donor fundraising in 2011 outpaced all of his Republican opponents combined ($56.7 million to $38.1 million). In fact, Obama’s haul from small donors (ones whose contributions aggregated to $200 or less) was more than the $56.3 million that Mitt Romney, the leading GOP fundraiser, received from all donors combined (see



It is important to note that the Campaign Finance Institute has calculated and is reporting the aggregate amounts from the same donor, adding up multiple contributions that are shown to have come from the same person. The percentages therefore will be lower than those in reports that talk about contributions (not aggregated) of $200-or-less.



Obama in 2007 and 2011



The President has been able to capitalize on the 13-million person mailing list he assembled in 2008 to launch into small-donor fundraising at a much faster pace than four years ago. At the end of 2007, Obama had raised only 22% of $96.7 million from donors whose contributions aggregated to $200 or less (see



At the other end of the donating scale, the President’s campaign committee in 2011 raised “only” $33.4 million from donors who gave $1,000 or more, compared to $57.9 million in 2007. Of course, this $24.5 million decline hardly means that the President has forgotten how to raise money from large donors. As an open-seat candidate, Senator Obama in 2007-2008 did not have the Democratic National Committee’s support until the nomination was settled. The situation is different this time and the incumbent is able to use joint fundraising committees to raise money for both the candidate and party. “Obama Joint Victory Fund 2012” raised $89 million by the end of the year and transferred $44.1 million to the DNC. 74% of the joint fundraising committee’s money came from contributions of $20,000 or more (not aggregated). More than 99% came from contributions (not aggregated) of $1,000 or more.



The Republicans



Five of the Republican candidates also had high percentages of their 2011 money coming from small donors (aggregate amounts of $200 or less): Ron Paul (48%), Herman Cain (52%), Newt Gingrich (49%), Michele Bachmann (60%), and Charles “Buddy” Roemer (100%). All of these were high percentages of what were still modest totals. Rick Santorum raised 32% of his 2011 funds from donors who gave $200 or less. However, Santorum raised only $2.1 million in 2011. After his early successes, Santorum reportedly experienced a fundraising surge whose details have not yet been reported to the Federal election Commission.



In contrast, Mitt Romney raised only 9% of his 2011 funds from donors who gave $200 or less in the aggregate. Two-thirds of Romney $56.3 million came from donors who gave $2,500, which is the maximum legal contribution to a federal candidate in 2011-2012. An additional 15% came from donors who gave $1,000-$2,499. These percentages are almost identical to the ones Romney posted at the end of 2007.



List of Tables:















The Campaign Finance Institute is a non-partisan, non-profit research institute. Statements of the Campaign Finance Institute and its Task Forces do not necessarily reflect the views of CFI's Trustees or financial supporters.





# 30 # President Barack Obama’s small donor fundraising in 2011 outpaced all of his Republican opponents combined ($56.7 million to $38.1 million). In fact, Obama’s haul from small donors (ones whose contributions aggregated to $200 or less) was more than the $56.3 million that Mitt Romney, the leading GOP fundraiser, received from all donors combined (see Table 1 ). Because small donors can give again, and may be willing to serve as campaign volunteers, successful small donor fundraising can serve a political purpose that goes well beyond the reported dollars.It is important to note that the Campaign Finance Institute has calculated and is reporting the aggregate amounts from the same donor, adding up multiple contributions that are shown to have come from the same person. The percentages therefore will be lower than those in reports that talk about contributions (not aggregated) of $200-or-less.The President has been able to capitalize on the 13-million person mailing list he assembled in 2008 to launch into small-donor fundraising at a much faster pace than four years ago. At the end of 2007, Obama had raised only 22% of $96.7 million from donors whose contributions aggregated to $200 or less (see Table 2 ). The campaign had to rely on large contributions for the first nine months before his campaign developed the support base for a mass fundraising campaign. One can almost see the 2007 campaign shift its fundraising gears by looking at the record of contributions without aggregating them. The Obama campaign raised 28% of its money through September 2007 in contributions of $200 or less (not aggregated). In the fourth quarter, this shot up to 46% (again not aggregated) and then stayed at those high levels through 2008. In all, 32% of Obama’s money in 2007 came from contributions of $200 or less. The aggregated total was only 22% because of multiple giving by donors who crossed the $200 disclosure threshold.At the other end of the donating scale, the President’s campaign committee in 2011 raised “only” $33.4 million from donors who gave $1,000 or more, compared to $57.9 million in 2007. Of course, this $24.5 million decline hardly means that the President has forgotten how to raise money from large donors. As an open-seat candidate, Senator Obama in 2007-2008 did not have the Democratic National Committee’s support until the nomination was settled. The situation is different this time and the incumbent is able to use joint fundraising committees to raise money for both the candidate and party. “Obama Joint Victory Fund 2012” raised $89 million by the end of the year and transferred $44.1 million to the DNC. 74% of the joint fundraising committee’s money came from contributions of $20,000 or more (not aggregated). More than 99% came from contributions (not aggregated) of $1,000 or more.Five of the Republican candidates also had high percentages of their 2011 money coming from small donors (aggregate amounts of $200 or less): Ron Paul (48%), Herman Cain (52%), Newt Gingrich (49%), Michele Bachmann (60%), and Charles “Buddy” Roemer (100%). All of these were high percentages of what were still modest totals. Rick Santorum raised 32% of his 2011 funds from donors who gave $200 or less. However, Santorum raised only $2.1 million in 2011. After his early successes, Santorum reportedly experienced a fundraising surge whose details have not yet been reported to the Federal election Commission.In contrast, Mitt Romney raised only 9% of his 2011 funds from donors who gave $200 or less in the aggregate. Two-thirds of Romney $56.3 million came from donors who gave $2,500, which is the maximum legal contribution to a federal candidate in 2011-2012. An additional 15% came from donors who gave $1,000-$2,499. These percentages are almost identical to the ones Romney posted at the end of 2007. Table 1 . Individual Donors to 2012 Presidential Candidates Through December 31, 2011 Table 2 . Individual Donors to 2008 Presidential Candidates Through December 31, 2007



