Duke Energy Corp CEO Jim Rogers announces Charlotte as the site of the 2012 Democratic National Convention. DNC: No corporate cash at convention

For the first time, the Democratic National Convention will not accept donations from corporations, PACs or federal lobbyists in 2012.

Individual contributions also will be capped — another first — at $100,000, according to the contract governing the convention.


Democrats say the policy is in keeping with the fundraising focus that powered President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign.

“From the very beginning, President Obama has placed a high priority on increasing the influence of grass-roots and individual donors, and this convention will go further in that direction than any convention ever,” Democratic National Committee spokesman Brad Woodhouse said.

The committee aims to raise $36 million for the convention to be held in Charlotte, N.C., the week of Sept. 3, 2012.

The donor policy explains a mysterious line in the announcement e-mail from first lady Michelle Obama that the party had until now refused to explain.

“We will finance this convention differently than it’s been done in the past, and we will make sure everyone feels closely tied in to what is happening in Charlotte,” Obama wrote in announcing the site of the convention Tuesday. “This will be a different convention, for a different time.”

The contract states that “monetary contributions from any incorporated for-profit entity” to the host committee for the convention will be prohibited, along with monetary or in-kind contributions from “political organizations” and “individuals registered as federal lobbyists.” Lobbyists may not serve on the convention host committee, either.

Also banned are in-kind contributions of goods and services from entities that received “TARP or other bailout funds, unless those funds have been repaid in full to the U.S. government.” And the contract dictates that all convention donations will be disclosed online.

“This convention and the new way it is being financed will allow more people from all over the country to be involved in this historic event, to have ownership of this convention and help fulfill the president’s vision for moving the country forward and winning the future,” Woodhouse said. “This unprecedented step is another sign that things are continuing to change under President Obama’s leadership and that this will, in fact, be the ‘People’s Convention.’”