Ramaswamy pitch: Raise money for me, keep 10%

 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy gives his followers a cut of the action if they prod their friends, family, and social media followers to help fill his fledgling campaign’s coffers.

His most ardent supporters are able to join a program called "Vivek’s Kitchen Cabinet" and share a personalized donation link as widely as they wish. If their entreaties are successful, they will get a commission equal to 10%.

It remains to be seen if donors will be eager to openly split their donations between their friends and the candidate, but it is being billed by the campaign as a way to revolutionize grassroots political fundraising. Ben Yoho, Ramaswamy’s campaign head, told Yahoo Finance in an interview much of the inspiration came from the candidate's own time in the business world.

"Like anything in business and in campaigns, you see what works and what doesn't," Yoho said of the new effort. He said the program is an attempt to further engage supporters on a variety of fronts — from donations to campaign fieldwork to turning out on election day.

"I believe this will break the dam open," he added.

Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican candidate for president, outside the US Capitol on June 22. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

In addition to cold hard cash, the campaign says the program will also include other elements, like a personal digital dashboard to track progress, free campaign merchandise, access to special events, and calls with the candidate.

'A novel approach to fundraising'

There are limited public examples of campaign programs of this nature.

Professional campaign fundraisers most commonly are paid with salaries or monthly retainers for their services. Performance bonuses could be linked to the amount of donations that he or she solicits, but less common are fundraising arrangements that give the solicitor such a direct cut of the money they shake loose.

But it’s far from unprecedented.

A 2015 New York Times investigation into the world of donor advisors — some of whom have earned commissions from the donations they line up — highlighted the practice but also a key downside: Donors often get turned off when they learn that not all of their money is headed to the candidate.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/this-2024-gop-hopeful-has-a-new-pitch-raise-money-for-me-keep-10-130002652.html