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Campaign Finance Activity & Reporting
Contributions
Basic Rules for
Contributions
Definition
A contribution is money or any thing of value received by a candidate or committee for the purpose
of advocating or opposing the election or defeat of any candidate.
What must be reported?
1. You must report the full name of the person or group that contributed money
and the amount. All money must be reported.
2. When a contribution comes in the form of a check drawn on a joint account, the
person signing the check is the contributor, unless the parties
specifically tell you otherwise.
3. If the contribution is more than $50.00 ($50.01 and up), the contribution
cannot be cash. The contribution may be made by check, money order, credit
card, or electronic fund transfer. You cannot accept foreign
currency.
4. If contributions received from an individual or committee
relating to an election total more than $250.00 ($250.01 and up), you must
also report the residence or mailing address of the individual or
committee. If the contributor is a person, you must also report what the
contributor does to earn a living (occupation) and the individual's
primary employer or business association, such as a company the
contributor owns (business affiliation). If the contributor is a
committee, you must report the committee's affiliation (the group with
which the committee is associated, such as the corporation connected to a
corporate PAC.)
Contribution limits
1. The maximum contribution allowed to any campaign for nomination or
election to any office is $1,000.00 ($1,000.00 for the primary election
and $1,000.00 for the general election). However, a candidate may
contribute any amount to his or her individual campaign committee.
2. The maximum allowed contribution to any political action committee which supports or
opposes candidates is $1,000 for the primary election and $1,000 for the
general election. Committees which support or oppose only
ballot issues are not subject to the contribution limits.
Please Note: Non-federal candidates running for office
in West Virginia cannot accept contributions from an IRS 527 organization.
Candidate's contributions
If a candidate spends his or her own money in the campaign, that amount must be treated
either as a contribution or a loan. If the money is listed as a
contribution, that money cannot be returned. If a candidate hopes to
recover part of the money at the end of the campaign, a loan must be
executed in writing and reported under the loan section. Without a
completed loan agreement, the candidate's money is a
contribution. For more information, go to Loans.
After the campaign
A candidate may not accept more contributions after all the bills and loans are paid. For example, a candidate in
2000 can't use his or her 2000 committee to continue fundraising for a future election.
Anonymous Contributions
1. If you can identify the
donor (such as money accompanied by a request to keep the donor's identity
private), you must either report the donor's identity or return the
contribution to the donor.
2.
If you cannot
identify the donor, you must turn the money over to the State of West
Virginia General Fund. Send an amount equal to the total of the anonymous
contribution(s) for the reporting period to the State of West Virginia
General Fund, c/o Secretary of State, Bldg. 1, Suite 157-K, 1900 Kanawha
Blvd. East, Charleston, WV 25305-0770.
3.
On
your campaign finance report, list each anonymous contribution and the
amount and date on the contributions section of the report. Then,
list the amount you sent from your campaign to the State of West Virginia
General Fund in the expenditures section of the report.
4.
DO NOT SPEND ANONYMOUS CONTRIBUTIONS FOR YOUR CAMPAIGN.
Corporate Contributions and Corporate
PACs
1.
Corporations may not make direct political
contributions, either of money or in-kind support, to candidates or other
political action committees, and may not make direct
expenditures to support or oppose candidates.
2.
Corporations may set up a separate, segregated fund called a Political
Action Committee (PAC) which may solicit political contributions only from
officers, directors, stockholders, and administrative personnel. These PACs may
contribute to candidates and/or issues. The corporation may provide
only administrative support to the PAC.
3.
Committees which support or oppose only ballot
issues may receive corporate contributions.
Membership Organizations
1. Some political action committees may be
considered "membership organizations" under state law. A membership
organization is a group that grants certain rights and privileges to its
members, such as the right to vote or hold an office within that
organization, or uses a majority of its membership dues for purposes other
than political purposes.
2.
Contributions to membership organizations often take the form of payroll
deductions. If the deduction (or portion of dues) which goes to the PAC or
is used for political purposes equals $25.00 or less per member during a
calendar year, it can be reported by showing the amount each member paid
and the number of members. For example, if the payroll deduction is $3.00
per calendar year for 25 employees, it would be listed as: "25 employees @
$3.00 each = $75.00"
3. If
the payroll deductions or dues exceed $25.00 per member, the contributions
are reported individually, the same as any other contribution. Also, if
members make contributions independent of a payroll deduction or other
assessment, the contribution must be listed like any other type of
contribution.
Fundraisers
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Definition |
A fund-raising event is
"an event such as a dinner, reception, testimonial, cocktail party,
auction or similar affair through which contributions are solicited or
received by such means as purchase of a ticket, payment of an attendance
fee or through the purchase of goods or services." (WV Code §3-8-5b). This
definition also covers sales of food at bake sales or fair booths,
memorabilia, T-shirts, buttons, and other items.
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About raffles |
Although raffles are
commonly thought of as fundraisers, candidates are prohibited by WV
Code §47-21-2 from holding raffles. Other organizations and must have
a license to conduct raffles, but among political organizations, only
political party executive committees are eligible to obtain a
license. |
| Don't pass the hat!
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"Passing the hat" at
meet-the-candidate dinners or other types of fundraisers usually brings in
money anonymously. If the contributor can't be identified, the money
will have to be turned over to the state.
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| How
to report a fund-raising event |
1. Fill out the event
summary. The information in the event summary is required by law. (WV Code
§3- 8-5a).
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List the date of the event, the
type of event (reception, dinner, etc.), place, address.
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After the contributions and
expenditures are completed, enter the total contributions and total
expenditures. To get the net receipt, subtract total expenditures
from total receipts.
2. List all contributors'
names and amounts received through the fundraiser. If a contribution is
more than $250.00, or if that person or committee's total contributions to
the candidate or committee for the election are more than $250.00, you
must also list the contributor's address, and in the case of a person,
what that person does to earn a living (occupation), and where that person
works (business affiliation).
For a committee, list the organization, business, union or other group
with which it is affiliated. Contributions of more than
$50.00 cannot be cash. The contribution may be made by check, money order,
credit card, or electronic fund transfer. Foreign currency cannot be
used.
3. If a person or political
action committee contributes things of value such as food, entertainment,
or other non-cash items for use in putting on the fundraiser, be sure to
report those as in-kind contributions in that section. See
In-Kind Contributions for more information.
4. List all itemized
expenses (such as invitations, food, hall rentals) relating to any
fund-raising event in the expenditure section. Only the total
expenditures will be entered in the fundraiser section.
5. The total contributions
received at all fundraising events will appear on the report
summary.
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| Exceptions |
In 1994, the West
Virginia Legislature passed a law that would allow political party
executive committees to hold certain fundraisers without necessarily
reporting individual contributions of monies received at those
fundraisers. Only fundraisers that involve the sale of food, beverages,
services, novelty items, raffle tickets, or memorabilia may take advantage
of this exception, as long as the total profits from such fundraisers do
not exceed $5,000 in a calendar year. The names of individuals who
spend less than $50.00 a year do not need to be reported. Organizations
that hold fundraisers need not report itemized contributions if the total
profit is less than $5,000. If individuals or organizations make
purchases of more than $50.00, or if the total profits from all such
fundraisers exceed $5,000, the normal reporting requirements apply, and all
names of all contributors and the amount they contributed must be
reported. THIS EXCEPTION APPLIES ONLY TO POLITICAL PARTY
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES. |
In-Kind Contributions
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What are they?
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Contributions of things
of value must be reported as in-kind contributions. Some examples include: use
of a car, an office or building; services of an employee who is paid by
another person; use of office equipment or telephones for
campaign purposes; material for campaign signs; food for a fund-raising
reception. |
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How to report
in-kind contributions |
- List the name of the contributor and the
date the item was donated. Assign a reasonable value to the
contribution.
- If a person donates more than $250.00,
remember to include the address, what the donor does for a living, and
the place where the donor works.
- If a committee donates more than $250.00,
include the committee's address and its affiliation. The affiliation is
the group with whom it is associated.
- Remember that the $1,000.00 donation limit
applies also to in-kind contributions, and one donor's cash plus in-kind
contributions are subject to the limit.)
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Other Receipts
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Receipts which are not contributions
must also be reported. These include refunds on bills paid, interest on
investments, checking accounts or savings accounts, sale of equipment, or
any income not reported in contributions or in-kind contributions.
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