Once again, it is the giving season. In Washington, Christmas comes several times a year as members of Congress are forced to dial for dollars and political action committee machines go into full gear. Fax machines are ringing with invitations to events, e-mails are flooding inboxes, and members are calling their campaigns with the big push to raise dollars. It is a time when members, lobbyists and willing donors will spend countless nights away from their families and friends as they grip and grin with the best of them.

But most Americans have no idea what “going to a fundraiser” really means. Ask the average citizen, and he or she will tell you that lobbyists spend their time on ski trips and fishing excursions, served with champagne wishes and caviar dreams.

The truth, however, is less glamorous.

There are, of course, a few fundraisers in exotic locales, but those are the exception and not the rule.

The truth is that most fundraisers are about bad food and bad beer in a small room at the end of a 12-hour day. While meeting with fellow lobbyists and association members to talk about the same old issues, it can be difficult to find enthusiasm on anyone’s face. Maybe it’s the time away from a son’s karate lesson or a daughter’s ballet class, or just the long day that squelches the enthusiasm and energy in the room.  

It is part of the job for all of us, and it is a necessary evil because it costs so much to run for office.

Unless a member is independently wealthy, fundraisers are a way of life and an opportunity to raise necessary campaign funds. Unfortunately, fundraisers can also serve as an easy target for those who point fingers and speculate that members are being “bought.”

The vast majority of lawmakers go to Congress to serve their constituents and help make the country a better place. But after their hard-fought win, they are immediately forced to start raising funds just to keep their jobs — something they probably didn’t count on as part of the job description. So the quest for cash becomes a vicious cycle, and as in any profession, there will be a few bad apples who take advantage of the situation.  

To combat abuses, some watchdog groups propose ideas such as placing a cap on campaign funding or requiring public campaign funding. They see this as a different approach for cleaning up what they perceive as a broken system. For their part, many of the presidential candidates have successfully demonstrated they can raise funds through grassroots campaigns. But how many of those new contributors have also given directly to their member of Congress? Not enough to change the system they so desperately want to change.

These critics would do well to take a closer look and actually attend a few fundraisers. They would be in for a reality check about what really takes place, bad food and all. They would see that our current system, like any political system, is not perfect but has improved. This is a testament to the members who continually pass new reforms to improve transparency and accessibility to information about fundraising. While these measures may impose additional work on everyone involved, the fundraising system allows for excellent oversight and transparency. The checks and balances to ensure ethical behavior are in place. And until something else comes along to change the system, those of us who participate in supporting our elected officials are relegated to enduring more late nights, eating more finger food and ensuring that our handshakes are firm and our smiles are in place.

So in the next couple months, as the requests roll in and the calls for support keep coming, I suggest that members and supporters wear comfortable shoes for the miles they trek going from event to event. They should bring along Alka-Seltzer for the buffalo wings, bratwurst and pigs-in-a-blanket they are sure to consume, and they should kiss their significant others before they leave for the long day ahead. And maybe someone will remember that it’s time to put a little more of the “fun” back into “fundraising.”

Dave Wenhold, CAE, is a founding partner of Miller/Wenhold CapitolStrategies, a Washington government-affairs and grassroots lobbying firm. He also serves as the first vice president of the American League of Lobbyists. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it