Blog

  • December 30, 2009

    Hey web developers, start the New Year with a NEW JOB. eNilsson is looking for a web monkey with some serious PHP kung-fu.

    eNilsson is looking for a web monkeys with some serious PHP kung-fu for both our Westford MA office and our Sydney Australia office. Check, check, check it out at: http://www.enilsson.com/careers.

    posted 1:34PM 12/30/2009 by eNilsson Blog Team
  • November 27, 2009

    Start The Holidays With A New Job - BlueSwarm Is Hiring!

    Want a working environment where you can let your creativity run wild? BlueSwarm is looking for a PHP developer to be an integral member of our elite team of web professionals.

    Want a working environment where you can let your creativity run wild? eNilsson is looking for a PHP developer to be an integral member of our elite team of web professionals.

    eNilsson is the international web application company behind BlueSwarm, a class leading online fundraising product. We are in need of a PHP developer with good LAMP skills to take control of our RPC platform which houses the BlueSwarm data services, both AMF and REST. The platform exists as a multitenanted, load balanced and replicated server environment on Amazon Web Services.

    Your PHP kung-fu needs to be OOP all the way with skills and experience in the following; MVC frameworks (Zend, CodeIgniter, Kohana etc), application security, high performance MySQL, shell scripting, Web services protocols (AMF, REST, Soap etc), Linux & Apache admin, and memcached. This role requires more than just a web developer. We are looking for someone with some vision to realise the platform, optimise it and plan its future.

    Our offices are close to the city in Rozelle, and of course we offer competitive terms and conditions to the right candidate. So if you think this sounds like a challenge you would be up for please email your details to jobs@enilsson.com. Some samples of your work would definitely speed things along ;-)

    No recruitment consultants please, only applicants thank you.

    posted 6:21AM 11/27/2009 by eNilsson Blog Team
  • September 03, 2009

    eNilsson development team burns fat, not oil

    We did a quick survey of our development team this morning and discovered that over 65% of our code jockeys are bicycle jockeys for their commutes to work.

    I see an executive bike rack in eNilsson's future.

    posted 5:29AM 09/03/2009 by eNilsson Blog Team
  • August 26, 2009

    Loosen the reins, Empower your supporters, Reap the Rewards...

    Data empowers a campaign to identify and target their key audience in order to drive the Voter Lifecycle:

    Disengaged Voter -> Supporter -> Donor -> Fundraiser -> Voter

    The more robust your data is on each contact, the better prepared a campaign is to develop and convert contacts into supporters, donors and voters. The more you encourage supporters to contribute information and empower supporters to maintain their relationships through BlueSwarm, the stronger your campaign data becomes.

    When you encourage supporters to reach out using BlueSwarm’s recruitment tools you augment your campaign’s database - the powerhouse behind:

    •    Fundraising,
    •    Voter outreach, and
    •    GOTV efforts

    Apprehensive about empowering your supporters? There’s no need to be, here’s why:

    1 – It is your supporters' data, they will do what they want…
    When it comes down to it, your strongest supporters will inevitably solicit their contacts on the campaign’s behalf, even without the proper direction. Be sure your campaign gives supporters the tools they need to reach out while staying on brand and conveying the message you want to spread.

    Don’t fret when it comes to putting the power of content dissemination and recruitment tools into the hands of supporters. With BlueSwarm all sent emails look to be from the supporter’s email address and not from the campaign, which protects your campaign’s image from mis-informed supporters. Plus, BlueSwarm’s powerful algorithms work to prevent contributors from giving over legal limits.


    2 – Provide supporters with the tools to spread the word…
    Empowering your supporters to build a personalized email around campaign-approved content in BlueSwarm is an effective way to broadcast your campaign’s message. The BlueSwarm blast email engine provides your supporters with a quick method to spread the word about your candidate to an extensive list of family, friends and colleagues on your terms.


    3 - Make it easy for fundraisers to break the ice on their initial ask…
    Turning supporters into active fundraisers can be a difficult task since most people are reluctant to make an ‘ask’ if they have no fundraising experience. With campaign-approved templates, made available in BlueSwarm, you can grease the wheels by providing language that has proven to be effective to your supporters. Campaign approved attachments keep supporters on message and on brand while allowing them to share their excitement and enthusiasm with the receptive ears of their peers.

    Those supporters who aren’t quite sure how to make their first ‘ask’ will be far more comfortable reaching out to their contacts; experienced fundraisers will capitalize on the ammunition you are providing with templates or attachments; and you effectively extend your campaign’s fundraising and outreach efforts.


    4 – Effectively track and analyze your contacts and supporters…
    Each feature in BlueSwarm is aimed at providing your campaign with more information about prospective donors, volunteers, and, of course, voters. Encouraging supporters to be active in BlueSwarm, by using the features available to them, quickly grows the pool of campaign data.

    Tracking tools, like BlueSwarm’s email log, let you stay in the know regarding all outbound messages. This detailed log contains valuable information, which includes: senders, recipients, templates used, date and time stamps, and more.

    Allow your campaign to emphasize action on your growing pool of data rather than being forced to compile data from various sources and manually build reports that aren’t proven, effective indicators of what value your data can provide. Key BlueSwarm analytics, like the Fundraisers and Event Host Committee reports, allow a campaign to understand the signals their data provides through clear presentation, easy access and versatility provided by exports to Excel.


    Acting upon the abundance of campaign data, constantly evolving through supporter interaction, is the most effective means to drive the Voter Lifecycle. With the birth of each supporter, the lifecycle can begin all over again by empowering them with BlueSwarm.

    posted 2:56PM 08/26/2009 by Mike Nobil
  • July 31, 2009

    5% of Twitter users account for 75% of all activity

    Here is a great source of data points on Twitter and Twitter users:

    http://sysomos.com/insidetwitter/

    The big take-aways are:

    • 72.5% of all users joining during the first five months of 2009.
    •  85.3% of all Twitter users post less than one update/day
    •  21% of users have never posted a Tweet
    •  93.6% of users have less than 100 followers, while 92.4% follow less than 100 people.
    •  5% of Twitter users account for 75% of all activity
    •  New York has the most Twitters users, followed by Los Angeles, Toronto, San Francisco and Boston; while Detroit was the fast-growing city over the first five months of 2009
    • More than 50% of all updates are published using tools, mobile and Web-based, other than Twitter.com. TweetDeck is the most popular non-Twitter.com tool with 19.7% market share.
    • There are more women on Twitter (53%) than men (47%)
    • Of the people who identify themselves as marketers, 15% follow more than 2,000 people. This compares with 0.29% of overall Twitter users who follow more than 2,000 people.

     

    The source of this data is Sysomos. According to Sysomos's site:

    "Sysomos is redefining social media analytics by providing corporations, marketers, public relations agencies and advertisers with the intelligence and insight needed to make smarter business and strategic decisions. The Sysomos platform provides instant and unlimited access to all social media conversations to see what's happening, why it's happening, and who's driving the conversations."

    posted 2:51PM 07/31/2009 by eNilsson Blog Team
  • July 28, 2009

    The Internet is Broken: ISC BIND 9 experiencing Denial-of-Service attacks

    Why can’t I access so many sites this week?
    On July 28, 2009, the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) and the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (USCERT) released a warning about a problem with the software that runs a large number of Domain Name System (DNS) servers on the Internet.  This weakness allows a person to remotely attack and take control of a DNS server.  By sending a specially crafted ‘packet,’ or piece of information, to the DNS server, a person can launch something called a Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack. 

    A DoS attack is an attempt to make a resource, such as a server, unavailable for use by other users connected to that resource.  When directed against a DNS server, the DoS attack has the potential to knock out Internet service to a large amount of the population.

    Internet Service Providers, or ISPs, have been notified by the ISC and USCERT and are currently working to fix this problem.  More information about this exploit can be found at the following links:

    http://www.cio.com/article/498528/CERT_and_ISC_Warn_About_BIND_DNS_Vulnerability

    http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/725188

    What is DNS?
    DNS is the abbreviation for the Domain Name System.  It determines how domain names (i.e. www.google.com) are translated into IP addresses (in the example of Google, 74.125.45.100).  It acts like the main post office for an area.

    When you access the internet, you type in something called a Uniform Resource Locator, or URL.  Part of this URL is the domain.  DNS helps to turn that domain, usually a human-readable word of some kind, into a number called an IP (Internet Protocol) address.  The IP address is the actual location of the computer on the Internet.  If there is a problem with DNS, then the domain is not correctly paired with an IP, and you can’t access your site.
    More information about DNS can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System

    What does this mean for me?
    Right now, there is nothing that you or BlueSwarm can do until the vulnerability is patched.  This is the responsibility of the ISPs and main ‘backbone’ providers for the Internet to fix, and they are working quickly to do so.  While they are working on the problem, DNS changes related to this problem may cause issues for some users.

    Is my computer or any of the data inside BlueSwarm at risk?
    Not at all. All of your information is completely safe from this exploit. All this exploit may do is prevent you from accessing data - it cannot manipulate it.

    But can I do anything?
    If you find that you are having problems accessing a website (such as BlueSwarm), you can try the following steps to solve the problem.  The steps will show you how to ‘flush,’ or clear, your computer’s local DNS cache, which is used to help your computer load web pages faster.  If the following steps do not resolve the issue you are having, then the problem lies with your Internet Service Provider.  After flushing the DNS, you will also need to clear your browser’s cache in order for the fix to take full effect.  Instructions on how to do this are also below.
     

    DNS Reset:
    On Windows XP, Vista, 7:
    1.    Click the Start Menu or Start Orb (Vista/Win7).
    2.    Select ‘All Programs.’
    3.    Select ‘Accessories.’
    4.    Click ‘Command Prompt.’  On Windows Vista or Windows 7, you must right-click on the Command Prompt icon and select ‘Run as Administrator,’ then click ‘Yes’ at the User Account Control Prompt.
    5.    At the prompt, type ‘ipconfig –flushdns’.  This will flush the DNS Resolver Cache.
    6.    Close the window.

    On Mac OSX:
    1.    Double-click your ‘Macintosh HD’ volume.
    2.    Select ‘Applications.’
    3.    Select ‘Utilities.’
    4.    Double-click on ‘Terminal.’  This will open up a terminal window.
    5.    On OSX 10.4 (Tiger) or earlier, type in ‘lookupd –flushcache’.  On OSX 10.5 (Leopard) or newer, type in ‘dscacheutil –flushcache’.  This will clear your local DNS cache.
    6.    Type in ‘exit’.
    7.    Press Command-Q (%u2318-Q) to quit the Terminal window.

    On Linux:
    Linux does not normally store DNS unless you have the nscd service or a DNS server installed.  In order to flush the DNS, you will have to install the nscd service.  The following instructions work on a *buntu (Ubuntu, Kubuntu) distribution.
    1.    At a terminal prompt (if you have the Gnome user interface, it is in Applications --> Accessories --> Terminal; in KDE it is Kicker --> Applications --> System --> Konsole), type ‘sudo apt-get install nscd’.  This will install the nscd daemon.
    2.    Type ‘/etc/init.d/nscd restart’.  This will reset the DNS cache and cause the computer to lookup new DNS information.

    Clearing the Cache:
    Internet Explorer 7/Internet Explorer 8
    1.    Click on the Tools menu.
    2.    Click ‘Internet Options’.
    3.    Under ‘Browsing History’, click Delete.
    4.    Click Delete.
    5.    Click OK to close Internet Options.
    6.    Close your browser window and reopen it.

    Firefox 3.5 (Win/OSX/Linux)
    1.    From the Tools menu, select ‘Clear Recent History’.
    2.    From the "Time range to clear:" drop-down menu, select the desired range; to clear your entire cache, select Everything.
    3.    Click the down arrow next to ‘Details’ to choose what history elements to clear.
    4.    Click ‘Clear Now’.
    5.    Close your browser window and reopen it.

    Firefox 3 (Win/OSX/Linux)
    1.    Click on the Tools Menu.
    2.    Click ‘Clear Private Data’.
    3.    Make sure all the boxes are checked, then click ‘Clear Private Data Now’.
    4.    Restart the browser.

    Safari 4 (Win)
    1.    From the Options menu (the Gear in the upper-right corner), click ‘Reset Safari.’
    2.    Make sure all the options are checked off.
    3.    Click ‘Reset’.
    4.    Restart your browser.

    Safari 4 (OSX)
    1.    Open the Safari menu.
    2.    Click ‘Empty Cache’.
    3.    Quit Safari and reopen it.

    Google Chrome (Win)
    1.    Click the Options menu (the wrench icon in the upper-right corner).
    2.    Select ‘Clear Browsing Data’.
    3.    Make sure all the options are selected and the period to clear is ‘Everything,’ then click ‘Clear Browsing Data.’
    4.    Restart the browser.
     

    posted 12:49PM 07/28/2009 by Paul Hanley
  • July 22, 2009

    Campaign Contribution Limits by State

    There is an old saying in Russia about money, "he who has money need have no fear of the law." Alas, this is not true in the United States with regard to campaign fundraising. Most states have some sort of law regulating campaign financing, and in particular the level of donations that a person, corporation, or political action committee (PAC) can provide to an active campaign.

    Naturally, these laws differ by state. Luckily for you, our team has found a chart for all state limits and we are reposting it here for your political fundraising pleasure.

    Individual Contributions State Party Contributions PAC Contributions Corporate Contributions Union Contributions
    Alabama

    § 17-22A-1 et seq.     		Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited $500/candidate/electiona,d,j Unlimited
    Alaska

    § 15.13.065 to .080     		$500/candidate/year Aggregate amounts candidates may accept from non-residents: $20,000/year/gub candidate $5,000/year/senate candidate $3,000/year/house candidate $100,000/year/gub candidate $15,000/year/senate candidate $10,000/year/house candidate $1,000/office/year Contributions from out-of-state PACs prohibited Prohibited Prohibited
    Arizona,b,p

    § 16-901 et seq.     		Limits for the 2009-2010 election cycle:
    $840/statewide candidates $410/legislative candidates

    An individual may not contribute an aggregate amount in excess of $5,850 per calendar year to candidates and committees that give to candidates. Amounts are per election cycle.     		Limits for the 2009-2010 election cycle:

    Aggregate contributions accepted from all political parties and organizations cannot exceed:

    $83,448 - statewide candidates $8,352 – legis. candidates     		Limits for the 2009-2010 election cycle:
    “Super” PACsc: $4,176/statewide candidate $1,664/legislative candidate

    Regular PACs:
    $840/statewide candidate $410/legislative candidate

    Aggregate contributions accepted from PACs cannot exceed:
    $83,448 - statewide candidates
    $13,464 – legis. candidates

    Amounts are per election cycle     		Prohibitedd Prohibitedd
    Arkansas

    § 7-6-201 et seq.     		$2,000/candidate/electiona $2,500/electiona $2,000/candidate/electiona Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    Californiap

    Gov. Code
    § 85300 et seq.     		For elections held on or after January 1, 2009: $25,900/gubernatorial cand. $6,500/statewide candidate $3,900/legislative candidate
    Amounts are per electiona     		Unlimited For elections held on or after January 1, 2009:

    “Small Contributor” Cmtesg: $25,900/gubernatorial cand. $12,900/statewide candidate $7,800/legislative candidate

    Regular PACs: Same as individual limits Amounts are per electiona     		Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    Coloradop

    Constitution Art. XXVIII     		Limits effective 2007 - 2010: $525/gub candidate
    $525/other statewide cand $200/legis candidate

    Amounts per electiona     		Limits effective 2007 - 2010: $530,000/gub candidate $106,000/other statewide cand
    $19,080/senate candidate $13,780/house candidate

    Note: Political parties are prohibited from contributing to any candidate more than 20% of the voluntary expenditure limits, which are adjusted every 4 years. Amounts are per applicable election cycle.     		Limits effective 2007 - 2010: “Small Donor” Committees:i $5,300/gub& statewide cand $2,125/legis. cand.

    Regular PACs: Same as individual limits     		Prohibitedd Prohibitedd
    Connecticutb

    § 9-611 et seq.     		$3,500/gub candidate $1,000/senate candidate $250/house candidate

    $15,000 aggregate/individual to all candidates and committees

    All amounts are per electiona     		$50,000/gub candidate $10,000/senate candidate $5,000/house candidate

    All amounts are per electiona     		$5,000/gubernatorial candidate $1,500/state senate candidate $750/state house candidate

    Aggregate limits on contributions by PACs to candidates:
    $100,000/election by a PAC established by a business entity $50,000/election by a PAC established by an organization

    All amounts are per electiona     		Prohibitedd §9-613 Same as individual limitsd
    Delaware

    § 15-8010 to 8013     		$1,200/statewide candidate $600/other candidate

    All amounts per election cycle     		$75,000/gub candidate $5,000/senate candidate $3,000/house candidate

    All amounts per election cycle     		Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    Florida

    § 106.08     		$500/candidate/electiona Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    Georgiap

    § 21-5-41 to 43     		Limits effective as of 2/24/09: Statewide candidates: $6,100/primary election $3,600/primary run-off $6,100/general election $3,600/general run-off

    Legislative candidates:
    $2,400/primary election $1,200/primary run-off $2,400/general election $1,20/general run-off     		Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    Hawaii

    § 11-200 to 207     		$6,000/statewide candidate $4,000/senate candidate $2,000/house candidate

    Contributions from a candidate's immediate family are limited to $50,000 in an election cycle, including loans.

    All amounts are per election cycle     		Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    Idaho

    § 67-6610A     		$5,000/statewide candidate $1,000/leg candidate Amounts are per electiona $10,000/statewide candidate $2,000/legislative candidate Amounts are per electiona Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    Illinois

    10 ILCS 5/9-1 et seq.     		Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
    Indiana

    § 3-9-1-1 et seq.     		Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited $5,000 in the aggregate to statewide candidates $2,000 in the aggregate to senate candidates

    $2,000 in the aggregate to house candidates

    All amounts are per year     		Same as corporate limits unless made by the union’s PAC, in which case there are no limits.
    Iowa

    § 68A.503     		Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Prohibited Unlimited
    Kansas

    § 25-4153     		$2,000/statewide candidate $1,000/senate candidate $500/house candidate Amounts are per electiona For a contested primary election, same as individual limits. Unlimited in uncontested primaries and general elections Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    Kentucky

    § 121.150     		$1,000/candidate/electiona Unlimitedk

    Except for gubernatorial slates, no candidate can accept party contributions which in the aggregate exceed 50% of total contributions or $10,000 (whichever is greater) in an election cycle.     		Same as individual limits Aggregate Limits: - Except for gubernatorial slates, no candidate can accept PAC contributions which in the aggregate exceed 50% of total contributions or $10,000 (whichever is greater) in an election cycle.

    Gubernatorial slates that accept public financing may not accept more than 25% of their contributions from PACs - Other gubernatorial slates may not accept more than 25% or $150,000 (whichever is less) of contributions from PACs     		Prohibited Same as individual limits
    Louisiana

    § 18:1481 to 1532     		$5,000/statewide candidate $2,500/legislative candidate

    Both amounts are per electiona     		Unlimited Regular PACs: Same as individual limits

    “Big” PACsf: Double the amount of individual limits

    Candidates subject to following aggregate limits on all PAC contributions accepted for the primary and general elections combined: $80,000/statewide candidate $60,000/legislative candidate     		Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    Maineb

    Tit. 21-A, § 1001 to 1128     		$500/gub candidate/electiona $250/other candidate/electiona Individuals limited to $25,000 aggregate contributions to all campaign finance entities per calendar year. Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    Maryland

    Election Law § 13-226     		$4,000/candidate $10,000 aggregate to all candidates

    Both amounts are per 4-year election cycle (1/1/-07-12/31/10)     		Transfer limit: $6,000/4-year election cycle

    In-Kind Contributions: Limited to an amount equal to $1 for every two registered voters in the state, regardless of political affiliation. Limit is per 4-year election cycle.     		$6,000/candidate/4-year election cycle Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    Massachusetts

    Ch. 55, § 6, 6A, 7A and 8     		$500/candidate

    $12,500/individual aggregate limit on contributions to all candidates

    Registered lobbyists may only contribute up to $200/candidate

    All amounts are per calendar year.     		$3,000/candidate/year

    No limit on in-kind contributions     		Regular PAC: $500/candidate

    People's Committee:o $500/candidate

    Candidates cannot accept aggregate PAC contributions that exceed the following amounts:
    $150,000/gub candidate $18,750/senate candidate $7,500/house candidate

    All amounts per calendar year.     		Prohibited Same as PAC limits
    Michigan

    § 169.252     		$3,400/statewide candidate $1,000/senate candidate
    $500/house candidate

    All amounts are per election cycle     		$68,000/statewide candidate
    $10,000/senate candidate $5,000/house candidate

    All amounts are per election cycle     		Political Committees: Same as individual limits.

    Independent Committeesh: $34,000/statewide candidate $10,000/senate candidate $5,000/house candidate All amounts are per election cycle     		Prohibitedd Prohibitedd
    Minnesota

    § 10A.27     		Election year limits:
    $2,000/gub candidate
    $500/legislative candidate

    Non-election year limits:
    $500/gub candidate
    $100/legislative candidate

    Aggregate contributions from PACs, lobbyists, political funds and individuals who contribute or loan more than ½ the yearly contribution limit cannot exceed 20% of spending limits. For 2007, those amounts are: $95,800/gub candidate
    $2,400/senate candidate $1,200/house candidate

    All amounts are per calendar year.     		Party committees may contribute up to 10 times the limits imposed on individuals Same as individual limits Prohibited Same as individual limits
    Mississippi

    § 23-15-801 et seq. §79-13-15     		Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited $1,000/candidate/calendar year Unlimited
    Missouri

    § 130.031     		Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
    Montanap

    § 13-37-216     		$630/gubernatorial slate
    $310/other statewide candidate $160/legislative candidate

    Limits will be adjusted in 1/10 Amounts are per electiona     		$22,500/gubernatorial slate $8,150/other statewide cand.
    $1,300/senate candidate $800/house candidate

    Limits will be adjusted in 1/10
    All amounts are per electiona     		Same as individual limits. Candidates limited to total contributions from all PACs: $2,450 senate candidates $1,500 house candidates

    Limits will be adjusted in 1/10 Amounts are per electiona     		Prohibitedd Same as individual limits
    Nebraskap

    § 32-1608     		Unlimited Candidates limited to maximum amount of aggregate contributions that can be accepted in an election period from PACs, corporations, labor unions, associations, other candidate committees, political parties, and other organizations. Once the limit is reached, candidates may accept only individual contributions.

    Limit for 2010:     $46,000/legislative candidate (No statewide races in 2010)     		Same as party contribution limits Candidates may not accept funds totaling more than 40% of the voluntary spending limit for their office. Same as party contribution limits
    Nevada

    § 294A.100 and Const. Art. 2 §10     		$5,000/candidate/electiona Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    New Hampshire

    § 664:4     		To candidates not agreeing to abide by spending limits: $1,000/electiona

    To candidates agreeing to abide by spending limits: $5,000/electiona     		To candidates not agreeing to abide by spending limits: $1,000/electiona

    Unlimited to candidates who agree to expenditure limits     		Same as party limits Same as individual limitsn Prohibited
    New Jerseyp

    § 19:44A-11.3     		$3,400/gubernatorial cand $2,600/legislative candidate

    Both amounts are per electiona     		No limit on contributions by state & county committees

    National party committee: $8,200/electiona     		$8,200/candidate/electiona Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    New Mexico

    § 1-19-25 to 36     		Unlimited (Effective 11/3/10): $2,300/non-SW cand/electiona $5,000/SW cand/electiona Unlimited ( Effective 11/3/10): $5,000/electiona Unlimited (Effective 11/3/10): $5,000/electiona Unlimited ( Effective 11/3/10): Same as individual limits Unlimited (Effective 11/3/10): Same as individual limits
    New Yorkp

    Election Law, § 14-114     		For 2008:
    Gub. Cand.
    Primary – Product of number of enrolled voters in candidate’s party in state x $.005, but not less than $6,000 or more than $18,100
    General:
    $37,800

    Legis. Cand.
    Primary:
    $6,000/senate candidate $3,800/house candidate
    General
    $9,500/senate candidate $3,800/house candidate

    Max. contribs. by individual limited to $150,000 in the aggregate. Separate limits apply for contribs. from all family members in the aggregate. Limit is based on the formula of total # of enrolled voters in candidate’s party in the state x $0.025. For legislative candidates, this amount may not exceed $100,000. “Family” is defined as a child, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, and the spouses of those persons. All amounts per calendar year     		Prohibited in primary election.

    Unlimited in general election.     		Same as individual limits. Corporations are limited to $5,000 per year in aggregate contributions to NY state candidates and committees. Same as individual limits.
    North Carolina

    § 163-278.6 et seq.     		$4,000/candidate/electiona Unlimited Same as individual limits Prohibitedd Prohibitedd
    North Dakota

    § 16.1-08.1     		Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Prohibitedd Prohibitedd
    Ohiop

    § 3517.102(B)(1)(a) and 3599.03     		Limits effective 2/25/09: $11,395.56/candidate/electiona $642,709.58/statewide cand. $128,200.05/senate candidate
    $63,815.14/house candidate In-kind contributions: unlimited

    All amounts are per electiona     		Same as individual limits Prohibitedd Prohibitedd
    Oklahoma

    21 OS § 187.1 et seq. and Ethics Commission Rules; §257:1-1-1 et seq. and §257:10-1-2 et seq     		$5,000/candidate/campaign

    *This limit applies to an entire family, defined as an individual, his spouse, and all children under 18 living in the same household.     		$50,000/gubernatorial candm $25,000/other statewide candm
    $1,000/legislative candidate

    All amounts per calendar year     		Same as individual limits Prohibitedd Prohibitedd
    Oregon

    § 260.160 to 174     		Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
    Pennsylvania

    25 Pa Stat § 3241 to 3260a     		Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Prohibitedd Prohibitedd
    Rhode Island

    § 17-25-10.1     		$1,000/candidate or $2,000/candidate if candidate qualifies for public funding and agrees to abide by spending limits

    Both amounts are per calendar year. Individuals limited to $10,000 in aggregate contributions to candidates, PACs and party committees per year     		$25,000/candidate/year

    In-kind contributions unlimited     		$1,000/candidate/calendar year or $2,000/candidate/year if candidate qualifies for public funding and agrees to abide by spending limits

    Annual aggregate limit of $25,000 to all recipients     		Prohibited Prohibited
    South Carolina

    § 8-13-1314 to 1316     		$3,500/statewide candidate $1,000/legislative candidate

    Both amounts are per electiona     		Candidates may not accept more than the following from parties during an election cycle:

    $50,000/statewide candidate $5,000/other candidate     		Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    South Dakota

    § 12-27-7     		$4,000/statewide candidate $1,000/legislative candidate

    Both amounts are per calendar year     		Unlimited Unlimited Prohibited Prohibitedd
    Tennessee

    § 2-10-302     		$2,500/statewide candidate $1,000/legislative candidate Both amounts are per electiona Candidates limited to aggregate amount from all political party committees:

    $250,000/statewide candidate
    $40,000/senate candidate $20,000/house candidate

    All amounts are per electiona     		$7,500/statewide candidate $7,500/senate candidate $5,000/other candidates

    No more than 50% of a statewide candidate’s or $75,000 of a legislative candidate’s total contributions may come from PACs All amounts are per electiona     		Prohibited Same as individual limits
    Texas

    Election Code, § 253     		Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Prohibitedd Prohibitedd
    Utah

    § 20A-11-101     		Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
    Vermonte

    17 VSA §2805     		$1,000/candidate/electiona,l Contributions from immediate family members are unlimited. Unlimited $3,000/candidate/electiona Same as individual limits Same as individual limits
    Virginia

    § 24.2-900 et seq.     		Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited
    Washingtonp

    RCW § 42.17.610 et seq.
    WAC § 390-05-400     		Adjusted limits effective 12/28/08: $1,600/gub candidate $800/legislative candidate

    Both amounts are per electiona During the 21 days before the general election, no contributor may donate more than $50,000 in the aggregate to a statewide candidate or $5,000 in the aggregate to any other candidate. This includes a candidate's personal contributions to his/her campaign.     		Aggregate contributions from a state party central committee to a statewide or legislative candidate may not exceed $.80 x number of registered voters in candidate’s district. This limit applies to the entire election cycle. Same as individual limits A PAC that has not received contributions of $10 or more from 10 or more WA registered voters during the past 180 days is prohibited from making contributions. Prohibited for corporations not doing business in Washington state. Same as individual limits for Washington corporations. Prohibited for unions that have fewer than 10 members who reside in Washington. Same as individual limits for Washington unions.
    West Virginia

    § 3-8-8 to 12     		$1,000/candidate/electiona Same as individual limits Same as individual limits Prohibitedd Same as individual limits
    Wisconsin

    § 11.01 et seq.     		$10,000/statewide candidate $1,000/senate candidate $500/house candidate

    Above amounts are per election campaign. An individual may not contribute more than $10,000 in a calendar year to any combination of Wisconsin candidates or political committees.     		Aggregate limit on amount candidates may accept from all committees, including party committees, in an election campaign:
    $700,830/gub. candidate $22,425/senate candidate $11,213/house candidate     		$43,128/gub candidate $1,000/senate candidate $500/house candidate

    Aggregate limit on amount candidates may accept from all committees, excluding party committees, in an election campaign:
    $485,190/gub. candidate $15,525/senate candidate $7,763/house candidate

    All amounts are per election cycle.     		Prohibited Prohibited
    Wyoming

    § 22-25-102     		$1,000/candidate/electiona

    No individual may make more than $25,000q in total contributions during a two-year election cycle.     		Unlimited Unlimited Prohibited Prohibited

    (a) Primary and general are considered separate elections; stated amount may be contributed in each election.
    (b) Candidates participating in “Clean Elections” public financing may not accept contributions after qualifying for public funds. Limits listed are for candidates not participating in public financing program.
    (c) In Arizona, a PAC that has received contributions from 500 or more individuals in amounts of $10 or more in a one-year period may qualify as a “Super PAC.” Qualification is valid for two years. (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §16-905(I))
    (d) Direct corporate and/or union contributions are prohibited and/or use of treasury funds and/or dues is prohibited. In these states, the law specifically says that nothing prevents the employees or officers of a corporation from making political contributions through a PAC, using funds from an account that is separate and segregated from corporate accounts. Such contributions are subject to the same limitations placed on other PACs.
    (e) Full public financing is available to qualifying candidates for governor and lieutenant governor. A candidate who wishes to receive public funding may not solicit or accept any private contributions except qualifying contributions.
    (f) In Louisiana, a “Big PAC” is a PAC with over 250 members who contributed over $50 to the PAC during the preceding calendar year and has been certified as meeting that membership requirement.
    (g) In California, a “small contributor committee” is a committee which has been in existence for at least six months, receives contributions from 100 or more persons in amounts of not more than $200 per person, and makes contributions to five or more candidates. (Cal. Govt. Code §85203)
    (h) In Michigan, an “independent committee” must have filed a statement of organization at least 6 months before the election in which the committee wishes to make contributions; must have supported or opposed 3 or more candidates for nomination or election; and must have received contributions from at least 25 persons.
    (i) In Colorado, a “small donor committee” means any political committee that has accepted contributions only from natural persons who each contributed no more than $50 in the aggregate per year.
    (j) Any public utility regulated by the Public Service Commission is prohibited from making political contributions (Ala. Code §10-2A-70.1)
    (k) The text of the statute on contribution limits (KRS §121A.050(1)) states that party contributions to candidates are limited to $1,000 per election. However, the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance’s web site states that party contributions to candidates are unlimited ( http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/kref/contlmt.htm , see footnote 4).
    (l) Vermont’s attempt to limit out-of-state contributions to 25% of a candidate’s total contributions received was declared unconstitutional on August 18, 2004, by the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals (Landell v. Sorrell, 382 F.3d 91 (2004))
    (m) While these limits are specified in Oklahoma’s Ethics Rules, statutes have not been changed to reflect this limit. According to the statutes, any contribution in excess of $5,000 would constitute a criminal violation.
    (n) Corporations are no longer prohibited from making political contributions under New Hampshire law despite the language of NH RSA 664:4. That ban was declared unconstitutional by a federal district court in 1999. A June 6, 2000 letter from Deputy Attorney General Steven M. Houran indicates that the limits on individual contributions now apply to corporate contributions as well.
    (o) In Massachusetts, a"People's Committee" is a PAC that has been in existence for six months, has received contributions from individuals of $140 (adjusted biennially; this amount is for 2006-2007) or less per year, and has contributed to five candidates. It is unclear what advantage there would be to converting to a People's Committee, since the contribution limits are the same.
    (p) Contribution limits are adjusted for inflation at the beginning of each campaign cycle.
    (q) Effective July 1, 2009, decreases to $12,500 (see SF 94, 2009)

    posted 1:21PM 07/22/2009 by eNilsson Blog Team
  • June 23, 2009

    Campaign data drives the voter lifecycle

    Drive the Voter Lifecycle by capitalizing on your greatest ally: Campaign data. Campaign data helps you raise money, build a brand, and put the right people in the voting booth by allowing you to identify and target:
        •    Probable voters,
        •    Favorable voters (ones who will vote for your candidate),
        •    Potential donors, fundraisers, & motivators,
        •    Voters to be ignored

    Data allows you to build a strategy that drives disengaged voters from supporters, to donors, to fundraisers, and finally to campaign advocates; a sequence BlueSwarm refers to as the Voter Lifecycle.

    Unfortunately, most political organizations have difficulty using the data they have. The wide variety of disparate databases made necessary by the diverse data collection methods utilized by vendors (usually proprietary databases) and consultants (usually spreadsheets) are at fault. These databases collect campaign data without regard for diverse data collection methods causing overlapping or duplicate data for a voter, for a region or for an event.

    These disparate databases and the data points they collect include:   

    ➢ Voters
        Voter list generation
        Voter direct mail
        Paid-phone voter ID
        Absentee voter/early voter data
        Micro-Targeting
        GOTV

    ➢ Volunteers
        Volunteer phone lists
        Volunteer preferences
        Yard sign locations

    ➢ Favorable
        Voter ID
        GOTV
        Direct mail surveys
        Online surveys

    ➢ Fundraising
        Bundling programs
        Major donor programs
        Low-dollar programs
        PACs/527s
        Events
        o    Invite lists
        o    RSVPs
        o    Host reports
        Direct mail solicitations
        Email solicitations
        Outbound telemarketing
        Online donations

    ➢ Donors
        Pledge tracking
        Pledge management
        Contribution tracking
        Contribution management
        Bundler management
        Fulfillment
        o    Thank you letters/emails
        o    Pledge letters
        o    Premiums
        Donor relationship management
        o    Direct mail
        o    Telemarketing
        o    Email
        Inbound telemarketing

    ➢ Communications
        Online
        Phone banking/Robo-calls
        Direct mail
        Door-to-door
        Email blasts

     No one vendor or organization can provide best-in-class services for all of the data listed above, which is why we see diverse data collection methods and disparate databases. However, by:

    • Content Image Housing all campaign data in a centralized database, and
    •  Providing database access to all campaign vendors,

    a campaign effectively develops a platform that can accommodate its widely varying needs while preventing the long-standing problems of overlapping or duplicate data. The campaign can then focus on analyzing and acting on data rather than aggregating and managing data.

    The benefits of housing all campaign data in a centralized database and creating a standard set of web services for vendor integration include:

    • Future-proof campaign data against a constantly changing technology and political world,
    • Ability for the campaign to select vendors on a function-by-function basis,
    • Reduction of the campaign’s cost to change vendors thus creating a competitive vendor environment, and, most importantly, reducing the campaign’s dependence on any single vendor,
    • Allowing the campaign to emphasize action on data rather than synchronizing data between varying systems


    But how do you determine what, exactly, should go in the database from this wealth of data? 

    The answer to this question leads back to driving the Voter Lifecycle. The Voter Lifecycle focuses on each individual person’s conversion from disengaged voter, to supporter, to donor, to fundraiser, to advocate. Therefore, a centralized database should be configured to focus on contact records.

    Increasing the Voter Lifecycle’s conversion rate is most dependent on a few core pieces of information that should be stored in a contact record:

    • Name and contact info
    • How a contact got into the database
    • Current position in the Voter Lifecycle
    • If and when a contact volunteers or how much they donated
    • If they are part of another important group such as press or surrogates


    This information empowers a campaign to identify and target their audience by defining Lifecycle Personas. Character profiles identifying a contact’s needs, desires, worldview, attitude, personality, and behavior define Lifecycle Personas.

    The principle value of Lifecycle Personas lies in their influence on campaign decision-making processes:

    • What language to use in appeal letters,
    • How marketing strategies are implemented,
    • How to coordinate GOTV and door knocks, etc. 

    Obviously, the more robust your data is on each contact, the better prepared a campaign is to develop these Lifecycle Personas.

    The key take-away here is that campaigns need to develop Lifecycle Personas as early as possible, so implementing a centralized database focused on contact records at an early stage is critical.

    A campaign may only have one opportunity to capture information from a voter. Be sure your campaign is ready to seize that opportunity and capitalize on your greatest ally: Campaign Data.

    posted 2:43PM 06/23/2009 by eNilsson Blog Team
  • May 28, 2009

    Best Craigs List sales copy ever written

    Who says great sales copy has to be short and direct. Here is an ad for a couch in the Bay Area that is utterly inspiring. I am dying to see a picture of this "leather couch of my dreams."

    The bad news is that CraigsList doesn't have a good sense of humor and they've already pulled this posting down. Boooo!

     

     

    Here it is...the leather couch of your dreams. Its beige leather surfaces are in pristine condition, no rips or scuff marks to speak of. Animals domesticated or otherwise, were not allowed on it. Teenagers were only allowed only under adult supervision and with numerous scornful/reproachable looks thrown in to make them uncomfortable enough to leave the room. Moreover, despite best efforts for conjugal activity, nothing of a sexual nature has ever happened on (or sadly near) this sofa.

    This sofa is in, another words, FANTASTIC shape.

    But wait...there's more!

    This couch originally cost over $1,300 and includes an inner spring mattress that has NEVER BEEEN slept on. That's right. No only has sexual activity never occurred ON the sofa, the bed itself has never had a hint of any such action. Let alone drooling, snoring or even breathing.

    So how much does such a beautiful, exquisite, dare we say, Virginal, piece of furniture cost you?

    Wait for it...

    $200 obo.

    That's right, OBO. Or Best Offer. So you're probably just vibrating with anticipation at this point as to exactly what could constitute a 'best offer'. Well, let me tell you.

    A best offer is when someone arrives, looks at the couch, hands over an agreeable sum of money and THEN CARTS THE COUCH AWAY.

    What is an agreeable sum of money?...I don't know, riddle me this Sherlock...did you notice the part where I said, THEN TAKES THE COUCH AWAY? Because if you can follow those simple instructions that agreeable sum of money can be ludicrously small, a pittance, a flippin' joke in fact. But if you show up, offer $150 and then ask me to move it for you, well, you're about $1,000.00 too short.

    So, if you want the couch, if you need this couch, if you're just'a jonesing for that perfect couch to perform all sorts of debauchery on...and if YOU're willing to CART this couch away...this couch is definitely for you.

    One last thing, if you can get my son to help you load it I will give you $20. That's right, if you'll get him to actually help lift the friggin couch, you win $20. I don't care if we settle for $10 on the couch and I wind up OWING you money. Just ask for the Internet deal.

    posted 7:46PM 05/28/2009 by eNilsson Blog Team
  • May 12, 2009

    FEC's New 3L Form Targets Campaign Bundlers

     

    Content Image The 3L form is the latest and greatest hit from those star-makers at the FEC. The purpose of this filing is to track bundled contributions forwarded by, or created by lobbyist and PACs. Here is the actual 3L form for your PDF downloading, form-filling enjoyment.

    Who does it affect?

    The 3L is designed to disclose bundled contributions from

    • lobbyist/registrants, or
    • lobbyist/registrant PACs

    who contribute in excess of $16,000 during a filing (or coverd) period.

    What is a "filing period?"

    House and Senate candidates - your filings are quarterly: April 15, July 15 and Jauary 31. Quarterly reports filed on July 15 and January 31 must also include total reportable bundled contributions for the semi-annual covered periods of January 1 through June 30, and July 1 through December 31, respectively. Reports for the 12-Day Pre-Election covered period include activity from the day after the closing date of the last report filed through the 20th day before the election and are filed no later than the 12th day before any primary or general election in which the candidate seeks election. Reports for the 30-Day Post-General Election covered period include activity from the day after the closing date of the last report filed through the 20th day after the election and are filed no later than 30 days after the general election.

    Party Committees, Leadership PACS, and Presidential Committees - You file your 3Ls at the same time as you file your Form 3X but... if you file your 3X monthly, you have the option of filing your 3L quarterly. Now isn't that easy to remember?

    Thanks FEC for another great form!

    Here is the full FEC speal on the 3L.

    posted 5:05AM 05/12/2009 by eNilsson Blog Team

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