In politics, a “Bundler” is an individual who can get multiple people to write large checks to a candidate. Oftentimes, Bundlers are wealthy business leaders, but everyday folks who are well-connected have also earned themselves Bundler status. As you dive into your fundraising efforts, think of yourself as a Bundler for The Borgen Project. Whether you think you can bundle three $1,000 donations or eight $50 donations, every bit helps.
What are “bundlers”? What is the definition of the term “bundlers”?
Let’s start from the beginning. In the United States, there are limits on how much an individual can contribute to an individual who is running for office or a national party.
For instance, an individual can give $2,500 to a candidate.
A “bundler” is a person who gathers contributions from many different individuals and presents the sum (or “bundle”) to a campaign in one lump sum. “Bundlers” are invaluable to campaigns – because of this, campaigns will usually bestow honorary titles upon the “bundlers”.
For instance, in the 2000 and 2004 Presidential campaigns, supporters who gathered $200,000+ were called “Bush Rangers”, and people who gathered $300,000+ were called “Super Rangers”. “Bush Pioneers” were “bundlers” that managed to raise $100,000, and “Bush Mavericks” were people under the age of 40 who bundled more than $50,000.
Some of the prominent Pioneers, Rangers and Mavericks were Haley Barbour, Richard J. Egan, Ken Lay and George Pataki.
The advantage of “bundlers” is that they can call on their internal network of contacts to help raise money for a campaign. This makes “bundlers” absolutely invaluable when it comes to raising money.