In the game, there are several ways to fundraise. (Note: this describes the upcoming version of President Forever 2008 + Primaries’ fundraising model.) 1. Background fundraising. 2. Fundraisers. 3. Footsoldiers. 4. Unused CPs. (Note: all the equations given below are for illustrative purposes only. The actual equations are more complex and involve additional factors. The values 1, 2, and 3 in the equations are meant to illustrate the relative weighting of the components.)
1. Background fundraising. We wanted to capture several components of fundraising. In order of importance for background fundraising, first, momentum. The higher the momentum, the higher the fundraising. Second, national percentages. The higher the national percentages, the higher the fundraising. Third, the Established value for a candidate. The higher Established, the higher the fundraising. A simplified equation is
Amount = (momentum * 3) + (percentages * 2) + (Established * 1).
2. Fundraisers. Fundraisers are a little different from background fundraising, because they tend to focus on small groups of people who donate large amounts of money. These typically involve an event with the candidate, such as a dinner, where the donators get to be closer to the candidate. A candidate can still pack a fundraiser, even if their national percentages aren’t stratospheric. The emphasis for the purposes of the game is on Established first, percentages second, momentum third.
Amount = (momentum * 1) + (percentages * 2) + (Established * 3).
3. Footsoldiers. When Footsoldiers are set to fundraising, they do so in a regional (by state) way. The emphasis for the purposes of the game here is on percentages first, momentum second, and Established third.
Amount = (momentum * 2) + (percentages * 3) + (Established * 1).
4. Unused CPs. If your candidate’s campaign has CPs left over at the end of the turn, they are used for fundraising. This is effectively like having a fundraiser, but without the candidate’s own EPs being used. Similar to 2., then, the emphasis for the purposes of the game is on Established first, percentages second, momentum third. Unused CPs are simply Fundraisers, at a quarter the effectiveness per CP.
Amount = ( (momentum * 1) + (percentages * 2) + (Established * 3) )/4.
For any of these cases, the value is then multiplied by the party’s fundraising coefficient. In the upcoming version, in 2008 the Republicans have a coefficient of 1.0, and the Democrats have a coefficient of 1.5. For example, if Barack Obama and John McCain had identical percentages, momentum, and Established values, Obama would still out-raise McCain by 3:2. This applies in both the general and primaries phases of a campaign, and reflects (in the case of 2008) voter disenchantment with the Republican party.
Feedback welcome as always!
