You're reading: Grassroots fundraising hits political campaigns

A revolutionary idea, at least for Ukraine, seems to be taking off. It’s the notion that citizens can and should donate money and time to candidates they want to see elected.

 This is no breakthrough for those living in Western
democracies. But in Ukraine, where people are used to receiving buckwheat and
butter or other trivial bribes from candidates in exchange for their votes,
this is quite a change.

Prospective parliamentarians in single mandate
districts are trying to elicit contributions through various channels,
including blogs and social networks. The amounts are still small, particularly
by Western standards. But it’s a start.

The new Democratic Alliance party was one of the first
to test this kind of fundraising. They collected the money online and on the
streets, and by Aug. 19 had Hr 495,000 to their name. Inspiring as it is, it
was short of the required Hr 2 million deposit to the Central Election
Commission to make it on the ballot.

The money remains on their bank account, to be used
for political purposes like agitation or the printing of materials, as
determined by strict regulations.

“Ukrainians are not inclined to donate money to any
cause,” says Vasyl Gatsko, head of Democratic Alliance, a group of Christian
democrats, explaining why his party failed. “There is no culture yet of giving
to charity, civic organizations, let alone political parties.”

Gatsko says many people were shocked because “nobody
ever asked them for money to fund a political party before.” Typically, parties
are financed by their rich members or tycoons lurking behind them.

In the 2009 presidential election campaign, only
Anatoliy Grytsenko attempted grass roots fundraising. He says he collected Hr
2.6 million in donations. “We launched the initiative on our web page and it
went viral. We also reported all our spending online – leaflets, hall rentals
for gatherings, everything, even the smallest things,” recalled Grytsenko. 

Despite their failure, both the Democratic Alliance
and Grytsenko are part of a growing trend. Eventually, as the public matures
and becomes more inclined toward political donations, some candidates will
succeed.

Tetiana Montian, a high-profile lawyer running in a
Kyiv single mandate district, might be one of them. So far, she has collected
more than Hr 60,000. Two of her donors, including a grateful former client,
donated the maximum allowed by law – Hr 22,040.

“Most people sent Hr 100, 200 or 300. Some are fellow
lawyers, some have heard of my activism and read my blogs,” says Montian, who
is campaigning for open property and land registers and a Georgia-style fight
with bureaucracy. 

She says she is trying to be as transparent as
possible to preserve the public’s trust. She recounts Hr 20,000 being spent on
leaflets stuck in elevators in her constituency. Another Hr 12,000 was used to
print handouts.

She has dozens of activists campaigning for her in the
constituency, and that seems to be a growing trend in a cynical Ukraine, where
elections are traditionally seen as a time to benefit from politicians.

Viktor Chumak, head of the Ukrainian Institute for
Public Policy, a Kyiv-based nongovernmental organization, is also running in a
majority constituency in Kyiv. Chumak was delighted to see 20 volunteers turn
up at his office and offer help in their free time. He says this is “another
very positive new trend.”

Most of the candidates who turn to crowd sourcing for
funds are members of the opposition or frustrated journalists and activists
switching over to politics. But they are still the exception.

“The current election finance system is very shady and
there is virtually no control over a candidate’s money,” said Oleksiy Haran, a
top political scientist at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy. “It is no secret that most
donations come in cash.”  This is against
election law, which does not allow anonymous cash donations.

However, even in the West, donations from wealthy
backers still dominate campaigns. In July, according to The New York Times,
Republican candidate Mitt Romney raised $101.3 million – $25 million more than
U.S. President Barack Obama – mostly from big donors.

In Ukraine, Gatsko of the Democratic Alliance says
that dependence on tycoons is one of the biggest problems in politics.

“They fund campaigns and thus own them afterwards,” he
says. “Hopefully, this will gradually change.”

Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be
reached at [email protected]