The Biggest—And Smallest—Grassroots Fundraisers of 2018
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By Ryan Hughes (@RyanHughesCA)
Oct. 24, 2018
In American political campaigns, cash rules everything. Candidates and elected officials spend countless hours raising money to pay for their commercials, mailers, and door hangers. But candidates differ in how they raise enough money to be competitive.
Dollar Dollar Bill wanted to find out who 2018's biggest—and smallest—grassroots fundraisers were. Our full methodology is explained below, but the short version is this: we calculated the percentage of each candidate's donors who gave $200 or less, but excluded any candidate who had not raised at least $100,000.
So whose campaign is raising the most grassroots money in 2018?
At the top of the list is Mark Meuser, the Republican candidate for Secretary of State. He attributed his grassroots fundraising success to his campaign's considerable travels throughout the state to speak to political and civic groups—and he has numbers: 825 events, 92,500 miles driven, a 58-county bike tour over 46 days, and air travel on top of all that. "We've been very good at handing out campaign contribution envelopes right there when I'm speaking," said Meuser. During our interview, Meuser was southbound on I-5 to headline an event that night for a Republican congressional candidate.
Joy Silver, the Democratic candidate for Senate District 28, attributed her success in grassroots fundraising to her having been an organizer before she began running for office. "I am a grassroots candidate because I was working as a grassroots organizer," explained Silver. Following the 2018 election, she helped organize a group to oppose Trump Administration policies. "They wanted me to run, so I became the voice of those people."
Asked how much time she spends fundraising, Silver paused and joked, "I'm trying to think of what else I do."
On the other end of the spectrum are candidates who raised almost no money from grassroots sources. California has ten candidates who raised less than one tenth of one percent of their campaign funds from grassroots donors:
All of these candidates are incumbent members of the Legislature, and only one of them is seeking higher office: Joel Anderson for Board of Equalization.
At the very bottom of grassroots fundraising this cycle is Mike Gipson, a Democratic Assemblymember from South Los Angeles, who raised 0.01% of his campaign contributions from grassroots sources. Of the nearly $1 million he raised, only $102.20 came from grassroots sources.
How much have your local candidates raised in grassroots contributions? All candidates for the 2018 General Election who raised at least $100,000:
Methodology
All data for this analysis comes from campaign reports filed through the last Form 460 reporting date, September 22, 2018.
We summed each candidate's contributions less than $100 (reported as a lump sum on Form 460, Schedule A, Line 2). Then we added to that total each candidate's contributions this cycle that were $200 or less, but excluded any contributor who donated multiple times for a sum exceeding $200. That figure is "Grassroots ($)", above.
Then we summed up the total number of contributions and the net of loans made to a campaign (loans received less loans repaid). That figure is "Total Raised", above.
We removed any candidate who had not raised at least $100,000 as a means to control for data skewing by candidates who are not viable. We then calculated the portion of a candidate's funds that are grassroots, i.e., from contributors giving $200 or less. We used a percentage in our rankings instead of total grassroots dollars in order to compare districts that are geographically and economically diverse.
To note, it is not possible to calculate the average contribution for California candidates from publicly available information. As noted above, all contributions less than $100 are reported as a lump sum without reporting the number of people contributing under $100. For example, if a candidate reports $1,000 worth of contributions under $100, that may have come from 11 people contributing $90.91 or 1,000 people contributing $1. Without knowing how many people actually contributed, calculating an average contribution amount is not possible.
Oct. 24, 2018
In American political campaigns, cash rules everything. Candidates and elected officials spend countless hours raising money to pay for their commercials, mailers, and door hangers. But candidates differ in how they raise enough money to be competitive.
Dollar Dollar Bill wanted to find out who 2018's biggest—and smallest—grassroots fundraisers were. Our full methodology is explained below, but the short version is this: we calculated the percentage of each candidate's donors who gave $200 or less, but excluded any candidate who had not raised at least $100,000.
So whose campaign is raising the most grassroots money in 2018?
| Committee | Candidate | District | Total Raised | Grassroots ($) | Grassroots (%) |
| 1399275 | Mark Meuser (R) | SOS | $261,187.46 | $128,800.74 | 49.31% |
| 1396341 | Jovanka Beckles (D) | AD15 | $350,499.34 | $99,997.20 | 28.53% |
| 1401386 | William Ostrander (D) | AD35 | $109,049.90 | $28,446.06 | 26.09% |
| 1399141 | Jacalyn Smith (D) | AD06 | $135,137.29 | $31,991.51 | 23.67% |
| 1397133 | Joy Silver (D) | SD28 | $509,409.42 | $71,888.03 | 14.11% |
| 1389776 | Steven Bailey (R) | AG | $501,228.98 | $56,053.61 | 11.18% |
| 1396734 | Buffy Wicks (D) | AD15 | $1,134,729.48 | $90,251.91 | 7.95% |
| 1394897 | John Cox (R) | CAGOV | $12,145,288.73 | $878,300.09 | 7.23% |
| 1400670 | Cottie Petrie-Norris (D) | AD74 | $435,364.07 | $31,213.18 | 7.17% |
| 1400293 | Alexandria Coronado (R) | AD65 | $199,364.08 | $13,874.00 | 6.96% |
At the top of the list is Mark Meuser, the Republican candidate for Secretary of State. He attributed his grassroots fundraising success to his campaign's considerable travels throughout the state to speak to political and civic groups—and he has numbers: 825 events, 92,500 miles driven, a 58-county bike tour over 46 days, and air travel on top of all that. "We've been very good at handing out campaign contribution envelopes right there when I'm speaking," said Meuser. During our interview, Meuser was southbound on I-5 to headline an event that night for a Republican congressional candidate.Joy Silver, the Democratic candidate for Senate District 28, attributed her success in grassroots fundraising to her having been an organizer before she began running for office. "I am a grassroots candidate because I was working as a grassroots organizer," explained Silver. Following the 2018 election, she helped organize a group to oppose Trump Administration policies. "They wanted me to run, so I became the voice of those people."
Asked how much time she spends fundraising, Silver paused and joked, "I'm trying to think of what else I do."
On the other end of the spectrum are candidates who raised almost no money from grassroots sources. California has ten candidates who raised less than one tenth of one percent of their campaign funds from grassroots donors:
| Committee | Candidate | District | Total Raised | Grassroots ($) | Grassroots (%) |
| 1392439 | Miguel Santiago (D) | AD53 | $1,238,791.76 | $1,125.00 | 0.09% |
| 1400787 | Wendy Carrillo (D) | AD51 | $448,769.86 | $375.50 | 0.08% |
| 1393364 | Blanca Rubio (D) | AD48 | $1,074,290.57 | $880.50 | 0.08% |
| 1392494 | Lorena Gonzalez (D) | AD80 | $1,724,427.89 | $1,403.00 | 0.08% |
| 1393555 | Ken Cooley (D) | AD08 | $625,057.51 | $450.00 | 0.07% |
| 1392684 | Ian Calderon (D) | AD57 | $1,145,958.17 | $736.00 | 0.06% |
| 1392388 | Jim Cooper (D) | AD09 | $2,002,785.01 | $1,210.00 | 0.06% |
| 1401423 | Joel Anderson (R) | BOE04 | $449,001.08 | $235.00 | 0.05% |
| 1392666 | Marie Waldron (R) | AD75 | $544,437.22 | $189.97 | 0.03% |
| 1392928 | Mike Gipson (D) | AD64 | $981,334.48 | $102.20 | 0.01% |
All of these candidates are incumbent members of the Legislature, and only one of them is seeking higher office: Joel Anderson for Board of Equalization.
At the very bottom of grassroots fundraising this cycle is Mike Gipson, a Democratic Assemblymember from South Los Angeles, who raised 0.01% of his campaign contributions from grassroots sources. Of the nearly $1 million he raised, only $102.20 came from grassroots sources.
How much have your local candidates raised in grassroots contributions? All candidates for the 2018 General Election who raised at least $100,000:
| Committee | Candidate | District | Total Raised | Grassroots ($) | Grassroots (%) |
| 1399275 | Mark Meuser (R) | SOS | $261,187.46 | $128,800.74 | 49.31% |
| 1396341 | Jovanka Beckles (D) | AD15 | $350,499.34 | $99,997.20 | 28.53% |
| 1401386 | William Ostrander (D) | AD35 | $109,049.90 | $28,446.06 | 26.09% |
| 1399141 | Jacalyn Smith (D) | AD06 | $135,137.29 | $31,991.51 | 23.67% |
| 1397133 | Joy Silver (D) | SD28 | $509,409.42 | $71,888.03 | 14.11% |
| 1389776 | Steven Bailey (R) | AG | $501,228.98 | $56,053.61 | 11.18% |
| 1396734 | Buffy Wicks (D) | AD15 | $1,134,729.48 | $90,251.91 | 7.95% |
| 1394897 | John Cox (R) | CAGOV | $12,145,288.73 | $878,300.09 | 7.23% |
| 1400670 | Cottie Petrie-Norris (D) | AD74 | $435,364.07 | $31,213.18 | 7.17% |
| 1400293 | Alexandria Coronado (R) | AD65 | $199,364.08 | $13,874.00 | 6.96% |
| 1373364 | Mike Mc Guire (D) | SD02 | $1,541,581.86 | $102,039.18 | 6.62% |
| 1397541 | Sunday Gover (D) | AD77 | $471,297.26 | $30,756.22 | 6.53% |
| 1399301 | Tasha Boerner Horvath (D) | AD76 | $412,747.96 | $24,435.96 | 5.92% |
| 1401391 | Tepring Michelle Piquado (D) | AD54 | $168,735.08 | $9,959.58 | 5.90% |
| 1397082 | Alan Geraci (D) | AD75 | $142,171.37 | $7,736.44 | 5.44% |
| 1375287 | Gavin Newsom (D) | CAGOV | $41,931,831.24 | $2,160,446.32 | 5.15% |
| 1373835 | Janet Nguyen (R) | SD34 | $1,947,105.29 | $96,779.01 | 4.97% |
| 1392484 | Mark Stone (D) | AD29 | $468,134.57 | $20,875.94 | 4.46% |
| 1400327 | Konstantinos Roditis (R) | CON | $117,214.99 | $5,114.99 | 4.36% |
| 1355121 | Michael Eng (D) | SD22 | $2,449,071.73 | $101,798.46 | 4.16% |
| 1398674 | Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D) | AD16 | $958,349.83 | $39,094.37 | 4.08% |
| 1394091 | Xavier Becerra (D) | AG | $6,798,507.78 | $266,470.77 | 3.92% |
| 1400729 | Jesse Gabriel (D) | AD45 | $947,466.05 | $36,115.36 | 3.81% |
| 1397714 | Frank Scotto (R) | AD66 | $725,034.58 | $27,107.00 | 3.74% |
| 1395234 | Marshall Tuck (D) | SPI | $4,276,700.13 | $126,421.19 | 2.96% |
| 1374146 | Brian Jones (R) | SD38 | $926,033.24 | $24,481.00 | 2.64% |
| 1374058 | Richard Pan (D) | SD06 | $1,331,028.76 | $33,510.67 | 2.52% |
| 1392567 | James Gallagher (R) | AD03 | $1,126,179.33 | $28,326.88 | 2.52% |
| 1393775 | Malia Cohen (D) | BOE02 | $909,361.61 | $22,467.00 | 2.47% |
| 1392453 | Kevin Kiley (R) | AD06 | $676,588.65 | $16,004.98 | 2.37% |
| 1395749 | Maria Elena Durazo (D) | SD24 | $1,206,722.95 | $28,406.00 | 2.35% |
| 1384474 | Fiona Ma (D) | TREAS | $3,454,286.07 | $77,226.71 | 2.24% |
| 1393660 | Ash Kalra (D) | AD27 | $482,134.00 | $10,114.00 | 2.10% |
| 1399486 | Robert Rivas (D) | AD30 | $702,549.27 | $14,390.00 | 2.05% |
| 1399481 | Josh Lowenthal (D) | AD72 | $1,340,146.42 | $26,857.17 | 2.00% |
| 1392518 | Catharine Baker (R) | AD16 | $2,043,507.26 | $38,367.27 | 1.88% |
| 1392662 | Al Muratsuchi (D) | AD66 | $1,354,823.00 | $25,039.53 | 1.85% |
| 1401462 | Melissa Hurtado (D) | SD14 | $653,284.33 | $11,939.18 | 1.83% |
| 1392511 | S. Monique Limon (D) | AD37 | $876,953.00 | $15,135.49 | 1.73% |
| 1394470 | Andreas Borgeas (R) | SD08 | $894,384.98 | $15,412.19 | 1.72% |
| 1392371 | Edwin Chau (D) | AD49 | $596,739.75 | $9,950.00 | 1.67% |
| 1402965 | Bob Archuleta (D) | SD32 | $518,724.83 | $8,602.00 | 1.66% |
| 1392828 | Kevin Mullin (D) | AD22 | $844,571.10 | $13,634.00 | 1.61% |
| 1392890 | Susan Rubio (D) | SD22 | $837,248.66 | $13,356.00 | 1.60% |
| 1374814 | Betty Yee (D) | CON | $2,194,307.05 | $34,581.43 | 1.58% |
| 1392806 | Melissa Melendez (R) | AD67 | $401,288.04 | $6,075.00 | 1.51% |
| 1393016 | Jordan Cunningham (R) | AD35 | $1,020,896.61 | $15,126.66 | 1.48% |
| 1392556 | Laura Friedman (D) | AD43 | $748,804.12 | $11,013.08 | 1.47% |
| 1374486 | Bob Wieckowski (D) | SD10 | $946,622.22 | $13,881.14 | 1.47% |
| 1374834 | Shannon Grove (R) | SD16 | $1,512,205.91 | $21,661.76 | 1.43% |
| 1393543 | Kansen Chu (D) | AD25 | $449,819.16 | $6,436.31 | 1.43% |
| 1395167 | Christy Smith (D) | AD38 | $1,275,279.76 | $18,227.72 | 1.43% |
| 1392333 | James Wood (D) | AD02 | $1,103,126.85 | $15,259.91 | 1.38% |
| 1393314 | Devon Mathis (R) | AD26 | $441,166.09 | $6,049.92 | 1.37% |
| 1374053 | Connie Leyva (D) | SD20 | $1,301,747.12 | $17,835.00 | 1.37% |
| 1397523 | Tyler Diep (R) | AD72 | $907,191.79 | $12,187.00 | 1.34% |
| 1403611 | Henry Nickel (R) | AD40 | $282,813.12 | $3,787.68 | 1.34% |
| 1392630 | Bill Quirk (D) | AD20 | $643,019.42 | $8,534.00 | 1.33% |
| 1392840 | Steven Choi (R) | AD68 | $245,853.00 | $3,203.00 | 1.30% |
| 1374149 | Ben Allen (D) | SD26 | $1,690,309.04 | $21,782.00 | 1.29% |
| 1403029 | Thomas Umberg (D) | SD34 | $1,085,928.14 | $13,193.17 | 1.21% |
| 1393047 | David Chiu (D) | AD17 | $1,395,785.39 | $16,769.01 | 1.20% |
| 1393597 | Patrick O'Donnell (D) | AD70 | $1,030,713.79 | $12,294.00 | 1.19% |
| 1393824 | Susan Eggman (D) | AD13 | $1,023,635.71 | $12,056.19 | 1.18% |
| 1392357 | Evan Low (D) | AD28 | $2,040,144.24 | $24,026.25 | 1.18% |
| 1374488 | Edward Hernandez (D) | LG | $3,672,188.78 | $42,041.00 | 1.14% |
| 1392977 | Todd Gloria (D) | AD78 | $866,625.10 | $9,730.00 | 1.12% |
| 1392962 | Sharon Quirk-Silva (D) | AD65 | $1,676,466.92 | $18,797.97 | 1.12% |
| 1392362 | Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D) | AD04 | $788,054.20 | $8,676.69 | 1.10% |
| 1393014 | Vincent Fong (R) | AD34 | $1,071,066.11 | $11,237.98 | 1.05% |
| 1392758 | Marc Berman (D) | AD24 | $715,198.24 | $7,456.20 | 1.04% |
| 1401368 | Sydney Kamlager (D) | AD54 | $571,669.75 | $5,880.00 | 1.03% |
| 1393111 | Joaquin Arambula (D) | AD31 | $898,302.70 | $8,899.31 | 0.99% |
| 1403354 | Justin Mendes (R) | AD32 | $653,832.91 | $6,085.00 | 0.93% |
| 1393074 | Jacqui Irwin (D) | AD44 | $1,233,253.50 | $11,356.00 | 0.92% |
| 1393064 | Cristina Garcia (D) | AD58 | $807,374.70 | $7,318.69 | 0.91% |
| 1407043 | Mohammad-Ali Mazarei (R) | AD61 | $114,356.04 | $1,035.54 | 0.91% |
| 1393341 | Eloise Gomez Reyes (D) | AD47 | $681,258.32 | $6,144.70 | 0.90% |
| 1402831 | Bill Essayli (R) | AD60 | $629,253.31 | $5,626.17 | 0.89% |
| 1393376 | Shirley Weber (D) | AD79 | $719,040.24 | $6,394.00 | 0.89% |
| 1393777 | Randy Voepel (R) | AD71 | $162,010.00 | $1,400.00 | 0.86% |
| 1392652 | Jim Frazier (D) | AD11 | $1,071,153.60 | $9,248.99 | 0.86% |
| 1392480 | Adrin Nazarian (D) | AD46 | $827,127.82 | $7,127.99 | 0.86% |
| 1373719 | Alex Padilla (D) | SOS | $1,769,469.14 | $14,767.13 | 0.83% |
| 1392593 | Tim Grayson (D) | AD14 | $1,089,670.33 | $8,911.04 | 0.82% |
| 1395990 | Eleni Kounalakis (D) | LG | $6,948,261.57 | $54,581.58 | 0.79% |
| 1401703 | James Ramos (D) | AD40 | $1,561,945.06 | $11,711.32 | 0.75% |
| 1373825 | Andy Vidak (R) | SD14 | $1,786,180.52 | $12,895.00 | 0.72% |
| 1378003 | Ted Gaines (R) | BOE01 | $840,303.33 | $6,015.00 | 0.72% |
| 1373597 | Jim Nielsen (R) | SD04 | $997,447.79 | $7,115.00 | 0.71% |
| 1393498 | Tony Vazquez (D) | BOE03 | $358,674.35 | $2,501.11 | 0.70% |
| 1374577 | Pat Bates (R) | SD36 | $1,540,644.65 | $10,658.45 | 0.69% |
| 1392526 | Dante Acosta (R) | AD38 | $914,428.76 | $6,162.00 | 0.67% |
| 1401105 | Luz Rivas (D) | AD39 | $334,456.14 | $2,108.03 | 0.63% |
| 1392882 | Chad Mayes (R) | AD42 | $1,213,756.31 | $7,576.30 | 0.62% |
| 1392389 | Rob Bonta (D) | AD18 | $2,628,260.37 | $15,647.88 | 0.60% |
| 1393369 | Brian Dahle (R) | AD01 | $1,437,744.65 | $8,493.84 | 0.59% |
| 1392382 | Eduardo Garcia (D) | AD56 | $747,383.28 | $4,298.00 | 0.58% |
| 1392690 | Heath Flora (R) | AD12 | $490,837.33 | $2,772.25 | 0.56% |
| 1393932 | Ricardo Lara (D) | IC | $2,065,769.09 | $11,560.35 | 0.56% |
| 1392561 | Sabrina Cervantes (D) | AD60 | $1,748,736.69 | $9,754.70 | 0.56% |
| 1393171 | Jose Medina (D) | AD61 | $615,600.64 | $3,386.32 | 0.55% |
| 1392711 | Marc Levine (D) | AD10 | $1,755,336.86 | $9,509.85 | 0.54% |
| 1374274 | Jeffrey Stone (R) | SD28 | $537,258.00 | $2,769.00 | 0.52% |
| 1373775 | Holly Mitchell (D) | SD30 | $1,279,003.18 | $6,305.96 | 0.49% |
| 1393990 | Jim Patterson (R) | AD23 | $784,863.17 | $3,800.00 | 0.48% |
| 1398994 | Robert Poythress (R) | SD12 | $1,812,471.53 | $8,620.00 | 0.48% |
| 1392565 | Frank Bigelow (R) | AD05 | $1,413,518.61 | $6,460.00 | 0.46% |
| 1392528 | Bill Brough (R) | AD73 | $623,975.43 | $2,823.00 | 0.45% |
| 1392488 | Tony Thurmond (D) | SPI | $702,140.37 | $3,097.22 | 0.44% |
| 1394879 | Anna Caballero (D) | SD12 | $2,114,695.50 | $9,109.16 | 0.43% |
| 1392379 | Phillip Chen (R) | AD55 | $669,264.64 | $2,697.24 | 0.40% |
| 1392804 | Kevin Mc Carty (D) | AD07 | $737,720.29 | $2,896.98 | 0.39% |
| 1392884 | Jay Obernolte (R) | AD33 | $503,331.01 | $1,962.72 | 0.39% |
| 1393484 | Phil Ting (D) | AD19 | $1,753,400.32 | $6,723.66 | 0.38% |
| 1393131 | Matthew Harper (R) | AD74 | $264,870.98 | $999.00 | 0.38% |
| 1392468 | Richard Bloom (D) | AD50 | $579,022.28 | $2,130.00 | 0.37% |
| 1393205 | Thomas Lackey (R) | AD36 | $629,275.51 | $2,225.59 | 0.35% |
| 1392612 | Adam Gray (D) | AD21 | $1,352,561.49 | $4,321.34 | 0.32% |
| 1392735 | Brian Maienschein (R) | AD77 | $1,768,749.36 | $4,794.00 | 0.27% |
| 1402422 | Steve Poizner (N) | IC | $2,051,395.50 | $5,052.18 | 0.25% |
| 1373423 | Robert Hertzberg (D) | SD18 | $2,023,911.11 | $4,933.66 | 0.24% |
| 1392709 | Freddie Rodriguez (D) | AD52 | $890,116.53 | $1,668.81 | 0.19% |
| 1392700 | Reggie Jones-Sawyer Sr. (D) | AD59 | $486,944.48 | $800.00 | 0.16% |
| 1393348 | Autumn Burke (D) | AD62 | $1,218,879.76 | $1,726.19 | 0.14% |
| 1393404 | Chris Holden (D) | AD41 | $931,964.47 | $1,295.36 | 0.14% |
| 1393439 | Rudy Salas Jr. (D) | AD32 | $1,390,765.38 | $1,897.00 | 0.14% |
| 1393412 | Tom Daly (D) | AD69 | $1,513,510.53 | $1,993.00 | 0.13% |
| 1373761 | Ben Hueso (D) | SD40 | $1,114,985.56 | $1,350.00 | 0.12% |
| 1393414 | Anthony Rendon (D) | AD63 | $2,901,621.03 | $3,230.41 | 0.11% |
| 1392439 | Miguel Santiago (D) | AD53 | $1,238,791.76 | $1,125.00 | 0.09% |
| 1400787 | Wendy Carrillo (D) | AD51 | $448,769.86 | $375.50 | 0.08% |
| 1393364 | Blanca Rubio (D) | AD48 | $1,074,290.57 | $880.50 | 0.08% |
| 1392494 | Lorena Gonzalez (D) | AD80 | $1,724,427.89 | $1,403.00 | 0.08% |
| 1393555 | Ken Cooley (D) | AD08 | $625,057.51 | $450.00 | 0.07% |
| 1392684 | Ian Calderon (D) | AD57 | $1,145,958.17 | $736.00 | 0.06% |
| 1392388 | Jim Cooper (D) | AD09 | $2,002,785.01 | $1,210.00 | 0.06% |
| 1401423 | Joel Anderson (R) | BOE04 | $449,001.08 | $235.00 | 0.05% |
| 1392666 | Marie Waldron (R) | AD75 | $544,437.22 | $189.97 | 0.03% |
| 1392928 | Mike Gipson (D) | AD64 | $981,334.48 | $102.20 | 0.01% |
Methodology
All data for this analysis comes from campaign reports filed through the last Form 460 reporting date, September 22, 2018.
We summed each candidate's contributions less than $100 (reported as a lump sum on Form 460, Schedule A, Line 2). Then we added to that total each candidate's contributions this cycle that were $200 or less, but excluded any contributor who donated multiple times for a sum exceeding $200. That figure is "Grassroots ($)", above.
Then we summed up the total number of contributions and the net of loans made to a campaign (loans received less loans repaid). That figure is "Total Raised", above.
We removed any candidate who had not raised at least $100,000 as a means to control for data skewing by candidates who are not viable. We then calculated the portion of a candidate's funds that are grassroots, i.e., from contributors giving $200 or less. We used a percentage in our rankings instead of total grassroots dollars in order to compare districts that are geographically and economically diverse.
To note, it is not possible to calculate the average contribution for California candidates from publicly available information. As noted above, all contributions less than $100 are reported as a lump sum without reporting the number of people contributing under $100. For example, if a candidate reports $1,000 worth of contributions under $100, that may have come from 11 people contributing $90.91 or 1,000 people contributing $1. Without knowing how many people actually contributed, calculating an average contribution amount is not possible.