Compliance updates, product features, and perspectives from the team powering Republican campaigns since 1981.
Join the Crimson Support Team next week on March 25 for two Crimson training sessions designed to help your team get more out of the platform. Whether you want a full tour of the latest features or a focused look at compliance tools for overlimit donors, there is a session built for you.
Following up with donors who have contributed too much to a campaign is increasingly important. With the growth of multi-channel fundraising, it’s now possible for undisclosed donors to make enough repeated gifts and go over FEC limits. With Crimson, it’s possible to find these donations and either reattribute or redesignate them rather than issue refunds.
The 2026 primary season starts on March 3 with Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas, so the time frame for filing 48-Hour Notices will be starting for many campaigns. These must be filed for donations over $1,000 between 20 days and 48 hours before a primary or general election. Crimson's Email Scheduler can alert you via a daily email when new reportable donations are entered into Crimson.
The Crimson Fundraising Dashboard gives you a complete overview of your contribution data in one place. From total gift amounts and fund code breakdowns to your top-performing source codes, fundraisers, and locations, this dashboard makes it easy to see exactly where your money is coming from and how your fundraising efforts are performing. Whether you need a quick status check or want to dig into the details behind a specific number, the Fundraising Dashboard puts that information at your fingertips.
January is the perfect time to evaluate your Crimson database and make sure you are doing everything possible to keep your data clean and organized. This starts by understanding how data is arranged in Crimson.
The Crimson Compliance Dashboard is your command center for maintaining FEC-compliant data. Designed to catch potential issues before they become problems, this dashboard alerts you to records that need review, helps you identify duplicates, and streamlines the compliance processes that keep your committee's reporting accurate and timely.
With the first FEC deadline of 2026 approaching on January 31, it's time to download our monthly and quarterly one-pager with all the information you need to stay on track this year.
When it comes to maintaining clean data, staying compliant, and keeping your books balanced, the way you prepare contributions before they ever hit Crimson makes a huge difference. Whether you're entering a handful of checks or processing a major fundraising push, having a reliable batching and caging process will save you time and headaches.
Adding contributions to your database is easy with Crimson’s Data Entry dashboard. These tools are designed to simplify the process of batching, balancing, and loading gifts, while ensuring accuracy and compliance for your campaign or committee.
CMDI is proud to expand our compliance services to more Republican committees across the country. We now support compliance in 16 states:
The Financial Summary Dashboard in Crimson gives campaign and PAC teams a clear, centralized view of their invoice and payment activity. Whether you’re managing payees, approving expenditures, or reconciling accounts, this dashboard is your command center for financial operations.
Looking to sharpen your skills in Crimson and take control of your committee’s data? Join us on Wednesday, September 24 for two essential training sessions designed to help you unlock the full potential of Crimson’s powerful tools.
The Payment Requests tools in Crimson contains two sides – My Payment Requests and Treasury. The My Payment Requests tools enables Crimson users to submit requests for expense reports, vendor payments, donation refunds and contribution requests.
Managing data across platforms is one of the biggest challenges political campaigns, PACs, and organizations face today. That’s why Crimson offers a powerful lineup of integrations designed to streamline your digital ecosystem from donation platforms to email marketing tools and donor research services.
Join the Crimson Support Team next week on Wednesday, July 30 for two live training sessions to help you get the most out of your platform from everyday tools to advanced email integrations.
Managing email communications is easy with Crimson. Through Crimson’s Email Integration feature, you can seamlessly connect your email marketing platform with Crimson’s robust People Search tools. Whether you're launching a rapid-response email or planning a targeted outreach campaign, this integration helps you build segmented lists and keep them updated without ever exporting a spreadsheet.
As more major gifts flow through JFCs, the need to vet contributions for compliance, especially to ensure donors aren’t exceeding legal limits, has become a significant challenge. To streamline this process, Crimson’s JFC Vetting Tool simplifies donation review by using import matching logic to check if a donor already exists in your database and calculate how much they’ve contributed to a specific fund code.
Managing Joint Fundraising Committees can be a complex process, especially when you’re coordinating multiple committees, navigating allocation formulas, and keeping your compliance reporting airtight. That’s why Crimson offers a powerful suite of tools designed specifically to simplify JFC activity. At the center of it all is the JFC Dashboard, your command center for everything related to JFC contributions, distributions, and reporting.
We’re excited to invite you to our next round of Crimson training sessions on Tuesday, June 25, 2025. Whether you’re new to Crimson or looking for a refresher, these sessions are designed to help you make the most of Crimson’s powerful tools.
If you're involved in political fundraising, there's one tool you can't afford to ignore: the joint fundraising committee. Whether you're part of a national party committee, working for a federal candidate, or managing a PAC, understanding how JFCs work can unlock major efficiencies and revenue potential.
These updates are designed to help your team work smarter and stay in full compliance while managing complex JFC structures. Need help getting started with these features? Contact the Crimson Support Team any time!
Duplicate records clutter your database, skew reports, and waste time. Luckily, Crimson provides three powerful tools to help you find and eliminate duplicates: Dupe Check in People Records, the Merge Tool, and the Deduping Tool. Here’s exactly how to use each one to keep your data clean and accurate.
In the fast-paced world of political campaigns, your team is focused on one thing — winning. But while you’re working long hours to secure votes or raise money, cybercriminals are working just as hard to compromise your campaign’s data. And the truth is, too many campaigns are leaving the door wide open for them.
Looking to sharpen your skills in Crimson and take control of your campaign data? Join us on Wednesday, May 21 for two essential training sessions designed to help you unlock the full potential of Crimson’s data management tools.
Last week, the Federal Election Commission lost its quorum when Commissioner Allen Dickerson resigned. By law, the FEC is composed of six commissioners, appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, with no more than three commissioners from the same political party to ensure bipartisan representation. To conduct business, they need four members for a quorum.
The next Crimson training sessions are happening on Wednesday, April 30, and we’d love for you to join us. These webinars are designed to help you make the most of Crimson’s powerful tools and improve your fundraising and event management strategies.
This month at CMDI, we’re spotlighting three Crimson tools that help you better plan, prepare, and execute events with precision — Map It, Event Briefings, and Invite Management. Whether you’re planning a national tour or managing RSVPs for a single dinner, these features will help you streamline every step.
Created 50 years ago this week, the Federal Election Commission plays a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of elections in the United States. However, as times change and challenges evolve, it is imperative that the FEC adapts to better serve the needs of the electorate and candidates alike. We've outlined potential reforms aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the FEC, including removing street addresses from donation data files, indexing PAC donation limits to inflation, and allowing unlimited coordination between campaigns and national party committees.
Behind every successful fundraising mailing is a carefully curated list, and that’s where CMDI comes in. Building an effective direct mail strategy isn’t just about sending letters. It’s about using clean, segmented, and strategic data to connect with the right supporters. Whether a candidate is brand-new or a seasoned campaigner, our mailing list process helps maximize fundraising results and minimize wasted effort.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) recently issued an interpretive rule clarifying how existing regulations apply to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in political campaigns. Instead of pursuing a new rulemaking process, the commissioners confirmed that AI-generated deceptive content is already covered under existing laws barring fraudulent misrepresentation. This decision comes in response to growing concerns over the use of AI to create misleading political advertisements and deepfakes ahead of the upcoming election cycle.
In the world of political campaigns, having accurate and clean data is essential. Whether you’re running a small, local campaign or managing data at the national level, poor data hygiene can result in wasted resources, missed opportunities, and compliance issues. Greg Andreycak, Director of Account Services for CMDI, shared his insights into best practices for data management and how campaigns can maintain clean, effective data.
Do you want a way to easily track information about your donors or volunteers that doesn’t easily fit into other categories? Attributes, found on People Records, is a flexible and customizable tool that helps your organization or campaign track almost anything.
Our next Crimson training sessions are happening on Wednesday, February 26, and we’d love for you to join us. These sessions will help you maximize Crimson’s tools and features to streamline operations and enhance your donor management strategies.
Managing donor contributions across campaign elections is essential for maintaining accurate records. With Crimson’s new Bulk Redesignation Tool, users can efficiently redesignate a donor’s contributions when they’ve reached the limit for one election. Follow the steps below to use this new feature in your Crimson database.
The FEC recently released the new contributions for the 2025-2026 election cycle, and the limits for several categories were increased.
2025 may be an off-year for most elections, but the Federal Election Commission requires committees and PACs to file regular reports. The next deadline will be on Friday, January 31 for 2024 Year-End Reports.
Start the year off right with Crimson’s first training sessions of 2025 on January 22. Whether you’re new to Crimson or a seasoned user looking to sharpen your skills, these sessions are designed to help you make the most of the platform.
Not only is it a new year, but it’s also a new election cycle! This is the best time to review your Crimson data and see how you can better organize and clean it.
The 2024 election season was nothing short of historic, and CMDI is proud to have played a pivotal role in the GOP’s success. This year, we participated in a record number of federal campaigns, supporting candidates across the nation with the tools and insights needed to secure victory.
The election might be over, but the work for the 2024 cycle hasn’t ended yet. There are two upcoming FEC filing deadlines – the Post-General Report on Thursday, December 5 and the Year-End Report on January 31, 2025.
The election is over. While most of America is moving on and looking towards the return of the Trump administration, those who work in the political sector still have work to do for the 2024 cycle. Below is the CMDI checklist to help you stay on track.
The 2024 primary season starts at the beginning of March, so the time frame for filing 48-Hour Notices will be starting for many campaigns. These must be filed for donations over $1,000 between 20 days and 48 hours before a primary or general election. Crimson’s Email Scheduler can alert you via a daily email when new reportable donations are entered into Crimson.
Election season is in full swing, and we know how crucial it is to have quick access to the data that drives your decisions. That’s why we’re thrilled to introduce CrimsonGPT, our latest AI-powered feature designed to make your data queries faster and more efficient. Whether you’re digging into donor details, summarizing data, or just need a quick answer, CrimsonGPT is here to help you stay focused on what really matters—winning.
One of the most useful and flexible features in Crimson is the ability to save searches. This enables you to customize search queries that routinely run and create custom reports. When combined with the Email Scheduler feature, you can automate most searches that are regularly run.
Would you like to add an email or communication with a donor to their profile in Crimson? Do you want a track record of the messages and interaction your staff have with supporters, volunteers, and donors? The Crimson Mailbox is a new feature that will allow you to connect your email program to People Profiles.
Attributes, found on People Records, help categorize or track information about donors, volunteers, or stakeholders on the profile. This feature is helpful to track volunteer hours, major donors, and anything else your organization needs to record. Attributes are completely customizable so you can quickly identify the label on each record or profile in your Crimson account.
We hope you can join our next Crimson training sessions on Wednesday, June 26, 2024. The first session at 11 a.m. will be a Crimson Overview. This is an opportunity for a comprehensive overview of Crimson’s tools and features that can help streamline your daily operations and enhance your donor management strategies. The second session is at 2 p.m and will cover the Attributes feature. These customizable codes, found alongside Flags and Keywords in People Profiles, provide organizations with enhanced ways to describe and categorize donors and stakeholders.
Better manage your campaign’s fundraisers with the Crimson Fundraiser Portfolio. This feature enables your organization to track major donor programs and the progress of individual fundraisers from the convenience of your Home dashboard.
With the start of a new quarter, there are a lot of thank you notes to send out to donors. Crimson has an easy tool that works with the Mail Merge feature to streamline and simplify this process of thanking your donors.
Join us on Wednesday, April 24 for the next Crimson Overview training opportunity. Trainings will be offered at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT.
When you log in to Crimson, do you always go to CMDI.com and click on the login link? Did you know that you can create bookmarks on mobile devices? Since Crimson is designed to be responsive, you can use it from any mobile device. Follow these instructions to set up bookmarks on your phones and tablets.
Join us next Wednesday for Crimson Overview trainings. On March 27, we we will offer sessions at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT.
Join us next Wednesday for Crimson Overview trainings. On February 28, we will offer sessions at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EST.
The 2024 primary season starts at the beginning of March, so the time frame for filing 48-Hour Notices will be starting for many campaigns. These must be filed for donations over $1,000 between 20 days and 48 hours before a primary or general election. Crimson’s Email Scheduler can alert you via a daily email when new reportable donations are entered into Crimson.
With the first FEC deadline of 2024 approaching on January 31, it’s time to download our monthly and quarterly one-pager with all the information you need to stay on track this year.
Pledges are a major component of political fundraising, and Crimson features can simplify tracking and managing these donations. Below are instructions for several tools that make reconciling and accounting pledges faster and more accurate
Now that primary season has kicked off with Iowa Caucuses last night, you may be looking for a list of primary dates. If you are working on a federal race, not only do you need to follow regular FEC filing deadlines, but also you need to be aware of the periods to file 48-Hour Notices for donations of $1,000 and over.
Welcome to the fourth and final installment in the Feature of the Month series on People Profiles. In this post, we’ll cover the remaining panels on the People Profile including Pledges, Events, Clubs, and Bundler Tracking.
CMDI recently released two new features that were frequently requested by our users. The Searching Spouse Giving under People Searches includes records of a spouse’s giving history in exports. The Thank You Dashboard Program Code Suppression allows you to exclude programs that populate the Thank Yous Needed section of the Home dashboard.
Join us next Wednesday for the last training opportunity of 2023. On November 15, we will offer a Crimson Overview training at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT.
This month, we are continuing to examine the different parts of the People Profile. For October, we are taking a close look at two boxes – the Code and Actions panels. The Code panel contains three important segmentation and organizational tools – Flags, Keywords, and Attributes while the Action panel tracks any interaction with your organization.
We’ve rolled out three new features on Crimson that should help you streamline and work faster – Customizable Dashboards, Fundraising Tracking #, and Pledge Import Tool.
Want to learn how to use the new Crimson features that were recently announced? Join the Crimson Support Team on October 25, for two Crimson Overview webinars at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT. Once you RSVP, we will follow up with information on how to join each session.
Welcome back to the Crimson Feature of the Month series on People Profiles. Last month, we covered the basics including how to customize, possible panels, and how to edit. This month, we will delve into three main features included on the People Profile – Timeline, Giving History, and Moves Management.
It may be a new election cycle, but there's still one more FEC deadline left for 2022. The Year-End Report is due on Tuesday, January 31. Join the Crimson Support Team next Wednesday for the first Crimson webinars of 2023. In addition to the Crimson Overview webinar at 11 a.m. EST, a special CrimsonFiler refresher will be offered.
The People Profile is an integral part of the Crimson platform. For the rest of the year, the Feature of the Blog posts will focus on different aspects of People Profiles each month. In August, we’ll start off the series with People Profile Basics.
Join the Crimson Support Team on August 22, for two Crimson Overview webinars at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT. Once you RSVP, we will follow up with information on how to join each session. Please note that these webinars will be held next Tuesday.
Next Wednesday, the Crimson Support Team will offer two sessions of a Crimson Overview webinar at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT on July 26, 2023.
Call sheets are a helpful feature in Crimson that work in tandem with Tasks. While Call Sheets are always generated from a Crimson Task, you can download information in several formats and print it out. These are helpful for candidates making fundraising calls, events, or situations where you need to provide a background or biography on a person.
Have you started preparing for the next round of FEC reports? The deadline is coming up on July 15. Next Wednesday, June 28, the Crimson Support Team will offer a CrimsonFiler refresher training session at 2 p.m. EDT as well as a Crimson Overview session.
Crimson Tasks help you assign work projects to individual staff members or yourself, set a deadline, and track the progress and completion of it through the Crimson dashboard. Tasks also allow you to assign activities to the candidate, such as making fundraising calls, and print those tasks into various formats of printed call sheets.
Have you tried the improved Radius Search expanded filters? This allows you to find all your donors within a set vicinity of a specific address and filter by gift amount, gift date, donation type, flags and more. Radius Search is helpful when looking for donors to invite within 25 or 50 miles of an event.
Next Wednesday, the Crimson Support Team will offer two sessions of a Crimson Overview webinar at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT on May 24, 2023.
Tracking your major gift program can be a challenge. With multiple donors at different points in the giving cycle, it’s easy to forget to follow-up or not meet deadlines. Crimson solves those issues for fundraising teams with our Moves Management tracker. This dashboard visually organizes the process of moving prospective donors through the giving process. Starting with discovery and cultivation through the completed donation, Moves Management helps committees and organizations keep track of how they are reaching these prospects.
Tracking your major gift program can be a challenge. With multiple donors at different points in the giving cycle, it’s easy to forget to follow-up or not meet deadlines. Crimson solves those issues for fundraising teams with our Moves Management tracker. This dashboard visually organizes the process of moving prospective donors through the giving process. Starting with discovery and cultivation through the completed donation, Moves Management helps committees and organizations keep track of how they are reaching these prospects.
Next Wednesday, the Crimson Support Team will offer two sessions of a Crimson Overview webinar at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT on April 26, 2023.
Since the next FEC deadline on April 15 coincides with many spring breaks, this is a good time to start preparing for your filing. This month, the Crimson Support Team will offer our monthly webinars on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. A Crimson Overview webinar will be held at 11 a.m. and CrimsonFiler at 2 p.m. EDT.
Join the Crimson Support Team next week for two sessions of the crimson Overview webinar at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. Once you RSVP, we will follow up with information on how to join each session.
While 2023 is an off-year for elections, the Federal Election Commission still requires committees and PACs to file regular reports. The next deadline will be on Tuesday, January 31 for 2022 Year-End Reports.
Last month, new Crimson dashboards and features were rolled out. Included in those new features was the option to toggle between a light and dark background. This easy addition only takes a few seconds to implement, and Crimson will remember the setting when you log out. This is also a good opportunity to remember that you can customize your Crimson dashboards by rearranging and adding or deleting which panels and cards you want to appear.
Not only is it a new year, but it’s also a new election cycle! This is the best time to review your Crimson data and see how you can better organize and clean it.
Have you customized your Crimson Home Dashboard yet? Did you know that the People Profile can also be changed? Earlier this year, CMDI rolled out the ability to re-arrange the Home Dashboard and People Profile according to individual preferences. This simple, yet powerful, new feature is extremely fast to set up.
Holmes vs. FEC, a new court case, may overturn the FEC's "per election" donation limits for primary and general elections but keep total "per cycle" limits.
Holmes vs. FEC, a new court case, may overturn the FEC's "per election" donation limits for primary and general elections but keep total "per cycle" limits.
ID tokens, one of Crimson’s latest features, associate a unique code with every donor in your Crimson database. In WidgetMaker, the tokens can be added to widgets using URL parameters. The parameters serve to pre-populate sections of the donation form, such as name and address, based on the information in the donor’s Crimson record. This feature allows donors to make contributions more quickly and easily than ever!
ID tokens, one of Crimson’s latest features, associate a unique code with every donor in your Crimson database. In WidgetMaker, the tokens can be added to widgets using URL parameters. The parameters serve to pre-populate sections of the donation form, such as name and address, based on the information in the donor’s Crimson record. This feature allows donors to make contributions more quickly and easily than ever!
State primaries are currently taking place across the country. Unfortunately, after every election, many committees must end their efforts. However, before terminating, campaign committees must “wind down.” The campaign infrastructure, which took months or years to build, cannot be dismantled overnight. Campaigns must pay off debt, sell assets and compensate the staff responsible for the wind down process, which includes compliance activities in accordance with FEC regulations. Usually, campaigns are left with few remaining resources. Occasionally, however, former candidates face an unusual dilemma. After losing an election, how does a campaign committee allocate surplus funds?
State primaries are currently taking place across the country. Unfortunately, after every election, many committees must end their efforts. However, before terminating, campaign committees must “wind down.” The campaign infrastructure, which took months or years to build, cannot be dismantled overnight. Campaigns must pay off debt, sell assets and compensate the staff responsible for the wind down process, which includes compliance activities in accordance with FEC regulations. Usually, campaigns are left with few remaining resources. Occasionally, however, former candidates face an unusual dilemma. After losing an election, how does a campaign committee allocate surplus funds?