As a joint fundraising representative

How to file

The form that a joint fundraising representative uses to report financial activity depends on what type of committees are participating in the joint fundraiser.

• Joint fundraising representatives that only support federal candidates must file reports using Form 3 and follow the reporting schedule for authorized committees.
• Joint fundraising representatives that support at least one party or non-party political committee (such as a PAC) must file reports using Form 3X and follow the filing schedule for unauthorized committees.

Where to file

All joint fundraising representatives must file reports with the FEC.

Electronic filing

A joint fundraising representative must file electronically if its total yearly contributions or total yearly expenditures exceed, or are expected to exceed, $50,000.

When to file

Joint fundraising representatives will file using the unauthorized reporting schedule or the authorized reporting schedule, depending on the types of committees participating in the joint fundraiser.

Unauthorized reporting schedule

Joint fundraising committees file using the unauthorized schedule if they have:

• At least one candidate for federal office as a participant in the joint fundraiser in addition to an unauthorized participant(s), or
• Only unauthorized participants.

In the non-election year, filers using a quarterly schedule will file Mid-Year and Year-End reports. Filers using a monthly schedule will file February Monthly through Year-End reports.

In the election year, filers using a quarterly schedule will file April Quarterly, July Quarterly, October Quarterly, Post-General, and Year-End reports. Filers using a monthly schedule will file February Monthly through October Monthly, Pre-General, Post-General, and Year-End reports.

Note that joint fundraising committees that include a presidential candidate are not required to file on a monthly schedule unless they choose to do so (unlike presidential principal campaign committees that are required to file monthly if they have contributions or expenditures of $100,000 or more.)

Authorized reporting schedule

Joint fundraising committees file using the authorized quarterly filing schedule if they have only federal candidate participants.

In the non-election year, file April Quarterly, July Quarterly, October Quarterly, and Year-End reports.

In the election year (when candidate(s) is running in the current election), file April Quarterly, July Quarterly, October Quarterly, Pre-General, Post-General, and Year-End reports.

In the election year (when candidate(s) is not running in the current election), file April Quarterly, July Quarterly, October Quarterly, and Year-End reports.

What to file

Disclosing contributions

The joint fundraising representative reports all joint fundraising proceeds in the reporting period in which they are received. If any prohibited contributions are received for a participating unregistered organization, the joint fundraising representative must report them as a memo entry. Any Schedule A used to itemize contributions must clearly indicate on the schedule that the receipts are joint fundraising proceeds.

Disclosing disbursements

The joint fundraising representative must also report all disbursements made for the joint fundraiser in the reporting period in which they are made.

Disclosing transfers

Transfers of net proceeds to the joint fundraising participants are reported as transfers to affiliated committees and itemized on a separate Schedule B for that category:

• Form 3 filers use Line 18 “Transfers to Other Authorized Committees”
• Form 3X filers use Line 22 “Transfers to Affiliated/Other Party Committees”

The joint fundraising representative must collect information about contributors and forward it to the participating political committees, including:

• For contributions exceeding $50, the amount, date of receipt and the contributor’s name and address.
• For contributions exceeding $200, the amount, date of receipt and the contributor’s name, address, occupation and employer.

The date of receipt is the date the joint fundraising representative receives the contribution.

Reporting last-minute contributions

If a candidate’s campaign participates in a joint fundraiser, the joint fundraising representative must notify the campaign if it receives contributions of $1,000 or more less than 20 days but more than 48 hours before 12:01 a.m. of the day of any election in which the candidate is running. The principal campaign committee is responsible for filing the 48-Hour Notice (Form 6) to disclose those contributions within 48 hours of the receipt. The notice discloses the information for the original contributor(s) rather than information about the joint fundraiser’s total transfer.