Fund Raising

About 1,800 people are attending the National Society of Fund Raising Executives international conference, which opened Sunday at the Disneyland Hotel and continues through Wednesday. Robert Seiple, president of World Vision of Monrovia, is scheduled to speak to the delegates at today's noon luncheon. On Tuesday, the society will present its 1989 Awards for Philanthropy. The award for outstanding fund-raising executive will go to Ernest W. Wood, vice president for development of the Russ Reid Co. of Pasadena.

The numbers are in -- and Mitt Romney won, but not by a landslide. When it came to fund-raising in February, the former Massachusetts governor stayed ahead of his GOP presidential rivals. Romney raised $11.5 million and spent $12.4 million, dramatically slowing down his burn rate from January, when his campaign spent three times more than it raised. Heading into March, he had $7.3 million in the bank. Rick Santorum got $8.9 million in contributions and spent $7.8 million, ending the month with $2.6 million on hand, along with $922,000 in debt.

Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, reacting to indications that President Clinton may have solicited campaign contributions by phone from the White House, is overseeing an initial review to determine whether an independent counsel is needed to investigate Clinton's conduct. Justice Department spokesman Myron Marlin acknowledged Saturday that Reno has authorized a 30-day review of the president's conduct.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and a "super PAC" working on his behalf spent more than twice as much as they raised in January, underscoring how persistent challenges by rivals Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have taxed the former Massachusetts governor's financial operation. In a month when Romney lost two of the four GOP primary contests, his campaign raced through $18.7 million while raising just $6.4 million, according to finance records filed Monday with the Federal Election Commission.

While critics have blamed recent programming changes for a drop in fund-raising at KPFK-FM (90.7), management at the politically progressive station attributes the shortfall in last week's fund drive to myriad factors, ranging from local union strikes to the poor national economy. The station had been shooting for $900,000 in pledges from the drive, which ended Friday, but reached only $750,000, with about $10,000 more promised by online donors, said station general manager Eva Georgia.

A group of religious broadcasters Tuesday developed a code of ethics for its members that would make public an annual audit and include a device to expel ministries that do not follow responsible conduct. The proposal will be presented to a special meeting of the 90-member board of directors of the National Assn. of Religious Broadcasters in Chicago on Sept. 11, said NRB President Robert A. Cook.

KCET Channel 28 raised $946,420 in pledges during the 10-day fund-raising drive that ended Sunday, the public TV station reported Tuesday. That was about $80,000 less than last year, when the December drive lasted 11 days. Channel 28's campaign, which began Nov. 27, attracted 200 more pledges than last year but on average each person "gave a little less," said KCET spokesman Greg Krizman. With the uncertain economic climate, he said, "people are a little tighter on the pocketbooks this year."

A month ago, when she was sure that state budget cuts had brought her teaching career to a standstill, Yolanda Rosenberg applied for unemployment. Today, though, Rosenberg is not only due back in her classroom at Canyon Vista Elementary in Aliso Viejo, but is expecting to be happily handing out nametags and crayons to just 20 third-graders instead of a more difficult-to-manage 30 or more.

On a recent Sunday morning at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller was standing beside a 20-foot image of himself on a giant Sony video screen, looking out over the throng of worshipers. For a moment, his trademark megawatt smile slipped. "PTL's declared bankruptcy and what happens?" he asked. "The phones ring off the wall here. And every television newscaster and reporter wants a statement from Robert Schuller.

Displaying early financial strength, Laura Chick, 48, has raised $50,000 for her campaign to unseat her ex-boss, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus, in this spring's election. Chick made the disclosure in a report filed Monday with the city's Ethics Commission. She is the first of six candidates for the District 3 seat, including the 62-year-old Picus, to report reaching this financial benchmark.

The public got an early look this week at the money behind the candidates in this year's pivotal California elections. Contributions are rolling in for contestants in some of the state's hottest races for Congress and the Legislature, according to campaign reports filed with federal and state authorities. In addition, the governor is raising money for a tax measure he hopes to place on the November ballot. In what is expected to be one of the costliest, most watched House races in the country this year, Rep. Howard Berman of Valley Village is vying with fellow Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman of Sherman Oaks for a newly drawn San Fernando Valley district.

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised $13 million last quarter for his presidential campaign, the most he has raised in a single quarter since he declared his candidacy but far short of his single-quarter fund-raising record. That figure puts Paul in second or third place among the GOP field, depending on Texas Gov. Rick Perry's haul, which is not expected to come anywhere near the $17.2 million he raised in the third quarter, when he announced his candidacy. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who raised a combined $32.2 million in the first two quarters of the campaign, will report raising more than $20 million in the last three months of the year, according to sources familiar with his fund-raising operation.

Investors may not be willing to back the state's bullet train project until after it begins operating, the California High-Speed Rail Authority said in a letter to key legislators, an acknowledgment that again raises serious questions about how the $43-billion construction cost will be paid over the next decade. The letter gives a preview of the authority's upcoming business plan, a critical document that is supposed to address long-standing concerns that it lacks a credible blueprint for building and operating the system.

Lynnea Lawson and her friend Mimi Hill, both 26, met two decades ago at a camp for children with HIV and AIDS. They have remained friends ever since. On Sunday, they were among more than 30,000 people who participated in the 27th annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles. The event raises money for AIDS Project Los Angeles and related service organizations. This year's event raised more than $3 million. Hill -- a longtime participant who, like Lawson, was born with HIV -- wore a hand-painted white T-shirt with "AIDS Walk 2011 -- We've got to keep fighting" in big black letters.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney raised more than $14 million for his presidential bid this summer, his campaign announced Friday morning. Romney led the Republican money race earlier this year when he brought in $18 million in the previous fundraising quarter. This time, however, he fell short of Gov. Rick Perry's reported $17-million haul. Romney also has slightly less cash in the bank -- $14.65 million compared to the Texas governor's $15 million on hand. "We are proud of the $32 million we have raised for the campaign so far," said national finance chairman Spencer Zwick in a statement.

Presidential candidates will tally three months' worth of fund-raising hauls Friday as the third financial quarter of the year comes to an end. Reports detailing when, where and from whom the candidates scored their campaign cash won't be released until mid-October. In the meantime, some campaigns have hinted that their totals won't be as large as anticipated. Despite speculation that the 2012 presidential campaign will be the most expensive in history, none of the Republican presidential field is expected to break records with this quarter's fundraising totals.

Senate leader John L. Burton's long career in the Legislature is winding down, but his skills as a premier fund-raiser show no sign of letting up. They may even be getting better. In campaign finance documents filed with the secretary of state this week, the veteran Democrat from San Francisco reported raising more than $1.

Mayoral candidate and state Assemblyman Richard Katz's campaign fund-raising chief is part of a team competing to build a multibillion-dollar, 71-mile rail project--a decision Katz could significantly influence if elected mayor of Los Angeles. Attorney Peter D. Kelly, a former state Democratic Party chairman, is one of Katz's top campaign strategists who, among other tasks, is coordinating a major fund-raiser for the assemblyman next month.

The threat of a government shutdown intensified as the GOP-led House failed to muster a majority to approve legislation to fund the government after Republicans insisted that federal disaster aid be paid for with spending cuts elsewhere. In a surprise defeat, the legislation was narrowly rejected Wednesday after a tense afternoon of vote counting. House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) had hoped to avoid another budget battle after the summer's debt ceiling fight and an earlier threat of government shutdown left voters sour on both Republicans and Democrats in Congress.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, perhaps the most prodigious fund-raiser the GOP has ever seen, will be joining forces with politically powerful Crossroads groups, the independent campaign organization that helped tilt several congressional races to the GOP in 2010. In announcing his arrival, the organization also disclosed its plans to double its previously announced fund-raising goal for 2010, meaning it hopes to raise over $200 million. The news is yet another sign that independent political groups that can raise unlimited sums from corporate, individual and union donors will play a bigger role than ever in the upcoming election, possibly overshadowing traditional campaign and party organizations in some races.