The Guidebook
Eighty pages. Plain English. No legalese, no filler. Eleven chapters covering everything from "what office am I even running for" to "how to read your first FEC report."
- PDF + ePub formats
- Print-ready layout
- Free updates for 12 months
Everything a first-time candidate needs to legally launch a campaign — entity formation, federal filings, state requirements, banking, donation processing, treasurer setup, and the first 90 days. One PDF. Twelve templates. Six emails. $149 flat.
Most first-time candidates get one of two options: a free PDF on the FEC website that explains nothing useful, or a $10,000 consultant retainer for things you could learn in a weekend. The Field Manual is the missing middle.
Four deliverables. All digital. All yours forever. Updated quarterly to track regulatory changes.
Eighty pages. Plain English. No legalese, no filler. Eleven chapters covering everything from "what office am I even running for" to "how to read your first FEC report."
Twelve fillable templates pre-built so you don't reinvent the basics. Operating agreements, treasurer designations, donor receipts, expenditure logs, and more.
Six weekly emails after purchase, each one focused on a specific phase of launch. Know what you should be doing in week one, week two, week three — without re-reading the whole guidebook.
Your $149 credits in full toward any website tier. If you upgrade to Tactical, Operational, or Strategic within twelve months, the kit was effectively free.
Every chapter ends with a checklist, a list of templates that apply, and the deadline you should be hitting if you're on track.
Federal, state, local — the differences that matter. Filing deadlines, residency requirements, signature thresholds, and the questions you should answer before you tell anyone.
Candidate committee vs. PAC vs. Super PAC vs. 501(c)(4) — what each is, what each does, and which one you actually need. State-by-state formation rules and the paperwork to expect.
How to get an Employer Identification Number in twenty minutes (free from the IRS). Tax classification choices, when you need a CPA, and the federal tax obligations of a campaign committee.
Legal requirements, personal liability exposure, where to find one if you don't already have a candidate, and what to pay them. Plus: when to add an assistant treasurer.
Which banks accept campaign committees, what documentation they require, the fees to expect, and how to set up the right account types (operating, savings, escrow if needed).
Form 1 (Statement of Organization), Form 2 (Statement of Candidacy), Form 3 (quarterly reports). What goes in each, when they're due, and how to file electronically.
This is the variable chapter. We give you the methodology — how to find your secretary of state's campaign finance office, what to ask them, and the universal categories of filings every state requires.
WinRed vs. Anedot vs. Stripe — fee structures, integration requirements, contribution limits, and the compliance settings you must enable before accepting your first dollar.
Donor records, contribution receipts, expenditure logs, in-kind contributions, and the ten things first-time campaigns get fined for. Templates included for all of it.
What you actually need on day one (a single landing page, a donation link, an email signup), what you don't (a full website yet), and when to upgrade. Includes a free no-code template — and a note on Network Sync, the Allied Program feature that lets candidates plug into a state party's coordinated messaging system once you're ready for a full site.
Week-by-week checklist of what to file, what to launch, who to call, and what to ignore. The most common first-cycle mistakes and how to avoid each.
The Field Manual is education, not legal counsel. We are not your attorney. We are not your CPA. We are not your treasurer. Final responsibility for the legal compliance of your campaign rests with you and the licensed professionals you retain.
Campaign finance law is jurisdiction-specific and changes regularly. We update the Field Manual quarterly to reflect federal changes and major state-level shifts, but no general-purpose guide can replicate the value of an attorney who knows your state, your race, and your specific circumstances.
For most first-time candidates, this gets you 90% of the way to a properly launched campaign. For the remaining 10% — the truly state-specific or situation-specific questions — get an attorney. The Field Manual will help you ask them better questions.
No. The Field Manual is educational. It explains how campaign finance and election filings generally work, with templates and checklists you can adapt. For binding legal advice on your specific situation, retain a licensed attorney in your state.
The federal chapters apply to every campaign. The state chapter teaches you a methodology — how to find and interpret your state's campaign finance rules — rather than reproducing all 50 states' regulations. Most first-time candidates find this more useful than a static state-by-state index.
Most of the manual still applies. Local and state races have simpler federal obligations (often none) but their own state-level requirements. The state chapter is built for exactly this audience.
You receive a $149 discount code valid for any website tier (Tactical, Operational, or Strategic) for twelve months from purchase. Stackable with the founders' cycle discount. If you never buy a website, the credit simply expires — no obligation.
Buyers receive updated PDFs and templates by email whenever there's a meaningful change — typically once a quarter. Major federal regulatory shifts trigger an interim update.
Yes. The Field Manual is licensed for use by you and your immediate campaign team. We just ask that you not redistribute it publicly or to other campaigns — those campaigns should buy their own copy.
Thirty-day money-back guarantee. If the kit doesn't deliver value within thirty days of purchase, request a refund and we'll process it. No questions, no friction.
The first batch ships Q3 2026. Pre-orders are open at the launch price; pre-order buyers receive the kit the day it goes live and lock in any future price increases.