The millions of $100 donators...isn't mathematically possible?

[Ka hrnt]

As with all numbers in politics, I have a suspicion this is a meaningless figure. While the data isn't good enough to give me an exact answer (it doesn't give totals once it records 1000+ donations) as far as I can tell, there are some...unusual evidences that it's a bogus figure. I think what they've done is simply take the total raised and divided by number of donators. Here's why:

Obama's total fundraising: $193,600,733 ¹

Obama's Contributions from $200 or less is 40% (slightly under judging by the graph).²

40% of $193,600,733 is $77,440,293. If you divide that by the $100, you get 774,403 donors, not "millions". (The larger donations will only drag the average ($100) UP, which would drop this figure even lower.)

Am I missing something, or this "millions of donors averaging $100" a complete BS figure? I'm thinking it's a lot of tiny donations inflated by massive donations. Not that there's anything wrong with this technically--and it's not like every candidate out there hasn't done something similar at some point--but it's...well...politics as usual.

For example:

Obama's total contributions in Georgia: $1,974,145
Obama's total contributions of $1000 or more in Georgia: $1,384,480 (or 70% of total contributions).

Iowa total : $428,341
Iowa $1000+: $213,233 (50%)

Ohio total : $1,335,613
Ohio $1000+: $825,720 (62%)

Fla. total : $4,677,540
Fla. $2300+: $2,160,100 (notice the increase in donation size; 46% from $2300+ donations)

Unfortunately, for reasons noted above, the really "big" states make it impossible to sort out (too many records).

Note: Yes, Obama still has far more small donations than Hilary--nearly twice as many, as a percent of total funds. Nor am I saying that there aren't millions of donors--just that saying they "average" $100 is meaningless, because it's a mutant statistic. <--UPDATE FOR CLARIFICATION!!!! I know that--that's not the point of this post.

1. http://opensecrets.org/pres08/summary.asp?id=N00009638&cycle=2008
2. http://opensecrets.org/pres08/donordems.asp?filter=A&sortby=S

[bobbert]

1. There were a huge number of donors $25 and less

like, maybe 20% of htem....

[Kittycat]

9. I'm one of them.

I donate several times/mo. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Last month I gave one larger donation, two $10's, and one $25 I believe.

[Blondiegrrl]

12. I've been donated about $50 a month. eom

[FrenchieCat]

2. Are you taking into consideration the "under $200 each" is for a specific reporting cycle....

but some of the same donors? :shrug:

[FrenchieCat]

3. Also, Open Secrets doesn't report those who donate under a certain amount....

if I recall.

[northzax]

5. under $250 in a cycle

the campaign is not required to report you to the FEC, so Open Secrets doesn't have your information.

[blogslut]

6. I think one has to donate at least 240.00

Before it shows up such databases.

I've donated seven separate times so far and have yet to reach a total 0f $240.00.

Baby donations, once a month. Keep the influx of money consistent. :)

[phrigndumass]

4. From a different link at Open Secrets ...

The page link below is linked to from your second link in your OP (at the bottom of the page "Help")

http://opensecrets.org/pres08/numbers.asp

<Snip>

HELP! WHY DON'T THE NUMBERS ADD UP?
Sometimes it's hard to make apple-to-apple comparisons across some of the pages in a candidate's profile. Here's why:

Summary numbers - specifically "Total Raised and Spent" and "PAC/Individual Split" - are based on summary reports filed by the candidates with the Federal Election Commission. All other numbers in these profiles ("Quality of Disclosure," "Geography" and "Special Interests") are derived from detailed FEC reports that itemize all contributions of $200 or more.

In addition, figures listed under the “PAC Contribution Breakdown” often will not add up to match the total PAC Contributions listed under “Source of Funds” because they derive from two different sources. The figures in the “Source of Funds” pie chart are reported by the candidate receiving the money, whereas figures in the “PAC Contribution Breakdown” pie chart are reported by the PACs giving the money. The Federal Election Commission does not reconcile differences between these two reporting sources.

There is also a time lag in posting the information. While summary numbers are reported almost immediately by the FEC -- and listed quickly on OpenSecrets -- processing and analyzing the detailed records takes much longer. For that reason, summary numbers are usually higher (and more current) than the numbers based on detailed records.

HOW CURRENT ARE THESE FIGURES?

The figures in these profiles are taken from databases uploaded by the FEC to the internet on the first day of every month. Those databases are only as current as the FEC has been able to compile by that date (see the note above about lag times for data entry).

The Center updates figures for "Total Raised and Spent" and for "PAC/Individual Split" a few days after the first of the month. The remaining figures - based on detailed contribution data - is updated by the Center after the 20th of every month. This gives us time to analyze the contributions and categorize them by industry and interest group.

<end Snip>

[Warren Stupidity]

7. OMG!

[mmonk]

8. AVERAGE donations.

You know, one person here gives $250 and another gives $25 and so forth.

[TTUBatfan2008]

10. He's up to $234 million now, not $193 million

[DUyellow]

11. I believe he talks about it per reporting month. the avg... In Feb it was $109.

I think they have also said that 90% of the donations were under 100.