True. Good news for GOP convention:
Locals flood GOP convention coffers
By: Tom Webb - St. Paul Pioneer Press
July 12, 2008
The spectacle of the coming Republican National Convention will be brought to you by Minnesota's major corporations.
Virtually every major Twin Cities company has given money to the convention's local host committee, donated free services or both. The surprise has been the ratio of local donors to national money.
"They originally thought it would be a 50-50 split, and it's looking more like 60 percent local and 40 percent national," said Teresa McFarland, spokeswoman for the host committee, which is charged with raising $58 million.
For conventioneers — and for taxpayers — the local giving is welcome news. Past convention cities have sometimes been haunted by crippling shortfalls, with taxpayers tapped for last-minute bailouts.
"Not on the table," said Jeff Larson, chief executive of the Minneapolis-St. Paul host committee, dismissing the possibility. "We're confident we're going to fully fund what we have planned."
To the Minnesota corporations writing big checks, the donations reflect hometown pride and the desire to ensure the Twin Cities shine this September. In interviews, not a single Minnesota company even mentioned partisan politics, although that's the whole reason conventions are held.
Broadcaster Stanley S. Hubbard helped pitch local corporate leaders and donated money, too. He wishes corporate Minnesota had been "more forthcoming" with gifts.
"Some could have stepped up to the plate more than they have. That's my personal opinion," Hubbard said. Hosting a national convention, he said, "is a hell of a big thing."
Still, Hubbard is confident about RNC fundraising. "We're going to be in fine shape," he said.
One by one, the corporate powers in the Twin Cities have opened their wallets: Medtronic, Best Buy, 3M, Travelers, Wells Fargo, General Mills and more.
"In order to bring tourists to the city and to show off the virtues of the city so that the local economy will benefit," Weissman said. "Conventions are funded by corporations."
Weissman wasn't reassured that most of the Twin Cities' donors hail from Minnesota.
"Who are these Minnesota people?" he asked. "Cargill! United Healthcare! Target! These are not little Minnesota companies. They also have vast federal interests."
They do indeed. Yet Minnesota companies say their convention gifts are more about promoting the Twin Cities than promoting themselves.
"It's more of a civic boosterism kind of thing," said Bill Brady, a spokesman for Cargill, which is giving $250,000 to the convention committee. "When the Super Bowl came here, I'm sure all the corporations here were asked to give money for that, too."
At Target, "we recognize how important the conventions are for the states that are hosting them, and we're privileged enough to have one in our hometown," said company spokeswoman Amy Reilly.
Paul Vaaler, a specialist in strategic management at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, suspects there's truth in both arguments.
"We can't say exclusively they're doing it for these noble reasons," Vaaler said. "They have obligations to shareholders, who need to know how these donations — we'll call them investments — are good for their bottom line."
Yet Vaaler sees "such a strong sense of community stewardship" among Minnesota business leaders that he suspects "there's a substantial element that is not about partisan politics."
"And that's why corporations in the Twin Cities are so generous and aggressive about trying to fund this — for the good reasons, the more noble reasons," Vaaler said.
The total budget for the 2008 Republican National Convention will top $100 million. The federal government pays $50 million to cover the massive security effort — and an additional $16 million atop that.
The local host committee, a nonpartisan group, must raise the rest. It is obligated to raise $39 million but hopes to reach $58 million.
Fundraising "continues to go pretty well," Larson said. Unlike the Denver host committee, the Minneapolis-St. Paul group met its mid-June goal.
"It's never easy," Larson said.
The host committee has lots of help from Minnesota corporate leaders such as Hubbard and Doug Leatherdale, retired CEO of the St. Paul Cos., now known as Travelers, and from top Minnesota Republicans, notably Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Sen. Norm Coleman.
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