What is Call Time? A Candidate's Guide to Fundraising by Phone

Published: September 3rd, 2026

Table of contents

What Is Call Time, and Why Is It "The Engine" of a Campaign?
What Staffers Are Responsible for Before Candidates Start Call Time
Call Time Doesn't Require Four Walls and a Landline
Getting the Candidate Ready
Setting Up the Room for a Productive Call Time Session
How NDTC Trains Democrats to Run Effective Call Time

Picking up the phone and asking a donor for money never feels natural, and call time asks candidates to do it again and again. Call time is when a candidate calls individual donors, one after another, to ask for a contribution not just for their campaign, but for the collective vision of what that donation can accomplish. While it can be uncomfortable at first, it's also one of the most effective campaign strategies. Call time typically generates 60 to 70 percent of a campaign's total revenue, which is why NDTC calls it “the engine of the campaign.”

If the engine doesn't run, nothing else does. Voter contact, paid media, and get-out-the-vote operations all depend on the money that call time brings in. So what is call time, really, and how does a campaign make sure it runs well? Here's what every candidate and staffer should understand.

What Is Call Time, and Why Is It "The Engine" of a Campaign?

Call time is a candidate working through a list of donors and asking each one for money. It's sometimes called "dialing for dollars," and although it's challenging, nothing else raises as much money.

As a staffer, how well you prepare for call time determines how well that engine runs. A disorganized call time session wastes a candidate's time and energy. A well-prepared one lets the candidate focus entirely on the conversation in front of them.

That's the real purpose behind call time preparation: keeping the relationship at the center. Call time is about a candidate building a relationship with donors, and fundraising should never feel purely transactional. Donors are potential constituents investing in a shared vision with the campaign. During call time, the candidate should only be focused on engaging with donors, not on any of the logistics. Setting up that smooth, efficient system so the candidate can just show up and talk is the staffer's job.

What Staffers Are Responsible for Before Candidates Start Call Time

Preparing for a call time session involves six distinct tasks, and each one has to happen before the candidate ever picks up the phone:

Rolodexing your candidate. Before anyone can dial for dollars, the candidate needs an actual list of donors to call. Rolodexing means supporting the candidate as they take stock of their personal network to identify and evaluate potential donors.
Researching donors. Once the candidate knows who they're calling, it's time to look into each donor's past political giving history so the candidate can make an informed ask, along with any personal details that help establish a connection.
Creating call sheets. Call sheets hold everything gathered during donor research. The candidate reviews these sheets ahead of a call to land on an ask amount, and refers back to them during the call to guide the conversation.
Prioritizing donors. Once the call sheets are ready, they need to be ordered logically, with higher-priority calls made first and lower-priority calls moved toward the end of the list.
Preparing your candidate. Documents and logistics matter, but so does the person making the calls. Staffers work with candidates to make sure they feel comfortable making hard asks and are in the right state of mind before call time begins.
Preparing the room. The physical space matters too. The room should be quiet and comfortable, all the technology charged and working, and the candidate stocked with snacks and drinks to power through the session.

Call Time Doesn't Require Four Walls and a Landline

Most people picture call time as a candidate sitting in a campaign office for hours with a staffer by their side. That's often true, but it's not a requirement. All call time really needs is a phone and some spare time, which means it can happen in a car, a hotel conference room between meetings, or at the candidate's kitchen table.

Staffers should be ready to adjust their call time systems and pre-call time routines depending on where a session is happening, rather than assuming every session will look like the last one.

Getting the Candidate Ready

Call time will rarely be a candidate's favorite activity, but their mindset going in directly shapes how successful a session turns out to be. Most candidates aren't thrilled about sitting down and asking for money for several hours straight, which makes checking in with them beforehand a real part of the job, not an afterthought.

Every candidate is different. One might need a few role-play calls to warm up, while another might need a short walk to shake off nerves before sitting down, or a workout the night before. Remind the candidate why a positive attitude matters going in, and help them get there.

Setting Up the Room for a Productive Call Time Session

The last preparatory task before call time begins is setting up the space itself, and it's easy to overlook because it happens behind the scenes. Call time should take place in a quiet room with a closed door so the candidate and staffer won't be interrupted. Some campaigns hang a sign on the door along the lines of "Do Not Disturb: Call Time in Progress" to keep teammates from walking in.

Beyond the quiet space itself, the candidate and staffer need: the call list, a phone, a computer or binder for notes, and the candidate's favorite snacks. Getting all of it together before the candidate sits down means nothing interrupts the flow once the calls start.

How NDTC Trains Democrats to Run Effective Call Time

Understanding what call time is only gets a campaign so far. Running it well, session after session, is what actually keeps the engine going. That's exactly what NDTC's trainings are built to teach.

From rolodexing and donor research to call sheets, candidate prep, and everything that happens once a candidate is on the phone, NDTC's free courses walk Democratic candidates and staff through every part of running a call time operation that raises real money. Whether you're staffing your first session or looking to sharpen a system you've already built, the fundamentals are the same, and NDTC teaches them at every level of the ballot.