The second quarter has only one month remaining and the candidates are starting to pull out all of the stops on their low-cost high-yield fundraising ideas.  Of the top tier candidates only Hillary Clinton does not have one of these gimmicks up on the front page of her website as of yet.

John Edwards' birthday is fast approaching, he will be turning 54 this Sunday, June 10th.  As such his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, is trying to give him 10,000 donors donating at least $6.10 (6/10... June 10th... get it?).  That would add up to at least 61,000 dollars.  If you are really feeling in the giving mood you could also give $19.53 to represent the year of his birth or $54 dollars to represent how old he will be on Sunday.

What a thoughtful thing to do!

Next Sunday, June 10th, is John Edwards' birthday, and there's no better way to mark this day than showing how many of us share John's vision for this country and are ready to lend a hand.

We know everyone can't give a lot. But it's not about how much, it's about how many.

If every one of us gives just $6.10 to support the campaign before 6/10, we can do so much together for this country.

And to thank you for your support, John's mother Bobbie has agreed to share her family recipe for pecan pie if you can give at least $6.10. Let's make John's birthday a celebration for America and have a slice of pecan pie together.

For more information on John Edwards' gimmick visit:
https:/johnedwards.com/birthday/pie.

Barack Obama released his own campaign fundraising gimmick though he gives us all a week to respond and we could get a very individual experience out of donating.  For any donation amount the donor will have the chance to join Barack Obama and three other donors for a special dinner for five.  The pitch isn't as personal, but the result could be much more rewarding for 4 lucky donors.

Four supporters who make a donation between now and 11:59 pm EDT on Wednesday, June 13, will join Barack for an intimate dinner for five.

Get the kind of treatment other politicians reserve for special interests. Make a donation today and you could share your story and your ideas with Barack in person.

To donate and potential have a private dinner with Barack Obama visit:
https:/donate.barackobama.com/page/cont ribute/dinnerforfive

Though both of these are excellent gimmicks and will likely result in significant numbers of donations pouring in I have no doubt which will be more successful.  We won't find out for certain until after second quarter numbers are released in their totality in on July 15th, but I'm would guess that Senator Obama's fundraising gimmick will do significantly better if only because donors have a potential tangible reward.

Additionally both of these fundraising strategies are fishing for repeat donors.  For the most part only repeat donors are going to be interested in giving money to former Senator Edwards due to the fact that his birthday is coming up.  With Senator Obama's efforts the e-mail that he sent out to supporters specifically states that "two seats will be reserved for people like you who have given before and decide to make another donation during this special drive."

I do think however that Senator Obama's fundraiser is likely to reach many more individuals.  After you complete your donation you arrive at a page which allows you to enter e-mail addresses for your friends or send an invitation to your entire address book.  Many people will feel that this is such a good opportunity and that a low dollar donation gives you a chance to experience something truly unique and special.

If you have seen any other particularly good fundraising gimmicks going on currently please feel free to post them.  Also throw out some guesses of what you think quarter two fundraising numbers are going to look like.  I think that Clinton and Obama are going to remain neck-and-neck in fundraising totals.  I think Edwards will trail significantly and none of the other candidates will have a particularly breakout quarter.