soft money

Soft Money

1. An indirect contribution to a political campaign. Soft money is money raised for political activities in favor of or opposed to a certain candidate or issue that stops short of actually endorsing anything. In other words, any ad stopping short of asking for a vote for or against someone or something is funded by soft money. Colloquially, soft money connotes large amounts donated by special interest groups for these purposes. The McCain-Feingold Act forbade political parties and some other organizations from raising soft money, but most organizations can still do so.

2. See: Fiat money.

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soft money

(1) A slang expression for creative financing techniques that involve no cash changing hands, such as seller financing. (2) Money invested in a real estate acquisition or development that is written off as an expense rather than added to the basis to increase equity.