Final answer:
Soft money refers to unregulated contributions to political parties or causes, not directly supporting individual campaigns and is not regulated by the FEC. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act attempted to limit soft money, but political organizations often circumvent these limits.
Step-by-step explanation:
“Soft money” refers to unregulated campaign contributions by individuals, groups, or parties that promote general election activities but do not directly support individual candidates. While they are donations to political parties or causes, soft money cannot be used to support a specific campaign's candidate nor advocate for the election of a particular candidate. These contributions are not regulated by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), also known as the McCain-Feingold Act, aimed to place limits on the use of soft money. Before McCain-Feingold, political operatives found ways to use soft money for a range of purposes, ranging from party-building efforts to issue-advocacy ads, without the restrictions that apply to “hard money”, which is contributed directly to campaigns. Although the Act was intended to reduce the influence of soft money, political organizations have found methods to navigate around these regulations by funding advertisements that align with a candidate's message without explicitly endorsing them.