( NEW YORK ) CNN -- After raising a staggering amount of money for the general election , President-elect Barack Obama must now rake in more cash for his transition and inauguration . Barack Obama broke fundraising records in the general election . There is about $ 9.74 million of taxpayer funds available to pay for the transition , but experts say that 's not enough . To make up the difference , past presidents have turned to private money and corporate cash . Obama 's transition team , however , is taking pains to keep lobbyists out of his transition and forgo corporate cash . John Podesta , the co-chair of Obama 's transition team , has vowed to make this `` the most open and transparent transition in history , '' but Obama has not explicitly outlined his intentions for the inauguration . The Obama team will have to balance how to raise enough money without contradicting its tough talk against lobbyists . `` I really do hope Obama sticks by his principles and does not accept corporate money , does not accept money from lobbyists , and places a very , very low ceiling on the amount of money he 'd accept from individuals to pay for his inauguration , '' said Craig Holman , a legislative representative for Public Citizen . Public Citizen is a national nonprofit organization that says it advocates for consumer interests in Congress and openness and democratic accountability in government . The group says companies sometimes contribute cash to the inauguration in order to buy influence . Watch what people will do for inauguration tickets » . President Bush raised a record $ 42.8 million for his second inauguration , and according to Public Citizen , more than 90 percent of donations to his second inauguration were from executives or corporations . Bush limited corporate donations to $ 250,000 each in order to avoid any potential conflicts of interests . Obama could decide to accept corporate donations for the inauguration , but impose tighter limits . `` I think past presidents have had to raise lots of private money to do these things . And I think he 's actually got a good resource base of donors that are willing and probably will give money for both the transition effort , but also the inaugural campaign as well , '' said David Lewis , a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University and author of `` The Politics of Presidential Appointments . '' Even without corporate cash , the Obama fundraising machine has been a force . Nearly half of the record $ 639 million that the Obama campaign raised during the primaries and general election came in the form of donations of $ 200 or less . As of mid-October , the Obama campaign had spent about $ 594 million , but any money left over from the general election can not go toward the transition . The president-elect could return that money to contributors , donate it to charity , form a political action committee or contribute to other candidates , PACs or party committees , as long as he stays within federal contribution limits . Obama could also hold on to the money and use it for a future federal campaign , such as a re-election bid . The public will get a better idea of exactly how much cash is on hand when the next reports are filed with the Federal Election Commission on December 4 .
President Obama 's transition team has taken steps to keep lobbyists out of transition . Presidents usually turn to private donors to help with inauguration . Bush raised $ 42.8 million for second inauguration , mostly from corporate donors . Obama can not use money left over from general fund for transition .