Congress is an extremely difficult run, especially for a newcomer. My advice is don't make your run too public yet. I know you're probably thinking that if you start now you'll have more time than the other guys to make an impression, but it will only work to your detriment. If you want to get in peoples minds, become an asset to the community. Be a leader in all the groups you belong to (join groups if you haven't already). Before you make that run, get your name on the ballot for something like water and soil conservation board. These are generally very cheap to file (25 dollars here) but it gets your name on the ballot. That's my campaign contribution. If you want anything monetary, I would have to be assured that your philosophy was something like this:
http://fwd4.me/xsA. In other words, read it if you haven't. In addition, since you're running in Michigan, talk to Justin Amash, he was an outsider who has transparency and accountability down to an art.