$500,000 spending limit per leadership candidate, really?

I almost feel like supporting the NDP leadership hopeful that doesn't spend more than a few hundred dollars on the campaign. Given the fact that dozens of federal riding campaigns throughout the country in the 2011 election worked with around $15,000 budgets and thus could only ironically smile at suggestions of "second mailers towards the end of the campaign" and "larger signs placed strategically", the $500,000 spending limit per candidate in the leadership race doesn't sound anywhere reasonable to me. I don't know, maybe I'm new to this and don't understand something important that would make this a logical number, but I don't see how spending some 33 riding campaign budgets (times however many candidates there will be) on an in-party race in a social-democratic party makes sense. Running a Facebook page and a Twitter account, together with support for a wide online discussion and the opportunity of asking questions at a series of public forums (which several candidates can hold together) doesn't cost half a million dollars. Please, don't prove me wrong! Let's use this outrageous amount of money (which must be available, or else why would it ever be mentioned?) on revitalizing a bunch of riding organizations, holding interesting events and training sessions, organizing a joint fund to support innovative approaches in grassroots campaigns, staying in the mainstream media, anything else that will prove more worthwhile in the long run.