Colonel William A. Phillips

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ActBlue Charities Inc.[1] is an American political action committee and fundraising platform established serving left-leaning and Democratic nonprofits and politicians.[2] Its Republican counterpart is WinRed.

Activities

Co-founder Benjamin Rahn at a fundraiser with Mark Warner and Ciro Rodriguez in 2006

ActBlue does not endorse individual candidates.[3] The organization is open to Democratic campaigns, candidates, committees, and progressive 501(c)4 organizations. Groups that use ActBlue pay a 3.95% credit card processing fee. As a nonprofit, ActBlue runs its own, separate fundraising program and accepts tips on contributions to pay for its expenses.[4][5][6]

ActBlue was founded in 2004 by Benjamin Rahn and Matt DeBergalis.[7] Rahn and DeBergalis were joined in 2005 by Jonathan Zucker and Erin Hill. Zucker took over as Executive Director in 2007;[8] he was replaced by Hill in 2009. In 2023, Regina Wallace-Jones replaced Hill as Executive Director.[9]

ActBlue logo (2004-2023)

In February 2016, ActBlue launched AB Charities, an arm of the organization that makes ActBlue's fundraising tools available to nonprofits.[10] Both the 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential nominees, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, used ActBlue during their primary and general election campaigns.[11][12] Bernie Sanders' 2016 and 2020 primary campaigns also used ActBlue for fundraising.[13]

Federal Election Commission reporting

ActBlue reports to the Federal Election Commission all contributors to Federal campaigns, regardless of the amount.[14] When a candidate for a Federal election raises money through ActBlue, ActBlue serves as a conduit for election law purposes.[15][16] All conduit contributions are itemized and reported. By contrast, there is a $200 threshold for reporting individuals who contribute directly to a candidate committee. Many small donors, whose names would ordinarily be shielded, are thus exposed to the public.[17]

Fundraising

ActBlue raised $19 million in its first three years, from 2004 to 2007.[18] In the 2005-2006 campaign, the site raised $17 million for 1500 Democratic candidates, with $15.5 million going to congressional campaigns. By August 2007, the site had raised $25.5 million.[19]

In the 2018 midterms elections, ActBlue raised $1.6 billion for Democratic candidates.[20] Conor Lamb, Beto O'Rourke, and Kyrsten Sinema have worked with ActBlue.[21]

In 2019, ActBlue raised roughly $1 billion for a wide variety of campaigns.[22] The Daily Beast notes that between January and mid-July 2019, ActBlue brought in $420 million, and that "According to the organization, that total came from 3.3 million unique donors and was dispersed to almost 9,000 Democratic campaigns and organizations, with $246 million coming in the second quarter alone."[23]

In 2020, several fundraising records were broken. In the week following the murder of George Floyd, on May 31, over $19 million was raised, the highest single-day total so far that year. On June 1, that yearly record was again broken with $20 million in donations. Over half of donations in the week following the killing went to charitable (non-political) causes, including one ActBlue page devoted to a bail fund which raised over $1.5 million from over 20,000 donors.[24] In the day following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, over $30 million was donated through ActBlue, again breaking the single-day fundraising record.[25]

In 2022, ActBlue brought in $20.6 million on the day the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.[26]

Restructuring

In 2023, ActBlue announced that it was laying off roughly 17 percent of its staff as part of what the group said was a "restructuring" that would help ensure "long-term financial sustainability." ActBlue said the staff reductions would primarily impact the non-technical sector, allowing the organization to hire "technical and specialized roles."[27]

Opposing organizations

In 2019, the Republican Party created WinRed to similarly support Republican organizations and causes with small-donor fundraising.[28]

References

  1. ^ ActBlue Charities Inc. (November 15, 2021). "Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax" (PDF).
  2. ^ https://ballotpedia.org/ActBlue
  3. ^ Willis, Derek (October 9, 2014). "How ActBlue Became a Powerful Force in Fund-Raising". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  4. ^ Kroll, Andy. "The $2 Billion Powerhouse Behind Jon Ossoff". Mother Jones. No. July/August 2017. Archived from the original on April 11, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  5. ^ Pindell, James (May 10, 2017). "How a Somerville nonprofit revolutionized American politics". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "Pricing". ActBlue.com. ActBlue. Archived from the original on July 12, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  7. ^ Wayne, Leslie (November 29, 2007). "A Fund-Raising Rainmaker Arises Online". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  8. ^ McCarthy, Aoife (December 3, 2007). "Suite Talk: Taking care of business". POLITICO. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  9. ^ Chery, Samantha (January 19, 2023). "Political fundraising platform ActBlue names its first Black female CEO". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  10. ^ Hill, Erin (February 17, 2016). "ActBlue Charities is HERE". ActBlue. Archived from the original on July 22, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  11. ^ "I just gave to Sheldon Whitehouse!". ActBlue. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  12. ^ "Chip in to elect Joe Biden". ActBlue. Archived from the original on March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  13. ^ "Case study: Bernie 2016". Revolution Messaging. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  14. ^ "What happens to my money when I donate?". Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020. As required by federal law, ActBlue reports and itemizes (that means list the donor name & information) for every single federal donation that comes through our platform, including donations under $200.
  15. ^ "Earmarked contributions". FEC.gov. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  16. ^ "Why is ActBlue considered a PAC? | ActBlue Support". Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  17. ^ Primo, David M. (August 18, 2019). "Personal Data About Small-Donor Democrats Is All Over the Internet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  18. ^ Mosk, Matthew (March 11, 2007). "Donations Pooled Online Are Getting Candidates' Attention". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
  19. ^ Helman, Scott (August 7, 2007). "Internet-based PAC driving Democratic push". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  20. ^ Isenstadt, Alex (June 23, 2019). "GOP to launch new fundraising site as Dems crush the online money game". POLITICO. Archived from the original on March 16, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  21. ^ Lavine, Carrie; Zubak-Skess, Chris (October 25, 2018). "How ActBlue Is Trying To Turn Small Donations Into A Blue Wave". Fivethirtyeight. Graphics by Rachael Dottle. ABC News. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  22. ^ Hakim, Danny; Thrush, Glenn (March 9, 2020). "How the Trump Campaign Took Over the G.O.P." The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 31, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  23. ^ Resnick, Gideon (July 17, 2019). "ActBlue Has Brought in a Whopping $420 Million This Year". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  24. ^ Goldmacher, Shane (June 1, 2020). "Protests Spur Surge in Donations, Giving ActBlue Its Biggest Day of the Year". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 2, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  25. ^ McNamara, Audrey (September 19, 2020). "ActBlue shatters donation record in hours after RBG's death". CBS News. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  26. ^ Navarro, Adam (July 20, 2022). "ActBlue processed more than half a billion dollars in three-month period - CBS News". CBS News. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  27. ^ Greenwood, Max (April 3, 2023). "Democratic fundraiser ActBlue lays off portion of staff". The Hill. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  28. ^ Isenstadt, Alex (June 23, 2019). "GOP to Launch New Fundraising Site as Dems Crush the Online Money Game". Politico. Retrieved August 18, 2021.

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