ActBlue

Last updated

ActBlue
Formation2004;21 years ago (2004)
Type Nonprofit political action committee
Location
President and CEO
Regina Wallace-Jones
Affiliations Democratic Party
Website secure.actblue.com

ActBlue [1] is an American Democratic Party political action committee (PAC) and fundraising platform founded in 2004. ActBlue is a major part of the Democratic Party's fundraising infrastructure. [2] [3] It is focused on mobilizing small-dollar donors and, as of June 2024, had raised $13.7 billion for Democratic candidates and causes since it was established.[ citation needed ] ActBlue is organized as a PAC, but it serves as a conduit for processing individual contributions made through the platform. Under federal law, these contributions are made by individuals and are not considered PAC donations.

Contents

Separate from political fundraising, ActBlue affiliate organization ActBlue Charities serves as a fundraising platform for U.S. non-profit 501(c)(3) organizitions, while ActBlue Civics does the same for 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations. [4] [5]

History

ActBlue was founded [6] in 2004 by Benjamin Rahn and Matt DeBergalis. Rahn and DeBergalis were joined in 2005 by Jonathan Zucker and Erin Hill. Zucker took over as executive director in 2007; [7] he was replaced by Hill in 2009. In 2023, Regina Wallace-Jones replaced Hill as president and CEO of ActBlue. [8]

Both the 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential nominees, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, used ActBlue during their primary and general election campaigns. Bernie Sanders' 2016 and 2020 primary campaigns also used ActBlue for fundraising. [9] Sanders' use of ActBlue was particularly notable as it represented the first time a major Democratic presidential candidate eschewed money from super PACs in favor of grassroots fundraising. [10] This strategy would later be replicated by other Democratic political figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. [11]

In the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, all the candidates used ActBlue. [12]

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." [13]

In December 2024, 142 consultants, campaign staff, nonprofit staff, technology vendors, donor organizers, donors, and academics signed a letter to ActBlue saying the organization needed to do a "better job" of protecting Democratic contributors from being "exploited." [2]

Organization

ActBlue does not endorse individual candidates. [14] Use of the platform is open to Democratic and progressive campaigns, candidates, committees, and 501(c)4 organizations. 501(c)3 organizations are able to use the platform through ActBlue Charities. [4] [5]

Groups that use ActBlue pay a 3.95% credit card processing fee. [15] As a nonprofit, ActBlue runs its own separate fundraising program and accepts tips on contributions to pay for its expenses. [16]

Campaign donation reporting

ActBlue reports the donors' names and amounts for all contributions processed to federal campaigns to the Federal Election Commission, regardless of the amount. This information is listed on the Internet. [17] [18]

When a candidate for a federal election raises money through an intermediary such as ActBlue or WinRed, the intermediary serves as a conduit for election law purposes. Conduit contributions are itemized and reported, and are publicly available. [19]

By contrast, small donors who contribute up to $200 directly to a federal campaign are not automatically reported to the FEC. [18] [20]

In 2024 the Institute for Free Speech sued the FEC over the discrepancy whereby small donors utilizing conduits ActBlue or WinRed are automatically made public but same-sized direct donations are not. [21]

Fundraising

ActBlue raised $19 million in its first three years, from 2004 to 2007. [22] 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. [23]

In 2016, ActBlue took in nearly $800 million in small-dollar donations. [24]

In the 2018 midterm elections, Democratic candidates fundraised $1.6 billion through ActBlue's platform. [25]

In 2019, ActBlue raised roughly $1 billion for Democratic campaigns. [26] The Daily Beast noted that between January and mid-July 2019, ActBlue brought in $420 million. [27]

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 all donations in the following week 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. [28] In the day following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, over $70 million was donated through ActBlue, again breaking the single-day fundraising record. [29]

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 . [30]

In the first 24 hours following the launch of Kamala Harris's presidential campaign, small-dollar and many first-time donors raised $81 million through ActBlue, making it the biggest 24 hour period ever on the platform for dollars raised sitewide. [31] Over the first weekend, they raised $100 million from 1.1 million donors. [32]

Fraud allegations

In 2024, Republican public officials in several states launched probes into ActBlue over allegations of donor fraud, [33] including Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares. [34] [35] ActBlue called Miyares' investigation a "partisan political attack and scare tactic." [36] ActBlue had previously been the target of fraud accusations by political activists, though experts have expressed doubt about the veracity of these claims. [37] [36] [38] [39]

Republican members of Congress have also expressed concerns that ActBlue was not verifying donors' credit card information using Card Verification Value (CVV) codes. [40] A spokesperson for ActBlue said in August 2024 that they had begun expanding CVV verification in 2023 and were now requiring it for all new credit card donations. [37] [41] ActBlue lobbied against a Republican-backed bill introduced in September 2024 that would require CVV codes for political donations and prohibit contributions via gift cards or prepaid cards. [34] [42]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Federal Election Commission: Committee Profiles, ActBlue". fec.gov. February 17, 2023. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Miller, Sean (December 18, 2024). "ActBlue Taking Heat From Practitioners As Campaign Fundraising Faces Greater Scrutiny". Campaigns & Elections. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
  3. ↑ Schneider, Elena (October 10, 2020). "How ActBlue has transformed Democratic politics". Politico. p. 1. Archived from the original on August 27, 2024.
  4. 1 2 "ActBlue Charities". InfluenceWatch. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  5. 1 2 "ActBlue Civics". InfluenceWatch. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  6. ↑ Wayne, Leslie (November 29, 2007). "A Fund-Raising Rainmaker Arises Online". The New York Times . p. 1. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
  7. ↑ McCarthy, Aoife (December 3, 2007). "Suite Talk: Taking care of business". Politico . p. 4. Archived from the original on May 11, 2017.
  8. ↑ Chery, Samantha (January 19, 2023). "Political fundraising platform ActBlue names its first Black female CEO". The Washington Post . Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  9. ↑ Katz, Josh; Lai, K.K. Rebecca; Shorey, Rachel; Kaplan, Thomas (August 2, 2019). "Detailed Maps of the Donors Powering the 2020 Democratic Campaigns". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  10. ↑ Halper, Evan (March 24, 2016). "Bernie Sanders' campaign legacy could be how he raises money from so many people". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 23, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  11. ↑ Stewart, Emily (January 29, 2019). "Democrats weigh whether Wall Street money is still allowed in 2020". Vox. Archived from the original on September 18, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  12. ↑ Levine, Carrie (April 17, 2019). "Why Democrats are falling over themselves to find small-dollar donors". Center for Public Integrity. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
  13. ↑ Greenwood, Max (April 3, 2023). "Democratic fundraiser ActBlue lays off portion of staff". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ Kroll, Andy. "The $2 Billion Powerhouse Behind Jon Ossoff". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on April 11, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  16. ↑ Pindell, James (May 15, 2017). "How a Somerville nonprofit revolutionized American politics". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  17. ↑ "What happens to my money when I donate?". ActBlue Support. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2024. 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.
  18. 1 2 Primo, David M. (August 18, 2019). "Personal Data About Small-Donor Democrats Is All Over the Internet". New York Times. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Earmarked contributions". FEC.gov. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  20. ↑ Lee, Michelle Ye Hee (September 10, 2019). "Trump's critics are targeting his donors, sparking fears of a backlash against disclosure". Washtington Post. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Small-Dollar Donors Sue FEC over Disclosure Requirements" (Press release). Institute for Free Speech. July 11, 2024. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  22. ↑ Mosk, Matthew (March 11, 2007). "Donations Pooled Online Are Getting Candidates' Attention". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286. Archived from the original on July 13, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Internet-based PAC driving Democratic push – The Boston Globe". archive.boston.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  24. ↑ Stewart, Emily (January 29, 2019). "Democrats weigh whether Wall Street money is still allowed in 2020". Vox. Archived from the original on September 18, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  25. ↑ Isenstadt, Alex (June 23, 2019). "GOP to launch new fundraising site as Dems crush the online money game". Politico. Archived from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  26. ↑ 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 July 22, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  27. ↑ Gideon, Resnick (July 17, 2019). "ActBlue Has Brought in a Whopping $420 Million This Year". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  28. ↑ 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 May 13, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  29. ↑ Schneider, Elena (September 19, 2020). "Dem donors smash ActBlue's daily record after Ginsburg's death". Politico. Archived from the original on August 26, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  30. ↑ Navarro, Aaron (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 September 18, 2024.
  31. ↑ Goldmacher, Shane (July 22, 2024). "Harris Raised $81 Million in First 24 Hours as Candidate". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 16, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  32. ↑ Snelling, Grace. "Yesterday was ActBlue's best day of 2024, and possibly of all time". Fast Company. Archived from the original on October 8, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  33. ↑ Stanton, Andrew (August 2, 2024). "Republican AG Targets Democratic PAC Over Donor Information". Newsweek. Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  34. 1 2 Oprysko, Caitlin (October 10, 2024). "ActBlue lobbies up amid GOP probes". Politico. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  35. ↑ Lapowsky, Issie (August 27, 2024). "ActBlue is a Democratic fundraising juggernaut—and now conservatives are coming for it". Fast Company. Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  36. 1 2 Mirshahi, Dean (August 2, 2024). "ActBlue calls Miyares' investigation into fraud claims a 'partisan political attack and scare tactic'". WRIC ABC 8News. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  37. 1 2 Lapowsky, Issie (August 27, 2024). "ActBlue is a Democratic fundraising juggernaut—and now conservatives are coming for it". Fast Company. Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  38. ↑ Alamdari, Natalia (May 7, 2024). "Letters warning of fraud, calls to form 'your militia': Election conspiracies spread in Nebraska". Nebraska Public Media. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  39. ↑ Sears, Bryan P. (June 20, 2023). "Expert: Claims of campaign finance irregularities are dubious". Maryland Matters. Archived from the original on July 30, 2024. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  40. ↑ Schorsch, Peter (April 14, 2023). "Delegation for 4.14.23: Abortion — feeling ActBlue — juicy — school choice — thanks". Florida Politics. Archived from the original on July 30, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  41. ↑ "Are my contributions processed securely?". ActBlue.com. August 14, 2024. Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  42. ↑ Giorno, Taylor (October 16, 2024). "Bottom Line: ActBlue lobbies up on online donation overhaul bill". The Hill. Archived from the original on October 18, 2024. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  43. ↑ 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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