Democrats now raise a significantly larger portion of their overall fundraising from individual donors compared to 20 years ago.
Somerville, MA – This week, ActBlue celebrates two decades since the launch of its digital platform to democratize grassroots fundraising and help Democrats and progressives make their voices heard. For 20 years, ActBlue built reliable and trusted digital fundraising infrastructure that helped reshape the modern political landscape by empowering small-dollar donors to affect progress and build change across the country. ActBlue was founded on June 28, 2004. Since then, the leading online fundraising platform for Democratic candidates and campaigns helped process over 13 billion dollars raised from more than 250 million individual donations.
In the early 2000s, grassroots supporters – frustrated with the Bush Administration – were an untapped superpower for campaigns. ActBlue was conceived to leverage their enthusiasm and since then, ActBlue’s platform has democratized access to political giving, helping Democrats cultivate sustaining grassroots donor communities from cycle to cycle. Today, millions of small-dollar donors are acting as a counterweight to the dark money special interests that dominate our politics. Through ActBlue’s platform, small-dollar donors have become a core part of politics today.
According to FEC data, Democratic House and Senate candidates raised 4.4 times more from individual contributors during the 2022 election cycle than they did during the 2004 election cycle. The growth in donations from individuals contributing to Democratic congressional candidates has far outpaced the increase in transfers from other committees, including corporate PACs. Democrats up and down the ballot now raise a significantly larger portion of their overall fundraising from individual donors compared to 20 years ago.
Democratic and progressive campaigns have trusted ActBlue’s two-decade-long track record of innovation and dependability to deliver during big fundraising moments. Following the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020, small-dollar donors gave more than $91 million sitewide and in the wake of the Dobbs ruling in 2022, donors raised more than $89 million.
ActBlue’s commitment to building the most innovative, reliable platform for users – with security and trustworthiness at the forefront – is critical to the long-term sustainability of the Democratic and progressive movement. Over the years, ActBlue has introduced new features, security measures, and solutions to fuel change and reach grassroots donors where they are. This includes ActBlue Express which allows donors to securely save their contact and payment information and donate with a single click. With over 14 million Express users in 2024, ActBlue Express has been a game-changer for grassroots fundraising.
“For two decades, ActBlue has worked alongside donors, practitioners, campaigns, organizations, and initiatives to build an innovative, trusted platform that meets the moment and makes change in every community,” said Regina Wallace-Jones, President and CEO of ActBlue. “The dollars raised and number of donations over 20 years illustrate the power of small-dollar donors and the strength of the Democratic and progressive movement. With gratitude for the past, we will continue to innovate and evolve our platform to meet the needs of campaigns and organizations for the next decade.”
