ActBlue
ActBlue is a United States political action committee established in June 2004 that enables anyone to raise money on the Internet for the Democratic Party candidates of their choice.
ActBlue has grown quickly to become a major fundraising tool for Democrats, particularly favored by the netroots and left-leaning bloggers.[1] As of March 2012, ActBlue had raised more than $235 million USD for Democratic candidates at various levels of politics, making it the largest single source of funds for Democrats. The organization is open to all registered Democratic campaigns and candidates. [2]
Contents |
History[edit]
ActBlue was founded in 2004 by Benjamin Rahn, who left a doctoral program in theoretical physics at Caltech to develop the platform, and Matt DeBergalis, a computer science graduate of MIT.[3]
Timeline[edit]
- April Fools' Day 2008: ActBlue announces on its blog that it will begin collecting funds for US candidates in Euros, due to the decline of the dollar.
Press Coverage[edit]
- ActBlue's Record Take, The New York Times, Caucus Blog, 4/3/2008
- ActBlue Keeps the Money Coming, CQ Today Online News, 4/1/2008
- ActBlue Reports Raising $21 Million, The Washington Post, 3/14/2008
- ActBlue Featured in Laura Flanders' Blue Grit. New York: Penguin Books (2008), 165
- Maryland Congressional Candidate Donna Edwards On ActBlue, Matt Stoller, www.openleft.com, 2/16/2008
- Campaign Giving Online Challenges Influence of Major Communal Donors, Jewish Daily Forward, 2/13/2008
- A Fund-Raising Rainmaker Arises Online, The New York Times, 11/29/2007
- ActBlue Reshapes How Smaller Races Get Financed, The Wall Street Journal, 9/28/07
- ActBlue: Putting the “D” Back in Democracy, Huffington Post, 9/13/07
- Internet-Based PAC Driving Democratic Push: Small Donors Fuel Big Support Drive, The Boston Globe, 8/7/07
- The Open Party Committee, Open Left, 7/18/07
- Marketing Election '08: Q&A With Matt DeBergalis, ActBlue, Fast Company, 7/07
- The Caucus: Money Focus, The New York Times, 7/12/07
- Donations Pooled Online Are Getting Candidates' Attention, The Washington Post, 3/11/07
- ActBlue Makes Giving Easy, and it's Become a Major Political Player, The Los Angeles Times, 3/11/07
- The New Rainmakers, National Journal, 10/27/06
- ActBlue Is Top PAC for Democrats, MyDD, 7/16/06
- the Speed of Blog, Salon.com, 7/23/04
- ActBlue Lets Anyone Be PAC Man, Wired, 9/28/04
- How to Pump Young Democrats’ Energy and Money into the Political Process, The Boston Phoenix, 6/28/04
References[edit]
- ^ "ActBlue Reshapes How Smaller Races Get Financed," The Wall Street Journal, 9/28/07
- ^ ActBlue is a not-for-profit organization. ActBlue officially incurs costs of 3.95% of the gross contribution, and those fees are passed on to campaigns. ActBlue's sister company, ActBlue Technology Services derives the bulk of the income by charging ActBlue 3.9% on all transaction but paying a much lower rate to the merchant banks on those transaction fees. Detailed financial information is available here. A report by the New York Times was in error.
- ^ "A Fund-Raising Rainmaker Arises Online," The New York Times, 11/29/2007
