ActBlue is the number one donation platform for Democrats running up and down the ballot. Used by every 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate, ActBlue is on track to raise over $3 billion for Democrats by the end of the 2020 cycle. Whether you’re running for school board or United States Senate, learn how ActBlue can help you raise the grassroots funds you need to win.
Grassroots fundraising is what powers the progressive movement. Small-dollar donations and people-power are the nuts and bolts of twenty-first-century campaigns. In fact, to make it easy for small-dollar donors to find and donate to your campaign, you have to employ twenty-first-century tools. That’s why in this Tools Episode, Joe and Alexis Chininis of ActBlue discuss how campaigns can use ActBlue to harness the power of small-dollar, grassroots fundraising. ActBlue was used by every 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate and is on track to raise over $3 billion for Democrats by the end of the 2020 cycle. Alexis talks about how ActBlue makes it easy for donors to donate and how small-dollar donors have continued to stay active even in the midst of the COVID-19-induced economic downturn. Listen in to this episode to learn how your campaign can have a slice of that $3 billion pie.
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Joe Fuld
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Martín Diego Garcia
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Presented by The Campaign Workshop
Joe Fuld (00:00):
Hey there it's Joe Fuld. Welcome to another episode of How to Win a Campaign: Tools Edition. In this episode, I'm joined with Alexis Chininis from ActBlue to talk about ActBlue and what they're doing right now, how this tool is evolves, what are ways that campaigns are using this during COVID-19. Alexis? How are you?
Alexis Chininis (00:26):
I'm good, Joe. Thanks for having me.
Joe Fuld (00:28):
Oh, so happy to have you, so a quick background for folks that don't know, what was the inspiration for creating ActBlue?
Alexis Chininis (00:36):
Sure. ActBlue was actually founded in 2004 with the mission to democratize the least democratic part of campaigns, which is fundraising. Our founders wanted to use technology to make it easy for people to participate in politics and to chip in and support the candidates and causes they believe in what's really cool for me because I do work with state and local campaigns, uh one of our founders had actually run for city council and that is part of ActBlue's origin story, right? That's part of how they were influenced to, to create this tool. In 2004, you know, there wasn't a lot of online fundraising. We didn't have smartphones. People didn't have, you know, access to the internet, sometimes, people didn't have broadband as much as, as we see now. So we've really come a long way. And since then we've helped campaigns and organizations build grassroots fundraising programs all while advocating for the power of small dollar donors, which is really what we're all about.
Joe Fuld (01:43):
Yeah. And so tell us why grassroots fundraising is so important for political campaigns and political movements.
Alexis Chininis (01:50):
Absolutely. You know, grassroots support really makes a campaign stronger when a campaign or an organization builds the grassroots fundraising base, they've created a really powerful organizing team. Grassroots fundraising, digital fundraising is digital organizing. Small dollar donors, we see them not just give, but they become advocates for, for a candidate or cause, they become organizers, they become volunteers and then they become voters. Which means that, you know, campaigns, they don't have to rely on big money or wealthy donors to power their work. So we're really breaking down barriers in a couple of different ways, you know, both on the donor side to make it easier for donors to contribute and get involved with causes they believe in, and also for campaigns breaking down the barriers of what it takes to run for office.
Joe Fuld (02:41):
Yeah. And so talk to me a little bit about why you think, I'm sure you have an opinion about this. Why ActBlue is a great choice as a fundraising tool, right? There are a lot of choices out there. Why should campaigns be using ActBlue?
Alexis Chininis (02:57):
Yeah, we're really actually to be part of the digital organizing and progressive space that we're in actual itself as a nonprofit. So that means our number one focus is empowering small dollar donors and really helping candidates and organizations to build the grassroots fundraising programs they need to continue their work. We do this by breaking down barriers in political participation and really making it as easy as possible for donors to give. A great example of this is our 9 million express ActBlue express donor universe which it allows folks to ActBlue, what ActBlue express is, is it allows folks to save their payment information so that they can easily give to a candidate or cause with just a single click. Another really cool part of our tools is that they're available for use by any Democrat, whether they're running for US Senate or president all the way down to the local school board so that they can build a grassroots fueled campaign, you know, across the democratic party. In this past year what has been, what we're really proud of and really excited about is that we saw all the 2020 presidential campaigns using our platform to fundraise for small dollar donors. And you know, now after, after such a busy primary season, so many small dollar donors getting involved, we really see, you know, this continuing and our goal continues to be, to make sure our tools are efficient and easy to use so that folks can continue to fund to organize and fundraise in their communities.
Joe Fuld (04:38):
Wow. That's, that's great. I mean, one of the things that we've been seeing with a lot of local candidates now, as well as folks running for Congress and Senate is a real change in fundraising behavior due to the economic impact of Coronavirus. Can you talk about what campaign, what those changes you've seen are, has there been a downturn in donations and do you have a sense of what that is?
Alexis Chininis (05:08):
Yeah, so it's interesting. We, we certainly have seen a lot of changes from campaigns and how they're dealing with COVID-19. We have not seen a huge downturn in contributions. I, what I can tell you is that in the past it, in the last two weeks of March alone, we saw 120,000 donors giving through ActBlue for the first time which was, you know, right, as folks were starting to go into self quarantine and stay at home was during that time. So we're still on track to raise $3 billion through ActBlue by the end of the 2020 cycle. We expect to continue to see online fundraising to be very important for both Democrats and nonprofits alike. But I think, you know, COVID-19 has changed the way we go about our lives campaigns, just like everybody else, campaigns are figuring out how to navigate the new reality. Donors are figuring out how to navigate this new reality. And we've seen a lot of campaigns, you know, pivot to all digital activities, all virtual activities in that, in that reality, we have seen campaigns sending fewer emails, maybe are using their lists to do other types of organizing work, which is a really good practice during COVID-19. When we do see campaigns and organizations, when they ask for money, we do still see a really strong response from small dollar donors. People want to make a difference and be part of something bigger. And they're looking for ways to do that from home. And I think this is a moment where donors and, and people are looking for ways to step up and help. So I think that's why, you know, we still do see really strong, really strong numbers.
Joe Fuld (07:00):
Yeah. I mean, we've had conversations with pollsters and other, like people who are doing phone and text organizing and just that engagement rates have gone up. And that is with that influx of, of some new donors during this time is, are they giving smaller amounts, but you're seeing it go up. Are you seeing habitual donors give, give smaller amounts? What is behavior that you're seeing?
Alexis Chininis (07:29):
Yeah. You know, I think we've seen over time and this goes way before COVID-19 for the past few years, really we've seen our average contribution size go down which is really a testament to how small dollar donors have continued to engage with the Democratic party. And we've continued to grow that, that small dollar donor base, small dollar donors, they they're used to budgeting. They've always been, been budgeting and watching, you know, the bottom line. So while of course everybody is affected by COVID-19. I think those behaviors in particular have stayed, have stayed static.
Joe Fuld (08:07):
So do you have any tips for campaigns now during COVID-19? What are things that they should be trying to do with their fundraising? What are, what are unique things they should be doing during this situation?
Alexis Chininis (08:21):
Absolutely. We still see that email fundraising is the number one way to fundraise online. I think, you know, we always say email email is queen. We like to say and I think one of the best things people, campaigns and organizations can do even during this time is to keep their lists active and to keep adding to their list and looking for different ways to engage donors. I think, you know, in, in tough times, sometimes folks' knee-jerk reaction is to stop sending or to stop asking for money. This is a time where people still want to be involved. We did not want to stop asking for money. You need to have a hard ask for folks to want to donate to you. And I think that through your ask, you should seek to be human. You should seek to stay authentic through your program. Donors really respond to authenticity. They really respond to human moments. It's okay to admit to your supporter base, perhaps that you're, you have to change the way you're campaigning. You can't go door to door anymore. So you need folks to lean in and different ways. And maybe that means, you know, attend a virtual campaign event. Maybe that means to be phone banking from home or texting their friends. I think it's important that campaigns still look for ways to donate for supporters to stay involved. They should be honest and upfront about the changes they're making to their campaign to make sure that their campaign staff is safe, that they, as the candidate, are safe, safe and they're keeping their communities safe. And you know, I think two candidates they're coming they're community leaders. It is important to stay visible during this time and to keep your supporters updated.
Joe Fuld (10:18):
So it could be, as you're saying, a mix of email, right, doing some informational email about what is going on in the community, on the COVID crisis and being specific about what an ask is around that, then going back to a fundraising ask, and as you said, make the ask specific one of the tricks that I like to use and whether it's an in person ask or a email is to put reason, amount and time in every ask, what is the reason I'm asking for money? What is the amount I'm asking for? When do we need the check by? And again, your tool is great and giving a link that you can, we can send to folks to say, okay, you can give, you know, that contribution right now online. So we always ask a couple of quick questions about price when it comes to this, how do you keep this tool affordable for people? What do you charge what's the cost of using ActBlue?
Alexis Chininis (11:09):
Yeah. So as I have mentioned, you know, absolute one of ActBlue's priorities as a nonprofit is to break down barriers for both campaigns and donors. And likewise, we don't charge any flat fees for our tools. We only charge a 3.95 transaction fee. So that means that campaigns can sign up for ActBlue. You don't pay for set up, you don't pay for cancellation. You you're paying only when you're using the tools really. So if you're accepting a contribution, that's when you pay a transaction fee, but otherwise there, there are no fees, there are no costs. And you know, we're able to do that because we're a nonprofit. And I think that's a really important aspect of our model.
Joe Fuld (11:58):
That's great. Well, any new innovations for 2020 that you're excited about? This is the last question I swear.
Alexis Chininis (12:05):
Absolutely. I am so pumped about this new distributed organizing tool. We just released four embedded videos into a contribution form. What this allows campaigns to do is to embed either a live stream or just just a video through YouTube YouTube live Facebook live and it allows folks to, to have events and to stream videos and donors to contribute at the same time without leaving the video. So they can keep their audience engaged while also contributing which is going to be, that's very important for, for virtual events that folks are having to have now. And another part of this I love is that since we're using YouTube and Facebook videos, it is really, really accessible to campaigns at every level. Very easy to set up a Facebook live stream, very easy to, to upload a YouTube video. So really this is a tool that candidates for school board can use, for city council can use, for state legislature can use as well as larger campaigns for Congress or Senate.
Joe Fuld (13:24):
Great. Well, we look forward to checking it out. Alexis, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us. We appreciate it. And we'll put some links in the show notes, wish you well and hope you stay safe.
Alexis Chininis (13:37):
Thanks you too.
Joe Fuld (13:38):
Thanks for listening to this episode of How to Win a Campaign: Tools Edition. To learn more about great campaign tools, check out our blog and remember to like review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
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