ActBlue Charities is a pass-through organization created to facilitate donations to left-of-center 501(c)(3) nonprofits. It is the 501(c)(3) affiliate of the 501(c)(4) nonprofit ActBlue Civics and 527 political action committee ActBlue.

ActBlue is a fundraising platform composed of three separate entities that was created to service left-wing nonprofits and political action committees.¹ ActBlue Charities was formed in 2015 as a complementary platform to the liberal fundraising platform ActBlue designed to provide fundraising services to organizations organized as public charities. Similarly, ActBlue Civics exists to serve “social welfare” clients with similar fundraising services.²

Organizational Overview

The ActBlue website was launched in 2004 by Ben Rahn and Matt DeBergalis as a fundraising platform for left-wing nonprofits and PACs.³ ActBlue Charities was formed 11 years later in 2015.⁴ According to its own estimates, ActBlue has helped to raise $2.4 billion for its clients since its creation.⁵

ActBlue is divided into three components, each of which deals with a specific type of donation. ActBlue Non-Federal deals with PAC contributions, ActBlue Civics manages contributions to 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, and ActBlue Charities manages contributions to 501(c)(3) nonprofits.⁶

In addition to publishing its list of clients on its website for donors’ ease-of-use, ActBlue also stores contributors’ credit card information, which “reduces the friction involved in filling out donation forms to a single click.”⁷

ActBlue provides grassroots fundraising software that allows its clients to maximize their impact. These tools are available on all three of their platforms.⁸ ActBlue also “run randomized experiments to increase the efficiency of its donation forms.”⁹

Finances

ActBlue is a pass-through organization and service for donations to left-of-center nonprofits and PACs. ActBlue Charities is ActBlue’s funding platform built specifically for 501(c)(3) organizations which can receive tax-deductible contributions.

As a service, it charges a transaction fee of 3.95% for each donation it receives and passes along to the final recipient.¹⁰

Clients

According to ActBlue’s online directory, the following organizations are clients of ActBlue Charities:¹¹

Center for Popular Democracy

Southern Poverty Law Center

Arizona Advocacy Network

People’s Action Institute

Colorofchange.org Education Fund

Courage Campaign Institute

CREDO Action

Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)

Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF)

Mother Jones

Movement Strategy Center

National Immigration Law Center

Transgender Law Center

Voices for Progress Education Fund

People

Ben Rahn is the founder and director of ActBlue.¹²

Matt DeBergalis is the chairman and founder of ActBlue.¹³

1. Willis, Derek. “How ActBlue Became a Powerful Force in Fund-Raising.” The New York Times. October 09, 2014. Accessed July 25, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/upshot/how-actblue-became-a-powerful-force-in-fund-raising.html.
2. Hill, Erin. “Visit AB Charities.” ActBlue Blog. February 17, 2016. Accessed July 23, 2018. https://blog.actblue.com/2016/02/17/actblue-charities-is-here/.
3. Hartmann, Michael E. “ActBlue Fundraising Platform Strikes Gold — for Liberals | RealClearPolitics.” RealClearPolitics. January 23, 2018. Accessed July 23, 2018. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/01/23/actblue_fundraising_platform_strikes_gold_–_for_liberals_136068.html.
4. “Business Entity Summary.” Corporations Division. Accessed January 16, 2019. http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/CorpWeb/CorpSearch/CorpSummary.aspx?FEIN=001169449&SEARCH_TYPE=1
5. “Billions Raised Online since 2004.” ActBlue. Accessed July 23, 2018. https://secure.actblue.com/.
6. Hartmann, Michael E. “ActBlue Fundraising Platform Strikes Gold — for Liberals | RealClearPolitics.” RealClearPolitics. January 23, 2018. Accessed July 23, 2018. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/01/23/actblue_fundraising_platform_strikes_gold_–_for_liberals_136068.html.
7. Willis, Derek. “How ActBlue Became a Powerful Force in Fund-Raising.” The New York Times. October 09, 2014. Accessed July 25, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/upshot/how-actblue-became-a-powerful-force-in-fund-raising.html.
8. Castenell, Aimée. “How to Increase Donations on Giving Tuesday with ActBlue.” Fission Strategy. October 17, 2016. Accessed July 23, 2018. https://fissionstrategy.com/now-nonprofits-can-increase-donations-on-giving-tuesday-with-actblue/.
9. Willis, Derek. “How ActBlue Became a Powerful Force in Fund-Raising.” The New York Times. October 09, 2014. Accessed July 25, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/upshot/how-actblue-became-a-powerful-force-in-fund-raising.html.
10. “Campaign FAQ.” ActBlue. Accessed July 23, 2018. https://secure.actblue.com/content/campaign-faq.
11. “Directory.” ActBlue. Accessed July 25, 2018. https://secure.actblue.com/directory/all/org.
12. Rahn, Benjamin. “User Profile.”LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrahn/
13. DeBergalis, Matt. “User Profile.” LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/debergalis/