Today ActBlue marks its 3rd Anniversary. Seriously, 3 years? I know- time flies.
Back in 2004, our founders Matt DeBergalis and Benjamin Rahn thought they could build something that would change Democratic fundraising- making it, well, more democratic. The two of them, living off of savings and limited investment, set out to build a platform that would end up changing our Party. Working out of their homes, they built the first generation of ActBlue.
This innovative, secure, and groundbreaking way to give money to Democrats was launched in June of 2004 before the end of the fundraising quarter. The earliest adopters, the blogosphere, helped push $250,000 into federal campaigns that summer. Printing $1 million in checks out of Matt’s living room by the end of 2004 was an accomplishment for the start-up. ActBlue caught the eye of Democratic campaigns, organizations, and establishment investors and it was time to grow.
And grow ActBlue did. You can see it for yourself in the numbers.
Total Raised for Democrats through ActBlue: $24,167,741
# of fundraising pages on ActBlue: 4,204
# of people contacted in just 3 weeks via ActBlue’s new Spread the Word tool: 3,751
# of active entities in ActBlue’s directory: 3,739 (will grow towards 10,000 this cycle)
# of candidates and committees receiving funds to date: 1,725
# of states where ActBlue is active for state level activity: 23 (soon to be 24)
# of people behind the ActBlue curtain: 6
# of months until ActBlue outgrows its 600 sq foot office: 1
(that’s over $40,000/sq.ft. of productivity!)
There a lot of talk about investing in lasting infrastructure for the Democratic Party. ActBlue returns over $20 in aid for Democratic candidates for every $1 in investment. We have more ideas under the hood than you can shake a stick at, limited not by our creativity, but by time and investment.
ActBlue is an investment in our Party. ActBlue is an investment in a Democratic future.
So, in honor of our 3rd Anniversary, will you invest in ActBlue?
http://www.actblue.com/page/investinactblue
With your help, the future will be more than just bright- it will be Blue.
So I offer a toast: the undiscovered country . . . the future. Here’s to turning 3.
ActBlue has had an amazing effect on our ability to think of races for Congress from a national perspective. Before ActBlue, I was a rare contributor to races outside my home state. It also helps me feel that I am contributing as a progressive because my contribution is often through someone else’s page. That makes me feel less taken for granted.