ActBlue supports online giving through Twitter

Just a quick note, since I'm at the Personal Democracy Forum conference today and tomorrow.

Friday evening, we released new software that connects our fundraising platform with Twitter.  We started with our popular ActBlue Express that allows contributors to save a profile, make contributions to candidates or fundraising pages with just a few clicks, and review their full giving history.  What's new is connecting that profile to Twitter: now allowing donors to give by just tweeting the candidate's Twitter screen name and an amount.  We'll respond with a thank you note and you'll see the usual email receipt in your inbox.

Lots of candidates have a strong Twitter presence, of course, so this is just another case of ActBlue's search for how we can best help campaigns and their supporters make deeper connections.  We love how the contribution message serves not just as an instruction to our system, but a built in promotion of the candidate and a public celebration of contributing to the Democratic movement.

We've just started loading in campaigns and organizations, so if your campaign uses Twitter, please drop us a line at info@actblue.com and we'll get you set up right away.

Full details at our Twitter page.  If you use Twitter, try it out this week and us know what you think!

Act(Blue) On The Issues!

Let me do a little introductory dance here. I'm Adrian, and I work at ActBlue as our Deputy Communications Director. I've been a Kos reader for years, but this is my first trip to the big leagues, so to speak. Anyway, let's get to it: we're all familiar with what ActBlue can do during election years, I wanted to talk a little bit about what we can do together when it's an off year.

As you're all aware, there are a number of tumultuous issues roiling Washington D.C. these days: torture, confirmation battles present and future, and a high-profile party switch, to name just a few. ActBlue allows you to construct a visible narrative of support for the politicians who represent your views, months and even years before an election. Money talks, and the circular handshake of financial support and media attention is how political fortunes are made and broken. You can play a role in that process by supporting politicians who take positions you like, even when it's not an election year. So how do you construct that narrative?

Well, you'd better believe that the next election is very much on the candidate's mind, and a concerted fundraising push in response to a particular statement or position sends a message to the campaign that there's a real support base out there. That encourages them to stick to their guns and adopt similar positions in the future. If you sustain that push via repeat giving or recurring donations, the media attention those numbers garner will amplify your influence.

In the weeks to come, I'm going to be posting entries about the issues of the day and how you can use ActBlue to influence them. And, just in case you don't believe you can influence politics this way, I've included a step-by-step timeline of how your donations forced the NRCC out of the MN-06 race last year and brought the DCCC in, all over the course of a weekend!

Friday October 17th, 2008: Michelle Bachmann decided to channel McCarthy on Hardball. Prior to her comments, El Tinklenberg had raised $2k on ActBlue. Afterwards, the dam broke and as much as $200/minute came pouring through ActBlue.

Saturday October 18th, 2008: The firestorm ignited by Bachmann's comments continued to grow, producing 120k for Tinklenberg on ActBlue. By late afternoon, Politico had picked up the story, bringing it to a national audience. The hits kept coming with a UPI wire report at 8PM. By 9PM, Tinklenberg's ActBlue haul stood at $230k and growing.

Sunday October 19th, 2008: By the end of the day, Tinklenberg had brought in $270k through ActBlue, and had planned a major advertising blitz. The Minneapolis Star Tribune, the largest regional paper in the area, had also picked up the story, bringing it to households throughout the district.

Monday October 20th, 2008: In the morning, the DCCC announced that it would jump into the race and run $1mil worth of ads against Bachmann. Later that night, the beleaguered Republican discovered that she had a write-in GOP opponent. Tinklenberg's end-of-day ActBlue tally stood at $300k.

Over the next couple of days, the NRCC pulled out of MN-06, and Survey USA put out a poll showing Tinklenberg leading Bachmann 47% to 44%. Tinklenberg's final ActBlue number: 8000 donations amounting to $313k, all over the space of a weekend.

Now, regardless of the ultimate outcome of that race, it was a triumph of broad-based Democratic fundraising. The quick response from outraged Democrats drove a days-long news story and pulled in the major national committee. And all of this while a historic presidential campaign was sucking up a lot of the bandwith and money out there. Underlying all of that was ActBlue's flexible and responsive technology, which enabled people to open up a new tab in their browser and make their opinion known, not just in Minnesota, but across the country.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks as I take a look at the contentious issues in Washington, and outline ways to use ActBlue to influence them. As always, feel free to drop us an email with any questions. I can promise you that real humans (myself included!) read every email.

Introducing ActBlue Thermometers

You asked for it.

Choose a goal.  Embed your thermometer anywhere.  Make your pitch and watch the mercury rise!

Any fundraising page on ActBlue now has the opportunity to have a goal and an auto-updating thermometer.  Embed it in your diary, in the comments of an open thread, on your blog or in an email.  You can put your thermometer anywhere you can hotlink an image.

Here is how it works:

1. Click "Goal" in the admin tab of your fundraising page

2. Choose whether you would like to shoot for a certain number of donors, or a certain amount of money

3. Click "Save"

4. Use the code to embed your thermometer anywhere.  It is already on your fundraising page.

Don't have a fundraising page?

Time to get one!  First, think of a candidate you admire.  Don't worry if you can't pick just one, having multiple candidates on a single fundraising page is a specialty of ActBlue.  Search for your first candidate in our directory:

http://actblue.com/directory

Once you find your candidate, click on the "Fundraise" button to the right of the candidate's photo.  If you have an ActBlue login, you can use it here.  If you don't have a user account, just create one now.

Then, just fill out information for your fundraising page.  Make your pitch and explain why your candidate deserves your friend's hard-earned dollars.  Click over to the "Goal" tab and get a thermometer or look at the "Add" tab to select more candidates for your page.

Once you have created your page there are two more steps to your chosen candidate's success.

1. Donate on your page.  It is hard to ask other people to donate to your favorite candidates if you haven't already.  We all can afford at least $5 for our favorite candidate.

2. Ask your friends, relatives, neighbors and coworkers to donate to your chosen cause.  While this might seem daunting, these people care about you and are interested in your passion.  By making the first donation, they'll know you are serious about helping your candidate win.

As always, feel free to shoot any questions about Thermometers or ActBlue in general my way.  I'll be here in the comments, and my email is nate@actblue.com

The State of the States

There is a rising force in the online community, often forgotten by the mainstream media because of their niche audience and dispersed nature. With over half a million readers a week they are on the front lines of grassroots battles. Their ears to the ground and their footsteps echoing in the halls of their capitals, they are often the first to report on issues and breaking news that eventually bubble up to the national discussion.

This force is the vast and ever growing community of state and local blogs, both those in the 50-state blog network and beyond. These blogs and their nearly 1000 authors are both a part of the national Netroots and unique local communities unto themselves. 

In some states with more established blogging traditions, networks of bloggers have created communications tools to facilitate the sharing of best practices and to coordinate messaging campaigns. Other blog networks have worked to grow readership and develop true community-oriented sites. This year has seen some of the most interesting developments as these blogging communities started flexing their fundraising muscle in state and local races. Even better, some have gone a step further by leveraging their online presence into offline action. This maturation of state blogging is truly exciting.

I've gotten in touch with some of the organizers of this new breed of activism in hopes that by sharing their experiences, we might inspire others to similarly innovative action.

California- California bloggers over at Calitics have led the way this year in innovative online fundraising. They started using YouTube videos back in March for their End-of-Quarter fundraising push via their  Calitics ActBlue fundraising page. They didn't stop there, though. Calitics, and the larger CA blogosphere, held a real-world gatherings in San Francisco and Los Angeles at the end of the second quarter--which brought beer, politics, and fun together while raising close to $4,000 online for an offline gathering.They've done it again this quarter, expanding their real-world events to San Diego and bringing in new people and groups (such as Drinking Liberally) to the process. Here's what some of the local bloggers had to say:

"Money always gets attention in polititcs, for better or for worse. But I think getting blogger-types mingling with candidates and local activists is also a really important reason for these events. That's why working with Drinking Liberally has been so helpful. We really had a great commonality of interests with DL, and it's been really helpful for both sides." -Brian Leubitz, Calitics

"I think my experience in San Diego has been different than SF or LA in that there's no base of blogging here.  It's a red area in general, and for the most part folks are still discovering how to use the internet as a political tool. For me, in an area like this, it seemed more appropriate to try and develop the online/offline connections and try to blur the distinctions a bit, which I think worked pretty well.  I've been to both sorts of events and they're both vital, but I think that the real growth comes from sucking in people who can barely turn on a computer but still know their activism.  We need their experience and they need our megaphone." -Lucas O'Connor, Calitics

These efforts have raised $10,000 not only for candidates in California, but also for the recently formed Calitics state and federal PACs. That’s right -- state blogs with Political Action Committees.  And they aren't alone...

Virginia- Raising Kaine, one of Virginia's oldest and largest blogs, is among the first blogs to have formed a state PAC to support and advance their efforts at the state level. With their state legislative elections held in odd-numbered years, the Virginia blogging community is already in high gear for critical elections that are less than six weeks away. So far this year, they have raised over $22,000 through ActBlue for candidates endorsed through a process that involved their site's readers as well the editors. Raising Kaine’s prolific fundraising and their choice to endorse led to a change in how candidates interacted with the state's blogosphere:

"I think we can say that candidates became more aware of us, and we were able to use our ActBlue fundraising platform to create incentives for candidates to engage with us.  I'm thinking specifically about our primary endorsement process, in which almost every candidate in the races we targeted participated in a live-blog, posted diaries, or participated in blogtalk debates. -Lowell Feld, Raising Kaine

The Virginia scene is a diverse and active one with a hot U.S. Senate race for a second cycle in a row. Their success have been an inspiration to another southern state which is looking to become the next Virginia.

Texas- Home to one of the largest state blogging communities in the country, the Texas bloggers at Burnt Orange Report, Texas Kaos, and Off the Kuff  and dozens of other blogs have made waves of late. After successfully drafting a U.S. Senate candidate to oppose Republican John Cornyn, they've been an active part of the state-wide effort that's raised tens of thousands of dollars online through ActBlue this quarter.

Some of the state's bloggers have gone further by banding together to form the TexBlog PAC.  Its mission is to connect online and offline activism in support of Democratic efforts to take back the Texas House, which, with last month's party switch, is only 6 seats away from being a reality.

"By launching TexBlog PAC, Texas bloggers are taking online communication to the next level by showing quantifiable organizing skills.  Bloggers from all over the state have solidified their position and reputation with groups like the House Democratic Campaign Committee and the Texas Democratic Party.  Within the first two months, the Republican Party has already gone on the offensive by referring to us as an echo chamber that is unable to mobilize anything or anyone.  Because of these absurd attacks, the Democratic House Leader Jim Dunnam, has stood by us in the press and showed himself to be a friend of the texroots." -Matt Glazer, Burnt Orange Report

Matt and his fellow bloggers organized a real world fundraising event in Austin this week that drew over 150 attendees, a dozen state representatives, and sponsorships from various statewide organizations inside and outside of the Party. Including funds raised online through ActBlue, this hybrid offline/online effort netted over $10,000.

This effort is a great example of state blogging communities uniting with establishment and reform movements towards a common goal. Taking online energy to power offline connections will hopefully lead to more efforts in which various groups can find ways to work together that they may not have thought of before.

Connecticut- The northeastern United States proved last fall that it was tired of Republicans--moderate and conservative alike. They tossed all of their remaining GOP Congressional members save one: Chris Shays. This year, Connecticut bloggers led by contributors to CT Local Politics & MyLeftNutmeg, have rallied behind Democrat Jim Himes in hopes to make New England's House delegation entirely blue in 2008.

Last week, the Himes campaign in conjunction with the area's local bloggers promoted their ActBlue End-of Quarter Blograiser & Pub Quiz. Collecting contributions both online and at the door, this was another example of bringing online activists and supporters together at on offline event.

"We're leaving no stone unturned asking for the support of bloggers, CT politicians, 4thCD Democrats, progressive organizations, and anyone else we can think of.  My hope is that this will be the first of many quarterly blograisers for Jim Himes.  After 2008 I'd like to keep them going for other candidates." -Melissa Ryan, CT Local Politics

Using Facebook and Party2Win in conjunction with an ActBlue fundraising page has allowed the campaign to connect various communities and cross-promote the event. The campaign helped to unite the netroots and grassroots with the elected officials and donors at the event, which should create great opportunities to network, share ideas, and build trust. In the end, over 40 people attended and close to $4,000 was raised.

My point in highlighting these efforts (and there are plenty more ready and waiting) is that the online community needs to take advantage of offline resources to further our collective agenda. The power of the netroots exists not only in our online networks and resources, but also by combining those efforts with offline activism. The state level netroots, dominated by activists tied into local scene, are key players and leaders in this new trend. Making use of ActBlue to track their fundraising, they are showing their power, challenging the media's perceptions, and giving new depth to online activism.

That spells big change for the future of politics.

Tips for Promoting Recurring Contributions

Yesterday I wrote about the new way to view recurring contributions in your campaign or fundraising page reports on ActBlue. We hope this may inspire you to set up recurring donor programs to support your fundraising efforts!

Today I'd like to provide you with some examples of how campaigns and fundraisers are promoting recurring contributions through their ActBlue pages. Before I present those, let's review a couple of reasons you should consider a recurring donor program to start with!

• Regularizes revenue: Recurring donations allow you to better manage your campaign finances with a predictable stream of funding.
  
  
• Increases potential giving: Recurring contributions encourage supporters to make a larger donation by spreading it out over time. For many contributors, giving a little each month is easier on the budget than one lump sum.
  
  
• Increases pledge fulfillment: Recurring credit card donations eliminate the need for donor follow-up on pledges and the risk that a donor might renege – increasing revenue and saving valuable staff time.
  
  
• Enhances relationships: Recurring contributions allow you to build long-term relationships with your donors. They are more likely to help your campaign in other ways besides money.
  
  
• Reduces donor attrition: Recurring donors tend to contribute for longer periods of time. A regular pattern of giving leads to a sense of investment.

Now let's look at some real-world examples.

1. Building Netroots Infrastructure- This fundraising page was a joint fundraising effort by BlogPAC and ActBlue. In an effort to fund progressive infrastructure, blog readers and Democratic donors were asked to give monthly to allow the two groups to generate a steady predictable stream of income to support long term growth. This is a very sensible ask given the nature of the donors as well as the two groups being supported.
   
   You might also notice that embedded in the page are links preset with recurring amounts! Above is a quick image of what that looks like though you can see for yourself here.
   
   
2. Louisiana Blue Krewe- Linked from the front page of the Louisiana Democratic Party's website, this page was set up for the state party's recurring donor program.
   
   You may notice that the pitch focuses on the funds being used to build party infrastructure for all candidates for the next election and asks for a recurring contribution "at a level of $10, $15, or $25 a month". You may also notice some of those snazzy buttons on this page as well.
   
   
3. "Club 26"- Jon Powers, a candidate for Congress in New York's 26th Congressional district in 2008, uses ActBlue for all of his online contributions. But he hasn't stopped there- on his contribution page he promotes his recurring donor program called "Club 26". He explains it as follows:
   

   We are asking dedicated supporters to sign up as recurring donors at the minimum investment of $26 per month through our victory in November. With your investment, we will expand our growing base of support at home in the District and across the country.

   This campaign is about putting you – the people – back in charge of your government and this is a great way to start. As a member of Club 26, you will be listed on the website and included in monthly conference calls with the campaign.

   I highlight the last sentence because this is a great way to encourage donors to give monthly- give something back! Tying your recurring donors into other aspects of your campaign is a tactic we highly encourage at ActBlue.
   
   
4. Yamhill County Democrats Presidents Circle- Oregon's Yamhill County Democrats are including recurring contributions as a way for supporters to fulfill any of half a dozen donor levels that are part of their "Presidents Circle".
   
   Promoted on their website, each level is named for a different Democratic President and corresponds to a different monthly recurring total in order to "strengthen grassroots infrastructure in preparation for campaigns, support our headquarters, communicate our values, and recruit candidates for office." They are making use of referral codes and URL commands to preset recurring contribution size as well.
   

Recurring Contributions in ActBlue Reports

One of the important options that modern campaigns need to offer their donors is the ability to give a recurring contribution. Recurring contributions are a great way to spread out a larger contribution over a longer period of time. For families on limited or fixed incomes, this allows for easier participation in the political process, something that should not be limited to any one class of people. ActBlue has enabled this from the beginning, helping candidates and county parties set up steady revenue streams.

This week we're happy to announce to all of our campaigns and individual fundraising page creators that they can now more easily identify and track their recurring donors in their downloadable contribution reports. Just follow these steps if you have access to a fundraising page or a campaign's reports.

1. Go to your usual contributions reports area or "view contributors" tab on a fundraising page.


2. Download the CSV file for the date range you're interested in.


3. For recurring contributions:
   
   
   • Column D indicates the total number of monthly contributions for which the donor signed up.
   
   
   • Column E indicates which recurrence this specific contribution represents.
   
   So, for example, if someone signs up to give $50/month for 12 months, their 3rd contribution will have a "12" in Column D and a "3" in Column E (For one-time contributions, both columns are blank.)


4. If someone cancels their contribution, future contributions will simply not appear; the fourth column will not be changed retroactively as if to suggest they had originally signed up for a different number of contributions.

Here's an example of how this might look.

In the case above, 2 recurrences have already passed for all four donors as noted in Column E.

That means that the first two donors still each have 4 monthly recurrences remaining (6-2=4), while the third donor has 10 months remaining (12-2=10) and the fourth has 22 months remaining (24-2=22). If you wanted to know how much in future recurring contributions that equals, simple multiply the number of recurrences remaining by the dollar amount for that donor.

  $10 x (6-2)   = $40
  $25 x (6-2)   = $100
$100 x (12-2)  = $1,000
  $50 x (24-2)  = $1,100

Add those up and you get a grand total of $2,240 remaining for the lifetime of all four recurring donors.

The recurring contribution data is retroactive so you can look back into your historical reports and now see which donations were actually recurring donations. If you take all of your last month's data, you can sort out your recurring contributions and do some simple math to see your expected future totals. With a spreadsheet, you can easily manipulate this data using formulas for more robust calculations including how much you can expect for any given month into the future. I'd encourage you to do so!

Introducing Daily ActBlue Activity E-Mails

One of the requests that we have received from both campaigns & fundraisers is to be notified of new contributions when they are made through ActBlue. That idea got our developers thinking so over the last couple of weeks they built that functionality and expanded upon it.

Last week we rolled out our Daily Notifications system.

Once a day an email will go out to every ActBlue user who a) has access to a campaign report, b) has sent an appeal via the Spread the Word system, c) has ownership of a fundraising page, or d) has access to a partnership so long as they have received a contribution through one of those four elements in the previous 24 hours. If someone has access to multiple elements (like a contribution report, a fundraising page, and an appeal), the user will get just one email with each item's activity separated out.

You will have an option to opt out of these Daily Notifications. I've provided a visual aid below to show you where you can manage these settings in your ActBlue account after you login.

First, click on your email address under Account Settings.

Second, select your "Site Activity Email Preference" to be either Nightly or None and click "update my account".

Discover New Federal Candidates With Ruby

Over on the political side of ActBlue, occasionally we come across a problem that cries out for an automated solution.  One of these problems involved periodically updating the database with newly filed Federal Democrats.  To help keep us up to date, I wrote this ruby script which queries the FEC and compares the current list of filed Candidate Committees to the list the last time the script was run.  It then emails whatever address you specify in the code with the candidate name, address and committee ID.

Download FEC_Check.rb

This is released with the MIT software license so please use it to your heart's content.  Be sure to glance over the script before running it, as it does have some dependencies that may need to be installed and variables that need to be set.

This is released without any technical support from ActBlue.  I am not a formally trained programmer and I assume there may be better ways of accomplishing the same thing.  You can feel free to contact me at nate@actblue.com but please don't expect a speedy response as I spend the majority of my day helping state and local candidates use ActBlue effectively and successfully.