Our experts agree: Digital fundraising is key to creating a powerful base of grassroots support. That’s why we’ve spent the last 15 years building simple and easy-to-use tools that make it possible for any campaign or organization, from city council candidates to national nonprofits, to engage with small-dollar donors and help fuel our democracy.
We also believe that building a strong digital fundraising program incorporates face-to-face organizing rather than leaving it behind. Many of the same principles apply to both fundraising online and in-person, so it’s easy to create a unified strategy.
Most importantly, whether you’re at someone’s front door or sending a personalized fundraising email, the goal remains the same: to build a relationship with that person! These relationships are the backbone of strong grassroots fundraising programs. Whichever way you are communicating, you should always engage with people honestly and in an individualized way. As a result, your grassroots supporters will recognize and trust you no matter how you’re interacting with them.
Keeping these tenets and other fundamentals at the center of both your digital and in-person organizing efforts will unify your program and help your fundraising overall. No matter where you are, campaigns and organizations can use ActBlue’s tools to talk directly to small-dollar donors and build relationships with your supporters. Here are some quick tips for integrating ActBlue into your in-person organizing:
-
Always have a hard ask. Be prepared to make the pitch for your campaign or organization on and offline. Both your contribution forms and the people fundraising for you should make a direct, personal fundraising ask using strong, concise language that provides a compelling reason why people should give to you today!
-
Host great events while keeping all of your supporter data in one place! Our Event forms have streamlined the hard stuff and allow you to sell tickets, track RSVPs, easily view your guest list, and ask people specific questions about dietary restrictions, accessibility, and other information you may need to know. You can get a quick look at the statistics for event forms, along with your other contribution forms and merchandise forms, in the “Contribution Forms” tab of your ActBlue Dashboard.
-
Strengthen coalition building with Tandem fundraising! If you’re hosting an event or canvassing with other campaigns or organizations, you don’t have to use separate contribution forms: You can create one Tandem contribution form where donors can split a single contribution between all groups! Read more about this unique feature on our support site.
-
Collect donations easily with Entry Mode. If your organizers are going door-to-door, hosting events, and collecting sign-ups or donations, make sure to use a form with Entry Mode enabled so that you can easily process multiple donations on the same device. Read our support article to learn more about this tool!
-
Level up with contribution form snippets. Using ActBlue’s built-in snippet tool, you can customize your contribution forms to show a donor’s name, which helps you speak more personally and directly with your supporters online!
Going into this monumental year, it’s more important than ever to organize on all fronts. Streamlining your fundraising, both digitally and in-person, is essential. If you’re interested in learning more, our state and local team is always ready to hop on a one-on-one call.
