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All about ActBlue: Answering your most-asked questions!

Going into a monumental election year, the small-dollar donor movement is expanding faster than ever! More people donated on ActBlue in January 2020 than in any other month in the history of our platform. And over 3 million people gave for the first time last year, so we figure it’s about time we reintroduce ourselves! ActBlue is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering small-dollar donors. Our online fundraising platform makes it easy for grassroots supporters to donate and helps thousands of Democratic campaigns, progressive organizations, and nonprofits build people-powered movements!

We believe that empowering small-dollar donors means giving them the tools they need to take action. And day in and day out, our dedicated donor support team does just that! Our team is made up of dozens of real people all across the country who are committed to helping and championing our platform’s users. In 2019 alone, our customer service team had over 346,000 email conversations!

Below, we answer some of the most common questions we get every day in our inbox!

What happens when I donate through ActBlue?

ActBlue is the platform candidates and organizations use to raise money online, which means nonprofits and Democrats up and down the ballot all have access to powerful fundraising tools. When you give on ActBlue, we send your donation straight to the campaign or organization you’re supporting as fast as possible. That way, groups can put your money straight to work.

ActBlue contribution forms always list the groups they benefit so you will know where your money is going:

FOE Action example

ActBlue is also required by federal law to report and itemize (that means list the donor name & information) every single federal donation that comes through our platform to the FEC, including donations under $200. To learn more about why FEC filings are important to millions of grassroots donors, read our guide!

Why am I receiving emails and/or texts after chipping in on ActBlue?

Email lowers the barrier of entry to a campaign and enables more people to become part of the political process – and most importantly, it allows candidates and organizations to speak directly to you! We only pass along your email address (and phone number, if you choose to provide it) to the group you donated to so they can stay in touch.

We never send emails or texts on behalf of any of the groups that use our tools, and we never sell your information or give it to any group that you did not donate to.

What is an ActBlue Express account? And why should I create one?

You don’t need an ActBlue Express account to donate on ActBlue, but creating an account makes it possible to give to your favorite campaigns and organizations in a single click because we securely save your payment information! You can change your payment method at any time in your account.

Forty percent of new donors in 2019 gave more than once! So ActBlue Express means less time spent filling out contribution forms every time you want to donate and more time spent organizing around the issues and groups you care about most.

I can’t find my contribution receipt! What should I do?

When you make a contribution, we send a receipt to your email inbox: These receipts make it easy to edit your payment details, view your contribution history, or cancel future payments if you’ve set up a recurring contribution! If your receipt is not in your main inbox, first check your email’s spam or junk folders.

If you still can’t find your receipt, it’s simple to send yourself another through your ActBlue Express account! When you log in, you will see a list of all the contributions you have made while signed into your account. Next to each contribution, there is an “Email receipt” button – click it to send yourself another receipt and get all the information you need about a particular donation! If you don’t have an ActBlue Express account, follow these directions.

Why do you ask for tips?

ActBlue is a people-powered nonprofit: We provide our tools to campaigns and organizations at no cost! There’s just a 3.95% fee to process credit card contributions, which we pass along to the groups that use our tools.

Because we’re a nonprofit, our platform is powered entirely by the amazing small-dollar donors who invest in our work. When you give a tip, it goes directly to improving our platform that thousands of groups and millions of small-dollar donors rely on. And giving a tip is always optional!

Still have a question for us? Check out our support site or get in touch with our dedicated donor support team!

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