Across all ActBlue organizations (sitewide), 5.7 million people gave 18 million contributions to 12,142 campaigns, organizations, and nonprofits in Q2, for a total of $710 million. Forty-eight percent (48%) of those donors gave for the first time ever in Q2.

Black activists and Black-led organizations made history in Q2 2020, leading the way as people around the world organized and protested against police violence and anti-Black racism in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade by police forces and armed vigilantes, as well as so many other Black people whose names the public does not know — especially Black women, Black trans people, and Black people with disabilities.

Digital fundraising was one part of that organizing: Hundreds of thousands of people donated to nonprofits raising funds to help protestors with bail, legal services, and support, as well as Black-led groups that are organizing for voting rights, the protection of Black trans people, and Black political power. Some of that giving took place on ActBlue Civics and AB Charities. 501(c)(4) nonprofits can raise money online on ActBlue Civics, and 501(c)(3) charities can raise money via AB Charities. Both are part of the ActBlue family of organizations.

Overall, Q2 showed that millions of people across the country are taking action and supporting the causes and candidates that are important to them — many for the very first time — and this engagement shows no signs of slowing. Small-dollar donors broke all sitewide quarterly records in Q2 2020:

  • Most contributions in a quarter
  • Most dollars raised in a quarter
  • Most unique donors in a quarter
  • Most candidates and organizations using our tools in a quarter
  • Most first-time donors in a quarter

TOPLINE NUMBERS

Q2 ’16 Q2 ’18 Q2 ’20
Contributions 4,083,512 4,901,874 18,035,138
Total Amount $133,031,261 $210,780,877 $710,028,849
Average Contribution Size $32.58 $43.00 $39.37
Unique Donors 1,216,606 1,401,780 5,739,956
Unique Campaigns, Committees,
and Organizations
3,753 9,070 12,142

CYCLE-TO-CYCLE COMPARISON

2016 cycle through June ’16 2018 cycle through June ’18 2020 cycle through June ’20
Contributions 15,881,913 25,894,484 70,242,917
Total Amount $503,886,267 $912,839,661 $2,297,585,821
Average Contribution Size $31.73 $35.25 $32.71
Unique Donors 2,936,754 3,609,270 10,795,166
Unique Campaigns, Committees,
and Organizations
5,393 12,298 18,449

Election Day 2020 is now less than four months away. Small-dollar donors on ActBlue invested in change up and down the ballot in Q2:

  • Small-dollar donors gave 2.5 times more contributions to House and Senate candidates in Q2 2020 compared to Q2 2018.
  • The number of contributions to candidates for state legislatures (State House and State Senate) nearly doubled from Q2 2018 to Q2 2020.

ACTBLUE EXPRESS

Q2 ’16 Q2 ’18 Q2 ’20
New ActBlue Express Users 231,420 280,230 1,593,693

PAYMENT METHODS

Q2 ’16 Q2 ’18 Q2 ’20
% of Contributions via Mobile 40.3% 42.8% 56.0%
% of Contributions via PayPal™ 10.7% 11.5% 22.2%
% of Contributions via Apple Pay® Not Offered 3.2% 7.0%

RECURRING CONTRIBUTIONS

Q2 ’16 Q2 ’18 Q2 ‘20
Total Recurring Volume $25,747,737 $41,462,039 $72,110,714
% of Total Volume 19.4% 19.7% 10.2%

Members of the press: If you’re a reporter interested in nonprofit giving during Q2, we encourage you to reach out directly to Black-led organizations to hear their stories.

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