Q2 2023: ActBlue Fundraising Holds Strong, but Donors Must Remain Diligent

Strong and Steady. A solid base of small-dollar donors fueled fundraising in the second quarter of 2023. Over 1.6 million unique donors gave 7 million contributions to 13,392 campaigns and organizations, totaling more than $270 million with an average contribution size of $38.85. The total dollars raised this quarter has increased from the same period in 2019. Additionally, 55.8% of donors gave multiple contributions during the quarter, with an average of 4.2 contributions and 2.5 entities per donor. Those numbers, paired with an increase in the average contribution size, show that a strong base of donors is funding the work of the campaigns, causes, and issues that rely on small-dollar donations.

Act Local. The second quarter of 2023 highlights small-dollar donors’ unwavering support for local races and campaigns driven by the abortion bans and anti-LGBTQIA2S+ legislation introduced and passed in state houses this quarter. Local races in Q2 2023 saw a 74.1% increase in contributions and a 68.3% increase in unique donors compared to Q2 2019. Q2 2023 also had 1,450 additional local campaigns, committees, and organizations fundraising compared to Q2 2019, marking an 84.8% increase. Mayoral races in Q2 2023 saw fundraising for 258 unique campaigns, committees, and organizations, activating 28,568 donors to make 36,736 contributions. Donors are diversifying their giving and directing dollars at the local level where they can effect change.

Issues in the Lead. The number of unique campaigns, committees, and organizations using ActBlue has skyrocketed since Q2 2019 – with a 76.6% increase. Much of this growth can be seen in our Movement, Issue, and Charitable Organizations (MICO) sector, where there are 1,682 additional entities fundraising, more than double the unique organizations fundraising compared to Q2 2019. This group of nonprofits saw a 68.6% increase in contributions and a 65.0% increase in dollars raised in Q2 2023 compared to Q2 2019, all while maintaining a low average contribution size of $26.52 this quarter.

A Closer Look. Read on to learn more about the fundraising trends across ActBlue in the 2023 cycle and how small-dollar donors showed up for candidates and organizations across the country.

TOPLINE NUMBERS

U.S. House and Senate

Giving to federal congressional races–but in particular Senate races–was a bright spot this quarter. 

• The US Senate had a particularly strong quarter in Q2 2023, with over double the dollars raised compared to Q2 2019 despite having 11 fewer campaigns, committees, and organizations fundraising.

In the States

In the states, we saw substantial growth in fundraising for legislative and gubernatorial campaigns. 

• Q2 2023 state legislative races had an impressive 46.9% increase in campaigns, committees, and organizations fundraising compared to Q2 2019.
  
• In Q2 2023, state legislative races nearly doubled their small-dollar donor contributions and doubled their unique donors compared to Q2 2019.
  
• Fundraising for gubernatorial campaigns in Q2 2023 saw a significant increase compared to the same period in 2019. Small-dollar donor contributions and unique donors more than tripled.

ACTBLUE ADVANTAGE

Mobile giving and technology advantages have been crucial to Democratic success in recent election cycles. ActBlue makes taking action easy – whether you’re giving to a candidate or a cause. Since this point in the last presidential cycle, we’ve seen:

• The share of contributions made with a saved payment method or digital wallet option increased by 12.8 percentage points compared to Q2 2019.
• The share of contributions made via a mobile device increased by 8.1 percentage points compared to Q2 2019.
• Fundraising from recurring contributions increased by 14.2 percentage points in Q2 2023 compared to Q2 2019.