If you’re inspired to drive Democrats to victory in November, you’re in the right place! Community fundraising means activating the people you know to donate to a candidate or organization, and it’s an impactful way to get involved in the campaigns and causes you care about.
Whether you want to raise money for a local abortion fund, your friend’s school board race, or a candidate you’re excited about, you can leverage community forms to activate your network and make a difference. This election cycle (in 2023 and 2024), dedicated community fundraisers have raised more than $40.7 million through ActBlue!
What is a community form?
Community forms are secure online donation pages that you create to fundraise on behalf of a candidate(s) or organization(s) of your choice! Then, you can share it with your network via social media, text, email, and more, and encourage them to chip in.
Log in to your ActBlue Express account or create an account to get started!
Creating a community form
Sign in to your ActBlue Express account and select “Fundraising” from the dropdown menu to get started. Click “Create form” and follow the prompts to add a title, the candidate or organization you’d like to fundraise for, and a unique URL (it can be anything you’d like!). You can add more customizations like images and text in the form editor later.
Still not sure where to start? Check out our support article for more guidance.
Tips & Tricks
Now that you have your basic form, you’re ready to customize, share, and start fundraising. These quick tips will give you the inspiration you need to turn your webpage into something more.
Build a personal fundraising list.
Create a list (yes, a physical list!) of people you know in a simple spreadsheet or your favorite notes app. Think about the communities you’re a part of. Maybe you have a book club or exercise group, or a few people you text about breaking news. Maybe you’re in a group chat with neighbors or friends who might be interested in getting involved. Creating a list of people you know will help you determine how best to share your form’s URL, and with whom.
Write a strong ask.
The ‘ask’ you’ll add to your form is exactly that – your request for folks to contribute. The ask should share your ‘why’. What’s motivating you to fundraise? Think about the common values you, your network, and the candidate or cause you’re raising money for share. State your thoughts clearly and authentically on your form, and speak from the heart. (Remember, we’re going for a strong ask, not a perfect one!)
Set a fundraising goal.
Let your network know how much you’re trying to raise, and by what date. Goals are motivating, and remind people that they are a part of something bigger. You can even add a goal tracker to your form so anyone viewing it can see the progress!
Make it social media-ready.
Uploading a social share – the image that appears when the form is linked on social media – will make your post pop. (Remember to keep image vetting and consent best practices in mind.). Add text that explains your ‘why’ and asks people to get involved. If you’ve set a fundraising goal, this could be a great place to share it!
Preview and edit.
Use the preview feature before you share your form. Check for typos, image quality, or other errors. Ask yourself: if you saw this form, would you feel inspired to get involved?
Fundraise at an event.
Throw a community fundraising event, or promote your community form at a birthday party, neighborhood barbeque, or other gathering you already have planned! Use the QR code feature and download a code to print so your guests can scan it and give right from their device.
Say thank you!
Thanking the people who have donated through your form is key. You can write your own thanks message in the “Thanks and receipt” tab of the form editor so that when someone gives, they’ll receive the note in their ActBlue email receipt.
Want to learn more? Watch a recording of our webinar, Community Fundraising with ActBlue! →
Community fundraising means big impact
Community fundraising allows candidates and organizations to grow their grassroots base for broader information sharing, volunteer recruitment, GOTV efforts, and of course, fundraising.
Like so much else, running a campaign or working for a cause costs money. Candidates and organizations rely on grassroots donors to fund the printing of promotional materials, running ads, hiring staff, and more. Community fundraising is critical to ensuring they have the resources they need. Imagine a local candidate who has 10 grassroots donors, half of whom become community fundraisers who each reach five donors – the number of supporters can multiply quickly!
Wait. But what’s a supporter form?
We’ve been talking about community forms – contribution forms that people like you can create directly from their ActBlue Express accounts under your own initiative. However, some campaigns and organizations may reach out to you themselves with a link you can use to generate a form to fundraise on their behalf. The campaign or organization will ask you to add your own message and share it with people you know. That’s when it’s called a supporter form – it’s the same as a community form, but the group you support gets it started for you! If you’re the owner of a supporter form, you can learn more about getting it set up here.
