This Democratic fundraising tool is Raking. It. In. Here's why
Republicans might be riding a power high these days, but that doesn't mean the Democrats are only suffering.
Democratic online fundraising organization ActBlue reported this week what it raked in during the first quarter of 2017: $111,329,027.
That's...a lot. Like, an astonishing amount. For the sake of comparison, over the same period in 2013, they collected just $16,904,456.
Again: $16M in 2013. $111M in 2017. In three months.
ActBlue provides tools campaigns use to facilitate donations. Individual donors and groups alike can set up monthly recurring payments on the platform, which helps campaigns maintain a steady stream of income.
Individual donations via ActBlue, on average, were smaller than years past—the average donation rang up as $26.69 in Q1 2017, compared with $34.37 in Q1 2015.
The total, though, made far bigger dent—something ActBlue attributes to grassroots activism by Democrats since Trump's election.
Whether the spike in donations is gonna translate into actual electoral gains for Democrats, liberals, and progressives, though? A whole other panicky set of questions we're gonna all have to wait on a bit to be answered. But one thing's clear: Money talks, and mouths are moving.
Heather was the Web Trends reporter at Mashable NYC. Prior to joining Mashable, Heather wrote regularly for UPROXX and GOOD Magazine, was published in The Daily Dot and VICE, and had her work featured in Entertainment Weekly, Jezebel, Mic, and Gawker. She loves small terrible dogs and responsible driving. Follow her on Twitter @wear_a_helmet.
