What Is ActBlue? A Democrat's Guide to Grassroots Fundraising

Published: June 11th, 2026

Table of contents

1. What Is ActBlue — and Why Does It Matter for Democrats?

2. How ActBlue Works: From Donor to Campaign

3. The Power of Small-Dollar Donors on ActBlue

4. ActBlue for Every Level of the Ballot

5. How to Make the Most of ActBlue on Your Campaign

6. How NDTC Teaches Democrats to Build a Grassroots Fundraising Program

What Is ActBlue — and Why Does It Matter for Democrats?

ActBlue is a nonprofit organization that builds and operates the premier online fundraising platform for Democratic candidates, progressive organizations, and causes. Founded in 2004 with a mission to democratize the least democratic part of running for office — fundraising — ActBlue has spent over two decades lowering the barriers between grassroots donors and the candidates and causes they believe in.

Before ActBlue existed, raising money for a campaign meant fancy fundraisers, hours of cold calls to major donors, and a system that heavily favored candidates with existing wealth and political connections. ActBlue changed that equation by making it just as easy for a $5 donor in a small town to contribute to their city council candidate as it is for a major donor to write a check to a Senate race.

ActBlue is registered as a nonprofit political action committee with the Federal Election Commission. Critically, the contributions that flow through the platform are individual donations, not PAC money. ActBlue processes those donations and sends them directly to the campaigns and organizations the donor chose to support, while handling the compliance reporting that federal and state law requires. It acts as the infrastructure, not the source of the money.

For Democratic candidates at every level of the ballot, from school board to U.S. Senate, ActBlue is the tried and trusted fundraising platform. Understanding how it works is not optional for anyone serious about running a competitive campaign.

How ActBlue Works: From Donor to Campaign

The mechanics of ActBlue are straightforward, and that simplicity is what makes it a critical tool for first-time candidates.

A candidate or organization creates a contribution form on ActBlue. That form can be embedded on a website, shared in emails, posted on social media, or distributed through text banking programs. When a supporter clicks the link and submits a donation, ActBlue processes the contribution securely and passes the money directly to the campaign or cause the donor selected. The platform then handles the required reporting to the FEC, your state's election authority, or the IRS, depending on the type of organization.

There is a small processing fee on contributions, which covers credit card processing and platform costs and is passed on to the campaign rather than the donor.

One of ActBlue's most powerful features is ActBlue Express, a saved payment system that allows donors who have previously given through the platform to contribute to any new campaign with a single click, without re-entering their payment information. This dramatically lowers the friction of repeat giving and is one reason ActBlue contributions flow so quickly during fast-moving political moments.

For a first-time candidate setting up their fundraising infrastructure, getting an ActBlue account established should be one of the first operational steps, right alongside forming your campaign committee and opening a dedicated bank account.

The Power of Small-Dollar Donors on ActBlue

Here's the number that tells you everything about why ActBlue matters: in 2025 alone (an off-cycle year without a presidential or midterm election), small-dollar donors raised nearly $1.8 billion through the platform. That's billion with a B, representing the grassroots energy that ActBlue translates directly into campaign resources, candidate by candidate, dollar by dollar, across tens of thousands of races and causes.

In Q4 2025, ActBlue processed more than $497 million, the largest single quarter in an off-cycle year in the platform's history, with more than 500,000 new donors joining the platform during that stretch alone. Virginia Democrats used that grassroots fuel to win the largest House of Delegates majority since 1987, flipping the chamber. New Jersey Democrats powered legislative victories through the same small-dollar momentum.

What do these numbers mean for a first-time candidate running for city council or state legislature? They mean that the infrastructure to reach small-dollar donors already exists, the donors are already activated and looking for candidates to support, and the tools to tap into that energy are available to any Democrat who sets up an account, regardless of whether they're running for Congress or county commission.

Small-dollar digital fundraising is a core campaign strategy, especially for first-time candidates running in down-ballot races, and ActBlue is the platform that makes it possible.

ActBlue for Every Level of the Ballot

One of the most important things to understand about ActBlue is that it is explicitly built to serve Democrats at every level of the electoral ladder, not just presidential campaigns or high-profile Senate races.

Any eligible Democratic candidate can create an ActBlue account and start accepting contributions. The platform scales to meet the complex needs of the largest campaigns and is designed to be intuitive and accessible for down-ballot and first-time candidates who have never raised money online before.

This matters enormously for candidates without existing donor networks. If you're running for city council in a competitive district and you don't have a Rolodex full of major donors, ActBlue gives you a direct channel to the millions of grassroots Democrats who are likely to invest in local, down-ballot races. Many small-dollar donors specifically seek out local and state-level candidates because they understand that this is where elections are won and lost cycle after cycle.

For candidates running in hyperlocal races where NDTC's training is most directly applicable (school boards, city councils, state legislative seats, etc.) ActBlue can be the difference between a campaign that runs out of money in October and one that has the resources to execute a real voter contact program all the way through Election Day. 

We’ve partnered up with ActBlue to give our candidates the best launching point in their grassroots fundraising journey. Start here to let ActBlue know you’re an NDTC learner and you’re ready to raise.

How to Make the Most of ActBlue on Your Campaign

Setting up an ActBlue account is just the beginning of your fundraising journey. Here's what campaigns that use ActBlue effectively do differently:

1. Build your list before you launch. ActBlue works best when you have an audience to send to your donation page. Before you send your first fundraising email, build an email list of everyone in your personal and professional network who might support your campaign. Your first ActBlue ask should go to people who already know and believe in you, and the returns from those early asks build the credibility that unlocks broader fundraising.

2. Make it easy to give. Every piece of campaign communication from your website to your social media posts should include a clear, prominent link to your ActBlue contribution page. Don't make donors hunt for the button.

3. Set public goals and report back. Publicly committing to a specific fundraising milestone and telling your supporters when you hit it creates momentum. Donors who see that a campaign is building real grassroots support are more likely to give and more likely to share the ask with their own networks.

4. Ask repeatedly and specifically. Research consistently shows that donors need multiple touches before they give. Don't treat your ActBlue link as a one-time mention. Build recurring asks into your email program, your social content, and your phone banking scripts. Be specific about what you're raising for and why it matters.

5. Track your results. ActBlue provides reporting data on every contribution. Use it. Knowing which emails drove donations, which asks performed best, and which donors gave more than once tells you how to improve your fundraising program throughout the campaign.

How NDTC Teaches Democrats to Build a Grassroots Fundraising Program

Understanding what ActBlue is represents the first step. Knowing how to build a fundraising program that actually moves donors to give repeatedly, in growing numbers, across the full arc of a campaign is the work that follows. And that is exactly what NDTC is built to teach.

Through free online trainings and on-demand resources designed specifically for Democratic candidates and campaign staff at every level of the ballot, NDTC walks first-time candidates and experienced campaigners alike through the full lifecycle of a grassroots fundraising program: from setting up your ActBlue account and making your first fundraising asks to building a donor pipeline, managing call time, and structuring a digital fundraising program that compounds over time.

The candidates who win aren't always the ones with the biggest war chests. They're the ones who build organized, disciplined fundraising operations that consistently connect with donors, make compelling asks, and reinvest those resources into voter contact. That combination — grassroots fundraising through tools like ActBlue, paired with the training to deploy those resources effectively — is how Democrats win races at every level.

If you're ready to learn how to turn small-dollar support into a winning campaign, we're ready to show you how. Sign up for NDTC's free training today and start building the fundraising program your campaign needs to win.