ActBlue Civics is the 501(c)(4) arm of the left-of-center pass-through political action committee ActBlue and its 501(c)(3) pass-through affiliate ActBlue Charities. ActBlue Civics functions as a fundraising platform that facilitates donations to other 501(c)(4) left-leaning activist organizations.¹

Overview

The ActBlue website was launched in 2004 by Ben Rahn and Matt DeBergalis as a fundraising platform for left-wing nonprofits, liberal political candidates, and Democratic-aligned PACs.² ActBlue Civics was formed eight years later in 2012.³ According to its own estimates, ActBlue has helped to raise $2.4 billion for its clients since its creation.⁴

ActBlue is divided into three components, each of which deals with a specific type of donation. ActBlue Non-Federal deals with PAC contributions, ActBlue Civics manages contributions to 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, and ActBlue Charities manages contributions to 501(c)(3) nonprofits.²

In addition to publishing its list of clients on its website for donors’ ease-of-use, ActBlue also stores contributors’ credit card information, which “reduces the friction involved in filling out donation forms to a single click.”⁵

ActBlue provides grassroots fundraising software that allows its clients to maximize their impact. These tools are available on all three of their platforms.⁶ ActBlue also “run randomized experiments to increase the efficiency of its donation forms.”⁵

Between February and March 2025, it was announced that at least 7 senior officials had resigned following the 2024 Presidential Election that saw President Donald Trump re-elected. According to a story by the New York Times, several unions representing ActBlue had released a letter to the organization’s board of directors listing the employees whom resigned while claiming the “alarming pattern” was negatively impacting “…our confidence in the stability of the organization.” ⁷ According to the letter from both unions, those whom left included the organization’s customer service and partnerships directors, which included ActBlue’s former vice president of customer service Alyssa Twomey whom later wrote on social media, “After 14+ years of living and breathing all things ActBlue, it’s time for a reset. I’m taking an intentional pause before setting course for my next adventure.” ⁷ In addition, other resignations included the group’s associate general counsel, the assistant research director, one human resources official, the chief revenue officer and a donation engineer. The New York Times article also claimed that a lawyer in the ActBlue general counsel’s office, Zain Ahmad, was on leave from the organization while his previous access to emails and internal platforms within the group had been cut off around February 26. In a statement on ActBlue’s Slack platform, Ahmad claimed, “Please be advised that we have Anti-Retaliation and Whistleblower Policies for a reason.” ⁷ The unions’ letter claimed Ahmad’s statements were, “unsettling and disturbing, and part of a growing pattern of volatility and toxicity stemming from current leadership.” ⁷

Clients

Act Blue Civics has served a number of left-of-center 501(c)(4)  clients, including the Center for American Progress Action Fund, American Civil Liberties Union, America Votes, National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Democratic Socialists of America, Alliance for Justice Action Campaign, MoveOn.org Civic Action, Priorities USA Action, and Demand Justice.¹

Outside Funding

In 2012, Act Blue Civics received $7,500 from the Tides Foundation.⁸

1. “About Us.” ActBlue. Accessed July 30, 2018. https://secure.actblue.com/about.
2. Hartmann, Michael E. “ActBlue Fundraising Platform Strikes Gold — for Liberals | RealClearPolitics.” RealClearPolitics. January 23, 2018. Accessed July 23, 2018. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/01/23/actblue_fundraising_platform_strikes_gold_–_for_liberals_136068.html.
3. “Business Entity Summary.” Corporations Division. Accessed January 16, 2019. http://corp.sec.state.ma.us/CorpWeb/CorpSearch/CorpSummary.aspx?FEIN=455097038&SEARCH_TYPE=1
4. “Billions Raised Online since 2004.” ActBlue. Accessed July 23, 2018. https://secure.actblue.com/.
5. Willis, Derek. “How ActBlue Became a Powerful Force in Fund-Raising.” The New York Times. October 09, 2014. Accessed July 25, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/upshot/how-actblue-became-a-powerful-force-in-fund-raising.html.
6. Castenell, Aimée. “How to Increase Donations on Giving Tuesday with ActBlue.” Fission Strategy. October 17, 2016. Accessed July 23, 2018. https://fissionstrategy.com/now-nonprofits-can-increase-donations-on-giving-tuesday-with-actblue/.
7. Epstein, Reid J. and Shane Goldmacher. “ActBlue, the Democratic Fund-Raising Powerhouse, Faces Internal Chaos.” New York Times, March 5, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/us/politics/actblue-democrat-fundraising-resignations.html
8. “ActBlue Civics.” Grant Analyzer. Accessed July 23, 2018. http://www.foundationsearch.com/FindFunders/GrantVisualizer.aspx?searchid=4012725.