Democratic Fundraising Powerhouse ActBlue Amassed Nearly $150 Million From Small Donors With Misleading Sales Pitch, Documents Show

ActBlue, the fundraising platform that commands a virtual monopoly over Democratic online fundraising, accumulated a cash hoard of at least $172.8 million by the end of 2020 while simultaneously claiming it needs “tips” from donors to keep its lights on.

ActBlue states on its website it asks for “tips” because it does not profit from processing contributions made through its platform, but ActBlue’s credit card processing arm has reported paying taxes on its business profits every year since 2013, IRS records show. From 2013 through 2020, ActBlue’s PAC collected $147.7 million in “tips” from small-dollar Democratic donors, FEC records show.

“If ActBlue’s claims of tips being essential to their operation are in fact false, and donors are making contributions based on those claims, this raises serious legal concerns,” Former National Republican Congressional Committee General Counsel Chris Winkelman told the DCNF.