Neither of Montana's two U.S. Senators are up for re-election in 2010. However, there are some very important U.S. Senate races that need your support this cycle!
Last cycle, I started an ActBlue page specifically for Democratic Senate candidates working to pick up seats held by Republicans. I named it the Expand the Map! ActBlue page because the goal was to expand the map of competitive Senate seats. The effort was a big success, achieving over 300 contributions and $40,000 for the Democratic Senate candidates included on the page.
Recently, I kicked off the 2010 edition of the Expand the Map! ActBlue page with three terrific Democratic candidates for Senate: Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, New Hampshire Congressman Paul Hodes, and Pennsylvania Congressman Joe Sestak.
In New Hampshire and Missouri, we have the strongest candidates available, candidates who will also make terrific Democratic Senators. In both races, however, fundraising will always be a top priority. Missouri Republican Roy Blunt will be able to tap his lobbyist buddies and corrupt cronies for cash ad nauseum. No doubt the NRSC will also make holding New Hampshire a top priority; and the D.C. GOP establishment has already begun fawning over Sarah Palin-esque quitter Kelly Ayotte. Carnahan and Hodes need our support! A few years back, all four of New Hampshire's and Missouri's combined Senate seats were held by Republicans. Wouldn't it feel great to have flipped all four?
In Pennsylvania, y'all know the deal. Arlen Specter was a Republican Senator for decades. Even though he changed his Party affiliation, he's still not a Democrat as far as I'm concerned. Joe Sestak is a real Democrat, and he - not Specter - should win the Democratic primary. But Specter has a significant edge when it comes to campaign cash; and, Ed Rendell will do all he can to shut off Sestak's fundraising. Let Specter, Rendell, etc. know that they can't shut down the netroots by supporting Sestak!
Please, please, please help kick off the 2010 cycle's Expand the Map! effort by sending these highly deserving Democrats a few bucks. $100 makes a huge difference, $20 makes a huge difference, $10 makes a huge difference! Hop over to the Expand the Map! ActBlue page and make your voice heard.
This is not just a contribution to these Democrats' campaigns. This is a contribution toward slowing and eventually stopping Republican obstruction in the U.S. Senate. Thank you SO much!
As many of you know, over the last five days, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, in partnership with a number of progressive organizations and blogs including Senate Guru, asked those in the netroots, "Should a Draft Sestak movement be created to take on Sen. Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary?"
The results are in and they are overwhelming. 85% of Pennsylvanian respondents and 86% of respondents nationally want Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak to challenge Arlen Specter in the 2010 Democratic Senate primary. The poll has even gotten the attention of Congressman Sestak, as the PCCC points out:
"I am honored that so many of you took the time to vote in the recent grassroots Straw Poll. Let me tell you, I and many others were paying attention. If I decide to run it will be in large measure because of the grassroots energy of so many people like you. Until I and my family make that decision, please accept my thanks and my best wishes as you continue be active participants in our people-powered democracy. Thank you so very much!"
Due to such an overwhelming response, a Draft Sestak Fund has been created on ActBlue. To contribute and further encourage Congressman Sestak to enter the race, click on the image below:
If you need any additional motivation to contribute to this effort to draft a real Democrat to oppose Specter in the primary, consider Specter's actions since announcing his Party switch:
1) Specter opposed the Obama budget.
2) Specter opposed the "cramdown" mortgage/bankruptcy reform, siding with banks over families.
3) Specter reiterated his opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act.
4) Specter reiterated his opposition to President Obama's nomination of Dawn Johnsen to the Office of Legal Counsel.
5) Specter announced his support for Republican Norm Coleman over Democratic Senator-elect Al Franken in Minnesota's Senate race.
6) Specter promoted a website that appeared to raise money for cancer research but, in actuality, simply raised money for his campaign.
7) Specter denied reports that he told President Obama that he would be a "loyal Democrat" despite multiple reporters sticking to their story.
The netroots have displayed overwhelming support for Congressman Sestak to take on recently-Republican Arlen Specter. Help the effort by contributing to the Draft Sestak Fund.
(Usually I try to avoid posting spam posts. But I'll promote this one. After all, ActBlue was integral to LiTW's battleground fundraising this year. It's an excellent organization, and a key to the recent progressive upswing in American politics. Check it out. Donate if you can. - promoted by Jay Stevens)
"I believe candidates with strong, sound stances deserve our support, and this is a race where your dollars can make the difference. Please make a contribution to this critical cause."
Sound familiar? If you have any experience with our fundraising pages you will have seen this (and perhaps fallen asleep to it) a few too many times. It is the default text for ActBlue's fundraising pages. ActBlue's customizable fundraising pages allow progressive activists to raise money for the best Democratic candidates out there easily and effectively, and the fifty state blog network has taken advantage of this feature to support state and national candidates with customized, targeted pages. But while the original blurb did help Democrats use our pages, we're in year 5 of ActBlue, and this is definitely year 3-4 material. We'll be working with thousands of new fundraisers this cycle, and we want to make sure they have the best language. And, well, this isn't it.
So, we need ideas.
We know you're best equipped to know what language will appeal to your friends and neighbors, so we wanted to give all of you an opportunity to create the next fundraising page blurb. If we pick yours, it will show up automatically on almost every fundraising page created on ActBlue. To show our appreciation, we'll send the winner and two runners-up an ActBlue Ice Cream Scoop! (No, we're not kidding. And trust us, it's a high quality scoop - The Original Zeroll.)
Okay, here are the guidelines:
The blurb must be fewer than 50 words.
It has to be fairly generic (no specific issues or names), but still get across the basic reason for the fundraising page. This is something our current text does fairly well, if you are looking for an example.
If you can make it apply to pages for candidates and/or committees, all the better. If not, at least make it appeal to people looking to donate to candidates.
We are Democrats, and our pages are for Democrats. If your message would appeal to Democrats, that would probably earn points.
Humor is a big plus, but only that universal humor that works for everyone.
Effective fundraising is personal. Think about what kind of language would help you be a better fundraiser, and think about why your friends and family might feel compelled to give.
ActBlue is active in all 50 states, helping Democrats raise money for their chosen candidate from the comfort of their living rooms and offices. We believe that your voice should be heard everywhere from your state capitol to the Senate floor, and we're working to make sure it is. Please support our work with a $15 recurring contribution today!
(I know this kind of reads like advertising copy, and I'm sure it's being posted on blogs everywhere, but it's not possible to over-emphasize the importance of ActBlue in electing progressive candidates.
This is also a great opportunity to plug Left in the West's ActBlue page, "Montana Blues." You'll find a whole lineup of Montana Democrats to support, and as the election season continues, we'll be putting up more folks as well. (And if you see that anybody's missing, give us hell.)
- promoted by Jay Stevens)
On the twenty second day of the fifth month of the year, this is the state of the Union:
Unemployment is at its highest since Katrina. The nation has lost more than a quarter of a million jobs since January. The housing market has collapsed, credit and financial crises have collided to imperil the financial security of millions of Americans, and energy and food prices continue to rise.
But lest we fear, the President has introduced the rebate check, tossed from the windows of the WhiteHouse like a sandwich to Charlie on the MTA.
You know the song. Poor Charlie gets caught on the subway without enough change to get off. And no matter how good his wife's aim, her sandwiches don't fix Charlie's problem. He may be full, but he's still stuck on the train.
And so it will be for some 130 million families this month, when the first round of six-hundred-dollar checks hits the post. They'll open their mailboxes and find a lovely surprise-enough to buy a few tanks' worth of gas, or a few weeks' worth of groceries-but they will still be undeniably stuck.
This is not the best we can do.
When your check comes in the mail, make a statement about the kind of government you want.
Invest 10% of your rebate check in better ideas than rebate checks.
Go to www.actblue.com, find your favorite Democratic candidates, and put your 60 dollars-or 30 or 100-to work. It's an investment in the future, and one we're proud to support.
(There are a lot of pickup opportunities in the Senate this year, and among them is Oregon's second Senate seat. Basically, we need to build a supra-majority in the Senate to minimize the GOP's ability to block every piece of legislation it sees. - promoted by Jay Stevens)
As I noted in my wrap-up of the OR-Sen Democratic primary, Speaker Jeff Merkley and the Democrats have the grassroots, the issues, and the momentum. All Republican Gordon Smith has going for him is a campaign bankroll just shy of $5 million.
Smith is unquestionably vulnerable. With enough resources, Merkley will be able to cut through Smith's spin and deliver the facts of Smith's record to the voters of Oregon. But, of course, he'll need the support of people throughout the grassroots and the netroots.
To that end, I have added Merkley to the Expand the Map! ActBlue page and am announcing the "Twenty Twenties for Jeff Merkley" effort. Basically, I'm pleading with twenty of you to contribute at least twenty dollars via the Expand the Map! ActBlue page toward helping Jeff Merkley oust Gordon Smith. Can twenty of you spare twenty bucks to bounce a bum like Republican Gordon Smith from the hallowed halls of the U.S. Senate?
I think we can get twenty twenties in by the end of Memorial Day weekend. Please contribute if you can. Thanks yet again!
We have a goal of putting Democratic Idaho Senate candidate Larry LaRocco over the $500 mark for contributions on the page by the end of this weekend. We're at $481. Just $19 away!
(We're also only $20 from the $500 mark for Democratic Texas Senate candidate Rick Noriega and $99 away from the $2,000 mark for Democratic Oklahoma Senate candidate Andrew Rice, if you're able to chip in. Again, thanks SO much!)
(Gary Trauner, running again for Congress in Wyoming after a narrow defeat in 2006, is fundraising well already. KT has the details. - promoted by Matt Singer)
I want to take the time to cross-post this week's entry at Left in the West as a Wyoming candidate, Gary Trauner, made the list. I'll try to do that each week in any state with a community blog if they have candidates on that week's list. It should not be construed as an endorsement by me or ActBlue in any way. That said, read on!
A new blog series that I'm starting up at the ActBlue Blog is a weekly activity report (to be posted each Monday). In it, we'll look to feature the most active campaigns and fundraising pages at ActBlue for the prior week. It's a scaled down version of our Monthly or Quarterly activity reports but if something neat or creative sticks out we'll try to highlight it.
Total Contributions last week: $226,262.30 Total Donors: 1794 Avg. Contribution size: $128.33
Here are the Top 5 Recipients on ActBlue last week by number of donors.
Name
District
Raised
Donors
John Edwards
President
$36,870.80
520
Rick Noriega
TX-Sen
$12,332.61
154
Steven L. Beshear
KY-Gov
$2,433.02
106
Democracy for America
Organization
$1,722.70
88
Tom Allen
ME-Sen
$2,601.03
84
Here are the Top 5 Candidate Recipients on ActBlue last week by total amount raised.
Name
District
Raised
John Edwards
President
$36,870.80
Rick Noriega
TX-Sen
$12,332.61
Gary Trauner
WY-AL
$11,200.00
Jamie Eldridge
MA-05
$10,004.61
Russ Warner
CA-26
$9,196.60
Here are the Top 5 ActBlue Fundraising Pages last week by number of donors.
Blogosphere Day became a phenomenon three years ago when blogs raised $30,000 into the campaign coffers of unknown candidate Ginny Schrader in a single day -- after her opponent had a surprise retirement.
It became an annual event a year later when blogs united in 2005 to raise $100,000 for upstart candidate Paul Hackett in his intensely uphill battle for the hard-right OH-02 in a special election.
Then, in 2006, blogs celebrated Blogosphere Day by sending funds to Ned Lamont.
(Necessary joke: Candidates apparently should avoid Blogosphere Day like the plague, it brings money and electoral ruin.)
ActBlue is a PAC that empowers individuals to raise candidates from family, friends, readers, and associates for the candidates they support. Since 2004, it has moved more than $25 million in donations, with a tiny budget and a brilliant concept. In the second quarter of 2007 alone, ActBlue facilitated $16,000 in donations to state-level candidates in Montana.
ActBlue allows any Democratic candidate in Montana to raise money online without worrying about the hassles of merchant accounts, paypal integration, and secure servers.
It is, in other words, a huge help in promoting progressive candidates. So, today, we're encouraging folks to give back a little bit. ActBlue is working to expand and they need help. Please, do what you can.
(ActBlue is a fantastic organization and one of the reasons we did so well in 2006. Thanks! - promoted by Jay Stevens)
Today ActBlue marks its 3rd Anniversary. Seriously, 3 years? I know- time flies.
Back in 2004, our founders Matt DeBergalis and Benjamin Rahn thought they could build something that would change Democratic fundraising- making it, well, more democratic. The two of them, living off of savings and limited investment, set out to build a platform that would end up changing our Party. Working out of their homes, they built the first generation of ActBlue.
This innovative, secure, and groundbreaking way to give money to Democrats was launched in June of 2004 before the end of the fundraising quarter. The earliest adopters, the blogosphere, helped push $250,000 into federal campaigns that summer. Printing $1 million in checks out of Matt's living room by the end of 2004 was an accomplishment for the start-up. ActBlue caught the eye of Democratic campaigns, organizations, and establishment investors and it was time to grow.
And grow ActBlue did. You can see it for yourself in the numbers.
Total Raised for Democrats through ActBlue: $24,167,741
# of months until ActBlue outgrows its 600 sq foot office: 1 (that's over $40,000/sq.ft. of productivity!)
There a lot of talk about investing in lasting infrastructure for the Democratic Party. ActBlue returns over $20 in aid for Democratic candidates for every $1 in investment. We have more ideas under the hood than you can shake a stick at, limited not by our creativity, but by time and investment.
ActBlue is an investment in our Party. ActBlue is an investment in a Democratic future.
So, in honor of our 3rd Anniversary, will you invest in ActBlue?
(County party folks -- you can raise money with ActBlue. Check out this guide to what other county parties are doing across the country. - promoted by Matt Singer)
Since 2004, ActBlue has helped Democrats raise over $22 million in online contributions. We are a Political Action Committee, not a business, so our motivation is getting Democrats elected instead of padding profit margins. We know how much of a hassle accepting credit card donations on the Internet can be, and we want to help.
One of the areas that ActBlue can help in is with your local County Democratic Party.
If your local county party or committee is in one of the 22 states where ActBlue is already active (minus some clean-elections states like Arizona), you can have all the ActBlue fundraising tools utilized by top tier House and Senate campaigns at the disposal of your county party. Several county parties are already using those tools to achieve success!
Fundraising pages are the most important component of ActBlue: the vast majority of visitors to the site arrive directly on a fundraising page because a friend, an organization, or a campaign has channeled them there. We pride ourselves on these pages' simplicity: donors can show up, immediately understand what's going on, and contribute with no distracting bells and whistles.
But we harbor a dirty secret (or, not-so-secret if you've been with us a while).
Over the past three years, $22 million raised, and 200,000+ donors, these pages haven't actually changed all that much. For a bit of nostalgia, check out the DailyKos dozen page as it looked back at the end of 2004 (compare to the same page with today's look). Yeah, the site framework has changed a little, but the makeup of the fundraising pages is remarkably similar.
Next week, all that is about to change.
Motivated by a strong sense that we could do better (and by a desire to burn down HTML code approaching its second anniversary), a few weeks ago we got to work putting together a new design with the help of the excellent Steve Ofner of Liberal Art. The result is the new design that that you see at right. (Click the image for a full-size mockup.)
In putting the new design together we had several aims:
A sharper, more dynamic look & feel
A simpler user experience
A clearer presentation of the dollar and donor numbers
A more attention-grabbing "contribute" button at the top
The result is an improved page design that looks good with long candidate blurbs, short candidate blurbs, no candidate blurbs, or all of the above.
We'll be rolling out this design next week, and will continue to refine it in the coming months -- so please let us know what you think!
On Monday I posted a tip for spicing up ActBlue fundraising pages by embedding video into 'asks'. This is a very powerful fundraising tactic--especially when the asker and audience have an existing relationship.
Over at Calitics, a great community blog in California, they've taken that suggestion and run with it. I've included a screenshot of their pitch to the right (click on it to view a bigger version in a new window). Besides the video, Calitics? blogger Brian uses several of the principles of fundraising to make a really compelling plea for his candidates. Some of the successful elements they have included:
Create Urgency- The pitch is for end-of-quarter donations. Brian clearly states that there?s a deadline before which donors need to fundraise. And he timed his pitch just a couple of days away from the end of quarter.
Be Specific- Rather than overloading their page with a dozen candidates, Brian stuck with three candidates that have a common theme. The majority of ActBlue donors give to an entire page's slate of candidates?remember that when choosing your slate of candidates.
Make it Personal- Brian, a Calitics blogger, is asking his own blog readers to donate. They have an existing relationship and a degree of trust built up. Potential donors are more likely to give when asked by someone they know and the pitch is personal. They?re less likely to donate when spammed by someone they don?t know.
Think Longterm- The Calitics? ask offers the option of giveing once or of setting up a recurring contribution. Recurring donations are growing in popularity on ActBlue, with over 1000 users having chosen that option for a variety of candidates. If a donor can?t contribute a lump sum amount at once, recurring contributions allow them to invest in the page in installments.
Most of these elements are included in their Calitics ActBlue fundraising page as well. To improve the impact, some ideas might be to include the text from the Calitics post next to the video on their ActBlue fundraising page itself or add the recurring contribution buttons below the embedded video. If that happened, their ActBlue fundraising page could be e-mailed around to additional friends or registered users of the Calitics blog extending the end-of-Quarter ask into a new medium.
One other thing that might help the effort is to set a goal, similar to what the bloggers at Raising Kaine have done (screen shot at left again, click to enlarge). They are shooting for $20,000 to all their endorsed candidates by the end of the state quarter on Saturday, giving a real sense of momentum to their efforts. Adding some text about that immediate goal on their fundraising page would be perfect to tie it together with their blog posts.
While it is early in the cycle, bloggers can build upon their early adopters to make effective asks in creative ways that fit their audience. What ideas might you add?
With as many friends as ActBlue has in the Democratic bloggingcommunity, it's about time we joined the party with a blog of our own. So today we are launching our official ActBlue Blog where we look forward to bringing our donors, candidates, campaigns, fundraisiers, and bloggers interesting resources, analysis, tips, and other information to more effectively raise funds to elect Democrats!
Here's just a sampling of things you can expect to see-
Case Studies on some of the most creative ways ActBlue has been used
Analysis on how and why people donate
State Reports that highlight successful state level campaigns
Tips & Tricks about ways to use ActBlue you may not have known about
Page of the Week where we will highlight our favorite fundraising strategies
Monthly ActBlue Zeitgeist to explore trends, patterns, and other cool stuff
Major Series where we will explore how we are most relevant to your efforts in fundraising
This week I'll be cross-posting some content from our blog as a way to introduce it to our friends in the online community. Tomorrow we'll be releasing our version of a case study on the Secretary of State Project (which I was a blogger for last year before being hired by ActBlue). Later in the week I'll introduce you to successful state level fundraising efforts by blogging communities and local organizations.
Our posts will strive to be informative and useful while maintaining the Democratic grassroots values which have driven us for the last two and a half years. We encourage you to subscribe to our RSS feed or sign up to receive new posts via e-mail to keep up with our latest posts (both available at http://blog.actblue.com).
Much of the growth for ActBlue and the netroots in the next 2 years will be at the state level. Hopefully I'll be able to work with you to enable more successes in the statehouse while we work to expand our DC majority. If you have thoughts or questions, please leave me a comment!
