About ActBlue

Who We Are

ActBlue is the nation's largest source of funds for Democrats. Launched in 2004, ActBlue created and deployed the next generation of online fundraising tools, enabling individuals and groups to raise money for the Democratic candidates and committees of their choice at www.actblue.com. In four years, ActBlue has sent more than $96 million to some 3200 candidates and committees from more than 420,000 donors, with a median contribution of only fifty dollars, doing as much to ensure a sustainable Democratic future as any other player in the field.

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Why We Matter

Building critical infrastructure

ActBlue allows individuals, groups, and campaigns to build a community of fundraisers for their candidate or their cause. We make it possible for anyone to start fundraising and organizing events within minutes. This matters for two reasons: first, because campaigns exponentially increase their ability to fundraise when they turn their donors into fundraisers, and ultimately because democracy will be safest when the financing of elections is the province of the many, not of the few. ActBlue is leading the way in building a lasting infrastructure of committed Democratic fundraisers and organizers.

Creating a more diverse pool of candidates

ActBlue lowers the barriers of entry for political races in three ways. First, ActBlue provides online fundraising technologies to all Democratic candidates, without hassle or setup fees. Second, by building new grassroots power bases, ActBlue creates new sources of early money. Third, and most critically, support on ActBlue serves as a key validator of campaign viability in front of the media and institutions. By lowering barriers to entry, ActBlue is changing who enters the race, and ultimately creating a more democratic Democratic Party.

Competing in every district, up and down the ballot

ActBlue is grooming the farm team, enabling Democrats to compete everywhere, especially in places that institutional supporters have written off. We provide the same tools and expertise to every Democratic candidate, regardless of their odds or the office they're seeking. Investing down ballot is investing in the future, laying the groundwork for a more progressive America.

Encouraging accountability

Before ActBlue, grassroots fundraisers were rarely recognized by campaigns. But with ActBlue, campaigns and the public can see who's raising, so fundraisers get the credit they deserve. And that visibility is turning into access, and access is turning into accountability. ActBlue is helping new leaders to leverage their networks into real Democratic power that influences elections and shapes policy.


ActBlue in the Press

For press inquiries, write to press@actblue.com.

For press inquiries or a press kit, please e-mail press@actblue.com


The ActBlue Team

Staff

Erin Hill, Executive Director, has worked in the Massachusetts State House, on Capitol Hill, and the Democratic National Headquarters in fundraising, operations, and legislative research. In the 2004 cycle, Hill served on the finance staffs of the Kerry-Edwards campaign and the Democratic National Committee. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wellesley College with a degree in English literature and a concentration in Public Policy Studies.

Matt DeBergalis, Chairman and Founder, founded ActBlue in 2004 with Benjamin Rahn to leverage Democratic activists as effective political evangelists in their communities on- and off-line. Featured in the New York Times for his innovative political work, Matt manages ActBlue's core technology infrastructure. Prior to building ActBlue, Matt was narrowly defeated in his 2003 run for Cambridge City Council, stunning the city's politicians with his unprecedented success at bringing over one thousand new voters to the polls. Matt holds M.Eng. and S.B degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Steven Gold, General Counsel, comes to ActBlue with five years’ experience as in-house counsel for the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, a national non-profit organization, and for the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services. He has extensive experience in a wide variety of legal disciplines, from campaign finance law to fair lending law to civil and criminal litigation. Steven previously advised on the formation of a separate segregated fund established by a non-profit organization with tens of thousands of members. Most recently, he was trained in mediation and now acts as a volunteer mediator resolving disputes in district courts in his spare time. Steven received a B.A. in English from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.

Nate Thames, Political Director, served as the Deputy Finance Director for Congressman Dennis Moore (D-KS), where he was responsible for online fundraising strategy and major events. During the 2004 cycle, Nate worked for the Kansas Coordinated Campaign field program, and later served as Technology Director and Vice President of the KU Young Democrats. Nate graduated from the University of Kansas with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

Adrian Arroyo, Deputy Communications Director joins ActBlue after working as a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Threat Analysis and Response (ISTAR) at the University of Pennsylvania. While there, he helped design a novel governance framework to address policy and coordination failures in the field of international public health that received recognition from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other international bodies. As a liaison between ISTAR and Philadelphia's Emergency Preparedness Review Committee, Adrian coordinated University involvement in Philadelphia's audacious examination of its emergency and disaster response capabilities. Adrian graduated from the University of Chicago with a B.A. in Political Science.

Nichole Paulding, Director of Operations, brings a wealth of organizational experience to ActBlue. Among others, she has worked at the Institute for Training and Development, where she provided program support for eleven international exchange and educational programs for participants from over thirty countries. In addition to her work at ITD, Nichole has worked for the MIT Alumni Association Reunions and Events Team, the Glastonbury, CT, Town Clerk's Office, and HALT, an organization of Americans for Legal Reform. Nichole is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Amherst College, where she majored in History and French.

Matthew Rogers, Political Constituencies Coordinator, joined ActBlue after graduating with a B.A. in Politics from Brandeis University. Matt has previously worked for DATA (Debt. AIDS. Trade. Africa.) and New York Assemblyman Sam Hoyt. While at Brandeis, Matt co-founded the Brandeis chapter of STAND, the student anti-genocide movement, and coordinated the Counseling and Rape Crisis Hotline.



Board of Directors

Matt DeBergalis, Chairman and Founder

Becky Bond is the political director at CREDO Mobile and Working Assets, a company that has raised $60 million for progressive change through donation linked products. Working with the student PIRGs, CREDO launched the seminal 2006 study of the effect of text messaging on "get out the vote," demonstrating a 4 percentage point lift in voter turnout from SMS. Becky also serves on the board of the New Organizing Institute.

Erin Hill

Marc Laitin is a founder and principal of Wired for Change, an online campaign consultancy serving progressive clients. During the 2004 election cycle Marc founded Run Against Bush (now Start Change PAC) and ran the successful Stop Sinclair media advocacy campaign. Previously Marc taught economics and public policy at a Washington, DC public charter school. Marc holds a B.A. from Harvard College.

Benjamin Rahn, Founder, went on leave from a Ph.D. program in theoretical physics to found ActBlue with Matt DeBergalis in 2004 and served as ActBlue's Chairman through April 2009. Before entering politics, Ben was an NSF graduate fellow at Caltech. His work on multi-scale physics has been published in Physics Review A and been presented in conferences around the country, and he received a gold medal at the International Physics Olympiad. Ben has served as Assistant Director of MIT's Research Science Institute, a program for high-school students that has produced more Intel/Westinghouse Science Talent Search finalists than any other organization in the country. In addition to his work with ActBlue, Ben is currently the Resident Physics Tutor at Harvard's Pforzheimer House, where he aids Harvard undergraduates in navigating personal and academic challenges and builds the House's intellectual and social community. Ben holds a B.A. from Harvard College.

Jeremy Woodburn is an intellectual property and business lawyer working with both publicly-funded and venture-backed companies in the San Francisco Bay area. His most recent prior position was Vice President of Business Development at a venture-backed technology startup. Before that, Jeremy worked as an attorney in the Technology Transactions practice of Fenwick & West LLP. Jeremy holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from Brandeis University.



We're always looking for great people to join our team. If you're interested in a volunteer or staff position, please let us know. Resumes are always helpful, but not required. Please specify what sorts of work you would most enjoy.