Where Does Your ActBlue Donation Go? Breaking Down the Fee, the Tip, and the Tools
Every time you donate to your favorite candidate, cause, or organization, you’re fueling the work that turns campaigns into wins
ActBlue processes millions of donations every day, helping donors and supporters like you power the campaigns and causes you believe in. Every dollar you give allows campaigns to set up field offices, get out the vote, run ads, and more. From local races to full-scale national campaigns, small-dollar donors are the backbone of it all.
But have you ever wondered what actually happens after you hit that donate button? Where does your money go? What does it fund? And what role does ActBlue play in making it all possible? In this post, we’re walking you through the full journey of a dollar, from the moment you find a cause you believe in, to the moment it starts changing your community.
Find Your Cause
Before a donation is ever processed, the first step is finding a cause you believe in. Maybe you see a candidate speak at a town hall, or read about a ballot initiative that would transform your community. Maybe a friend shared a campaign on social media, or you’ve been following a movement for years, waiting for the right moment to act. Whatever sparks your interest, you find yourself ready to do more than just watch.
The next step is heading to ActBlue, searching for the campaign or cause, and landing on a donation page. A few clicks later, you make your contribution. In that moment, you become part of something much bigger.
The moment your donation is processed, it goes to the campaign or cause you choose. That money matters in ways you might not even realize, giving campaigns the fuel they need to compete and win.
What is the ActBlue Core processing fee?
You’ll probably notice a 3.95% processing fee attached to your donation and wonder what it’s for. That fee is what keeps the entire fundraising process seamless, secure, and reliable, covering credit card processing costs and funding the infrastructure that protects every transaction:
- Fraud Protection: Your financial information stays safe, every time.
- Routine Maintenance: Our platform stays up and running when it matters most.
- Dedicated Customer Service: Real people, ready to help when you need them.
We don’t cut corners on security because your trust is everything.
What are tips and where do they go?
After donating, you may see an option to leave a tip. As a nonprofit, ActBlue uses those tips to build and maintain the technology powering Democratic campaigns and causes across the country. Your tip keeps us independent, efficient, and ready to support the movements that matter.
Nowhere is that impact clearer than in the tools we’ve built. Our suite has grown to meet candidates wherever they are:
- Lowering the barrier to entry for first-time campaigners through Raise by ActBlue
- Equipping campaigns of every size with serious canvassing infrastructure through ActBlue Field Tools,
- Giving every candidate a professional web presence through ActBlue Website Builder.
The result is a platform where candidates no matter where they are or what they are running for have everything they need to run.
Building Change Together
What started as a simple idea that small-dollar donors could power big change, has grown into a movement with millions of donors, thousands of campaigns. Every donation processed, every tool built, and every campaign launched on our platform is proof that when people come together around something they believe in, the impact is real.
We’re proud to be the engine behind these movements, ensuring donors can safely and reliably contribute to the campaigns and causes that are transforming their communities for the better.
ActBlue is a safe and secure fundraising platform that enables millions of Americans to participate at a grassroots level in the most fundamental pillar of our society: elections. For more than 21 years, we’ve been a vital part of the infrastructure of our democracy.
* * ActBlue Raise, built for down-ballot candidates and campaigns of one, has a fee of 3.50%
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