Considering the extraordinary value of what they do, contributions to pro-democracy activist groups should be given a significant place in our political donations. The pages below cover how your group can get funding assistance from national organizations, how to make your website donation appeals as effective as possible, how to raise funds using social media, financial services and tools that make the legal and administrative end of fundraising much easier to navigate, and how you can utilize ActBlue, the premier Democratic fundraising platform, to help. Also included on the pages linked below are how to use your activities at public events and in public places to solicit donations, how you can incorporate the sale of branded items like hats and t-shirts to play a meaningful role, holding traditional fundraising special events, the new frontier of virtual fundraising, and finally, the many benefits of a robust in-kind donation program.

Voting Activists Deserve More Support

Contributions to voting activists and voting rights groups should be given a place, given greater weight in apportioning contributions, considering the value of what they do. Supporting voting activism and voter mobilization with our donation dollars is certainly among the best, most effective, and most enduring investments we can make in our common political future. More >>

Direct Funding & Fundraising Assistance

Several national organizations will make direct grants to voting activist groups, and others will raise money for activists. The organizations described or listed include 501(c)3s, (c)4s, Foundations, PACs, SuperPACs, and more. All are involved in some way in either giving to voting activist groups or helping them raise funds. You can donate through them or ask for funding from them. More >>

More Effective Website Donation Appeals

Many activist groups have websites that include donation appeals. They can usually be improved substantially to become far more effective, and many examples point to how. This article displays some outstanding donation pages from the voting rights arena. It also includes links to experienced voices with tips and donation page-making advice, followed by other experts’ collections of great donation pages. More >>

Fundraising Using Your Social Media Pages

Social media is used extensively by non-profit and good-cause groups of all kinds to assist them in raising funds. Most platforms encourage and/or facilitate and/or allow this, while often trying to monetize for themselves what parts of it they can. A great deal of expert advice on just how to do this, as well as examples of effective appeals, are presented in this article. More >>

Financial Services & Communication Tools

The legal and bookkeeping end of raising money used to be much more difficult to navigate. Today, online help has arrived that makes all this much easier. If you are just getting started, you can secure a fiscal sponsor, sometimes called a fiduciary home. This is a nonprofit that provides fiduciary oversight, financial management, and related administrative services. More >>

Donation Services Can Help: ActBlue

This Democratic fundraising platform is available to activist groups, and there are many examples of pro-democracy and voting activists using ActBlue services. They allow a substantial funding appeal as well as your distinctive "branding" on their pages. Their website provides well organized information on the services they provide, and it offers an easy-to-follow step-by-step explanation of the setup process. More >>

Raising Funds at Public Events & in Public Places

Voting activists go where people congregate to hand out information and staff tables. Accepting donations can usually be incorporated effectively. While soliciting donations is not the leading objective of most community activities, leaving out asking for donations altogether would be missing an opportunity. If you make it easy and natural for people to give, you'll get lots of small donations. More >>

Selling Hats & Branded Items = Real Money

We have all learned, through painful recent experience, the branding power of hats. And branded materials (hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts, totes, coffee mugs) can indeed benefit your group by helping to establish your political identity. The revenue raising potential can also be surprisingly strong. Done in the right way, sales of branded materials can be a meaningful part of almost any group's budget. More >>

Fundraising Special Events Are Back

As the pandemic fades into the rear-view mirror, there are once again a huge variety of traditional special events available to activists for raising funds. There is a treasure trove of online how-to resources to help select, plan, and carry out events successfully. This article includes an assortment of videos, articles, and books to make your special event fundraising fit your situation and support your group’s plans. More >>

Virtual Events: The Frontier of Fundraising

Necessity is indeed the mother of invention, and the pandemic drove creativity and birthed new opportunities that remain even though the pandemic itself is history. This article includes some of the better videos, articles, and books available to assist in you in identifying and considering virtual event possibilities as part of your group’s ongoing fundraising plans. There are ideas here that should not be overlooked. More >>

In-Kind Donations Can Help Everyone

In-kind donations are an opportunity to make participation more socially reinforcing, both for the volunteers involved and for the larger community. A clear showing of support helps build a culture that values participation. In-kind donations spread goodwill and amplify the idea that voting activism reflects a community's values. Weaving in-kind donors into the mix strengthens community unity and cooperation. More >>

D.C.
Published: October 2021
Revised: June 2023
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