Paul Hodes Just $29 From an Even $500 on the Expand the Map! ActBlue Page

by: Senate Guru

Sat Sep 12, 2009 at 18:44:00 PM EDT

On Senate Guru's Expand the Map! ActBlue page, created to raise funds for Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate, New Hampshire's Paul Hodes is currently at $471.

In other words, he's just $29 away from an even $500.

Now, I'm like Adrian Monk when it comes to nice, round numbers.  So is there anyone in the Blue Hampshire community who can step up and send Congressman Hodes' 2010 Senate campaign $29 via the Expand the Map! ActBlue page to put him at an even $500 and put my addled mind at rest?

Good karma for you, a more relaxing weekend for me, and a little more scratch in Congressman Hodes' campaign account.  Win-win-win!  Thanks SO much in advance.

Labor Day Weekend Fundraising Beg

by: Senate Guru

Sun Sep 06, 2009 at 01:31:06 AM EDT

On the Expand the Map! ActBlue page, raising money for Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate, New Hampshire's own Paul Hodes is a mere $12 from crossing the $400 mark and only $112 from crossing the $500 mark.

Click here to visit the Expand the Map! ActBlue page.

It would be amazing to get him over the $400 mark this weekend; and, it would blow my mind to get him past the $500 mark this weekend.

If you're able to chip in $50 or $25 or $10 or any amount, it makes a real difference!  Thank you SO much.  Remember, every contribution not only helps Paul's campaign but also helps slow down and eventually stop endless Republican obstruction in the U.S. Senate.

Help Paul Hodes Meet Our Weekend Expand the Map! Goal

by: Senate Guru

Sun Aug 09, 2009 at 01:49:15 AM EDT

On the Expand the Map! ActBlue page, Congressman Paul Hodes is already into triple digits.  We've set a modest goal to get him over the $200 mark by the end of the weekend, and Congressman Hodes is only $46 away.

Can you help Congressman Hodes meet this goal by sending him $10 or $20 today on the Expand the Map! ActBlue page?  Every dollar makes a difference and is greatly appreciated.  Thanks SO much!

PA-Sen: Netroots Overwhelmingly Support a Draft Sestak Effort

by: Senate Guru

Mon May 11, 2009 at 16:56:44 PM EDT

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.

ActBlue Looking for Your Ideas

by: KTatActBlue

Mon Mar 23, 2009 at 17:22:43 PM EDT

"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:

1. The blurb must be fewer than 50 words.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. We are Democrats, and our pages are for Democrats. If your message would appeal to Democrats, that would probably earn points.
5. Humor is a big plus, but only that universal humor that works for everyone.
6. 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.
7. All entries must be received by 3/25.

Fill out your entry form right here! Thank you for your participation!

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!

Granite Trail Mix

by: Dean Barker

Thu Mar 27, 2008 at 21:47:46 PM EDT

* Gov. Lynch got a letter today in which Chertoff and the crew at DHS announce that they are basically punting on that disastrous Real ID mandate, so it looks like Granite Staters can now board domestic flights without having to worry about getting a passport.  By the time the law takes effect, we'll have a Democratic president to fix this nonsense. Look for Sununu to trumpet his opposition to this as some kind of bold maverick move despite widespread opposition from almost every state in the union.

* Speaking of John E., it will be hard pretending to be a moderate maverick GoOPer when other moderate maverick GoOPers like Olympia Snow, Arlen Specter, and Richard Lugar haven't contributed one thin dime to the NRSC to help him out.  Talk about a vote of no confidence; it's not like the NRSC spends money on the most critical Senate races such as his, or anything. It's clear to me the big boys and girls not up for re-election this time are resigned to major Dem gains in 2008, and they're willing to throw John E. to the wolves so they can hold on to their own money and protect themselves from future blue waves in 2010 and beyond.  

* A truly novel concept: Charlie Rose asks actual Iraqis what they think about our invasion of their country and how totally super awesome it's gone for the past five years.  It's really must see teevee.

* Obama supporter Chris Dodd thinks the Democratic nomination is now a "foregone conclusion."

* Carol Shea-Porter is back from her second Iraq trip.

* Inspired by Howard Dean, and fresh off of having managed Jay Buckey's campaign, Karen Liot Hill is now the Lebanon Mayor.  Inspiring. And a sign that the people powered-movement begun across the Connecticut River four years ago is starting to reap real gains in the increasingly progressive Upper Valley area of the state.

* Meta: I've added a social bookmarking button from AddThis for individual diaries.  Roll over the button with your mouse to see how it works.  

Dodd on Blogosphere Day & ActBlue

by: Matt Browner Hamlin

Thu Jul 19, 2007 at 14:57:44 PM EDT

Today is the fourth annual Blogosphere Day and the netroots are coming together to support ActBlue. I congratulate ActBlue for their continued success as the online clearinghouse for Democratic action. They have helped Democratic candidates around the country and at all levels of government raise over $25 million since 2004.

Yesterday, blogger Matt Stoller wrote, "ActBlue is a representation of what is great about our country, that the principles of diversity, openness, transparency, and collective action can and do work." I couldn't agree more. ActBlue has set the ground for Democratic growth nationwide, by removing traditional barriers that have limited political participation.

ActBlue has enabled the Democratic grassroots to come together and effectively support Democratic success -- their work deserves wide recognition for its value.

As a candidate who has benefited from ActBlue's work, I'm proud to donate on Blogosphere Day in support of ActBlue's continued efforts to provide tools that enable all Democrats a chance to succeed and help turn America "blue."

Yesterday the Dodd campaign pushed back on Bill O'Reilly and Fox News for their smear of DailyKos. The outpouring of support was greatly appreciated. I have a write up of it on the Dodd Blog, and I've posted it earlier today as well. Lots of goodies for Blue Hamsters today!

Click here to donate to ActBlue
Disclosure: I proudly work for Chris Dodd's presidential campaign.

Last Call for 2Q Act Blue (Hampshire)!

by: Dean Barker

Fri Jun 29, 2007 at 22:49:59 PM EDT

(Note: we only just added Draft Shaheen to the page yesterday)

ActBlue turned three years old yesterday, and already the lil' toddler has become an invaluable netroots tool to raise money for great candidates who will become part of a progressive majority.  If you have someone you want to see elected, or re-elected, or if you care about our state staying blue, then, if you can, put your dollars where your heart is.  Clicky the linky:

A C T B L U E  H A M P S H I R E

ActBlue Turns 3 Years Old Today

by: KTatActBlue

Thu Jun 28, 2007 at 19:09:24 PM EDT

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 fundraising pages on ActBlue: 4,204

# of people contacted in just 3 weeks via ActBlue's new Spread the Word tool: 3,751

# of active entities in ActBlue's directory: 3,739 (will grow towards 10,000 this cycle)

# of candidates and committees receiving funds to date: 1,725

# of states where ActBlue is active for state level activity: 23 (soon to be 24)

# of people behind the ActBlue curtain: 6

# 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?

http://www.actblue.com/page/investinactblue

With your help, the future will be more than just bright- it will be Blue.

So I offer a toast: the undiscovered country . . . the future. Here's to turning 3.

ActBlue Helping County Parties

by: KTatActBlue

Thu May 31, 2007 at 16:10:22 PM EDT

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. Click here to see those already set up in New Hampshire.

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!

Sneak Peek of the New ActBlue Fundraising Pages

by: KTatActBlue

Tue May 01, 2007 at 14:14:07 PM EDT

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!

End-of-Quarter Blog Fundraising Asks

by: KTatActBlue

Fri Mar 30, 2007 at 17:07:05 PM EDT

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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?

Fundraising and Phonejamming

by: Dean Barker

Mon Mar 26, 2007 at 15:33:07 PM EDT

* A little bird flew in to tell me that today around 4pm on NPR's All Things Considered there might be a story on the new developments (including the link to the prosecutor purge) in the phonejamming saga. Update: Here's a link to the audio in case you missed it.  Not much there that's new to anyone who's been following it here, but there is a nice quote from Hodes and it does mean the story will get wider attention.

* When you listen in to the program, and the outrage rises up again over how the GOP resorted to crime to get Sununu elected, consider dropping some of your hard earned change into one of the candidates featured in our ActBlue Blue Hampshire page (also now on our left margin).  Currently you can give to Marchand, Hodes, Shea-Porter, and a fund that will eventually go to the Senate primary winner.  Two great reasons to donate now through this venue: 1) it's coming on the end of the first quarter, and our Democratic candidates need to make as strong a showing as possible, and 2) by going through our ActBlue page, you are telling your preferred candidate that you're reading and learning about them right here on Blue Hampshire.

ActBlue Launches a Blog

by: KTatActBlue

Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 18:25:45 PM EDT

With as many friends as ActBlue has in the Democratic blogging community, 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 lots of 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!

Blue Hampshire a Charter Member in BlogPac's 50-State Project

by: Dean Barker

Wed Jan 31, 2007 at 18:48:52 PM EST

BlogPac is working on a project to bring community blogging to every state. Community blogs (and the communities they create) will make the difference in '08. But they can also make a difference now, influencing policy on a state and local level.

Chris Bowers and Matt Stoller at MyDD along with Laura Packard have been instrumental in building and promoting this project.  I'll let Bowers do the talking from here:

Over the past three weeks, we have told you that BlogPac is working on a project to bring community blogging to every state in the country (see here, here and here). Specifically, one of the things that meant was paying for the website hosting costs of 50 local, community blogs, which would help alleviate the burden on some of most our essential, local, progressive activists. Today, I am happy to announce that you have put together the resources to make it happen, and we can announce the first group of bloggers who about to receive your support:

• California: Calitics
  
• Colorado: Square State
  
• Massachusetts: Blue Mass Group
  
• Michigan: Michigan  Liberal
  
• Minnesota: Minnesota Campaign Report
  
• Montana: Left In the West
  
• New Hampshire: Blue Hampshire
  
• New Jersey: Blue Jersey
  
• New York: The Albany Project
  
• North Carolina: Blue NC
  
• Texas: Burnt Orange Report
  
• Virginia: Raising Kaine

  That is a pretty impressive list of some of the best local blogs in the country. They all are a vital part of the emerging progressive media landscape, and help to build local activist scenes. Thanks to you, all of them will now find it a little easier to keep operating in the future. You can see the criteria for the blogs we are giving grants to at the BlogPac website, and we are going to keep going until we have funded at least one blog in every state.

This grant wouldn't have been possible without generous contributions made via ActBlue, so I thank everyone who has contributed to BlogPac through it, and urge all of you to consider giving to the worthy cause of creating a 50-state progressive community blog system.  And a huge thank you to everyone who comes here and makes this place the strong, vibrant, community it is.  We've been live for less than two and a half months, and as of typing this we've amassed 324 diaries, 3,316 comments, and over 20,000 site visits.  I'm speechless.