Note#1: This post is Number 9 in a series of reports on small-donor fundraising, as reported by the nonprofit Act Blue.
Note#2: A reader poll is included below this post.
As expected, Dem fundraising via ActBlue remained intense through October, 2022. Over $384.6 million was raised in Oct., compared to only $260.8 million in Oct. 2018.
In this election cycle thru Oct. 31, ‘22, over $3.18 billion was raised on the AB platform , vs. $1.56 billion in the 2018 cycle. (I.e., from 1-1-2021 thru 10-31-’22).
Our strong fundraising was a large part of the reason Dems did much better down-ballot in this election. From Dem leadership to the grass roots, we spent a lot more attention to state-level positions and races. It’sa trend to watch, and it will most likely be more promonent in future elections.
Ahead of the November election, small-dollar donors continued to power Dem. candidates and progressive causes. In October, over 2 million unique donors gave more than $385 million to 14,142 campaigns and organizations. The number of unique campaigns, committees, and organizations receiving support from small-dollar donors grew by more than 6,000 compared to the last midterm election in 2018.
These donations are the life blood of electoral campaigns. The funds go to campaign staff expenses, usually including a campaign coordinator. Large portions are spent on media buys, especially TV ads. Travel expenses consume a large part of the money in most campaigns, with large, sprawling districts consuming more money for car rentals, hotel/motel rooms, venue rentals for speeches and events. Printing & postage expenses for signs, bumper stickers, billboards, and mass mailings consume yet another chunk of the campaign war chest. Every campaign will spend the money a little differently- but they won’t do much of anything without it.
These large donation numbers are no surprise, given the number and intensity of the people and issues that led to the very large growth in donors, who gave (on average) $46.99 in Oct. ‘22. The fundraising success was only one measure of our power in the midterms, driven by Reproductive Rights; Democracy and Voting Rights; Global Warming/Climate Change; and individual rights and progressive change in general.
Most pundits concede that we did very well in the midterms, especially considering the overwhelmingly (and overpublicized) negative narrative that the “Red Wave” would crush Dems in this Nov. election. The gaslighting and media manipulation was evidenced by much better-than-expected Dem results, in particular defeating most of the high-profile election deniers running for top level state offices or Senate seats.
We all know that donating to candidates and causes has many benefits. But we also saw some big downsides as well. For example, I and many others experienced a deluge of fundraising emails and texts during the runup to the election. I saw days with 25 or more emails And 15-20 text messages. But I finally unsubscribed to almost every one. I couple only has so much to give!!!
We Dems can and should do things better, smarter, and more humanely as we gradually approach another distant election. Let’s find some better solutions!
TOPLINE NUMBERS
| October ’18 | October ’20 | October ’22 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contributions | 5,016,122 | 18,314,408 | 8,186,074 |
| Dollars Raised | $260,805,205 | $732,368,755 | $384,688,626 |
| Average Contribution Size | $51.99 | $39.99 | $46.99 |
| Unique Donors | 1,605,774 | 4,687,847 | 2,138,235 |
| Unique Campaigns, Committees, and Organizations | 7,923 | 12,296 | 14,142 |
CYCLE-TO-CYCLE Comparisons 2018 Cycle thru Oct 2020 Cy. thru Oct 2022 Cy. thru Oct
| Contributions | 38,668,439 | 119,902,640 | 78,678,760 |
| Dollars Raised | $1,556,814,394 | $4,500,218,209 | $3,176,094,568 |
| Average Contribution Size | $40.26 | $37.53 | $40.37 |
| Unique Donors | 4,773,791 | 14,553,679 | 7,091,207 |
| Unique Campaigns, Committees, and Organizations | 14,512 | 21,757 | 26,709 |