The Utah Citizens’ candidate uses ActBlue to help raise funds for Claudia’s campaign and to also help us track contributions and comply with federal rules.
ActBlue is the nation’s largest source of funds for Democrats. ActBlue was created and deployed as the next generation of online fundraising tools, enabling individuals and groups to raise money for the Democratic candidates and committees of their choice with the median donation being fifty dollars. Individuals should support candidates for office, not corporations.
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.
Build a Fundraising Page–step-by-step:
Step 1. Go to the website: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/23801
Step 2. You’ll have three options. You can choose to create your own fundraising page, you can create an event page or you can simply choose to spread the word.
Step 3. Click on any of these options and you’ll be prompted to create a new account by entering your e-mail and choosing a password. (No need to create an account if you simply want to spread the word.)
Step 4. Add your own words. You own personal story of why you are supporting Claudia and a Citizens’ Candidate is worth more than gold. Give your fundraising page a good title, and put your name or the name of your organization in the “author” field.
You can then write your pitch for Claudia, our Utah Citizen’s Candidate. You can type regular text (separate paragraphs with a blank line, or check out the HTML guide to use bold and italicized fonts, and create bulleted and numbered lists, add YouTube videos, saved photos, etc.).
No need to worry about getting everything perfect now — you’ll be able to edit everything later.
Finally, choose a short, easy-to-remember web address, and click the “create your fundraising page” button.
The more fundraising pages we have the better. Try to use “Utah Citizens’ Candidate” and “Claudia Wright” in your title. All of the funds go to the same place. But the more fundraising pages we have, the easier it will be to find us if others are using search engines to do so. Also it will give us great “web presence”, as they say.
You can see an example of my own page at:
http://www.actblue.com/page/lafon_for_claudia_wright
Example of a Custom ActBlue Fundraising Page
Step 5. Editing your page. When you’re logged in, you’ll see an orange box at the top of your fundraising page. Click the “Edit” link. Here you can adjust your page’s title, author, and all the text you’ve written. Also, you’ll see each entry on your page has a “Remove” button, and there are also “Move Up” and “Move Down” buttons to re-order the entries.
Step 6. Start fundraising! Now, when everything’s ready, save your fundraising page, and start fundraising! But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that people will mysteriously show up at your page – it’s your job to tell people about your page and to get them to visit.
Step 7. Track your progress. Whenever you want to see how your page is doing, just go back to the “My ActBlue” tab. (You may need to log back in.) The “My Fundraising Pages” table will show you how many people have contributed and how much you’ve raised. If you click on the amount you’ve raised, you’ll get more detailed information on who’s contributed.
How to make a good fundraising page
This is where your contributor decides how much to give! Here are a few tips to encourage them to contribute with enthusiasm.
- You need to convince potential donors to support our candidate—and you need to catch their interest fast. Use your title and your first sentence to give one simple reason why people should contribute to the Utah Citizens’ Candidate.
- Write persuasively. In your introduction, explain who you are and why you care. Explain what’s special about this campaign and why donors should support us. Close by explicitly asking for a contribution.
- Don’t forget to customize the title and author fields. Also, choose a simple, short web address. Keep in mind what key words people use to find us using search engines.
- Contribute to your own fundraising page. Potential donors are always more compelled by causes that other people have considered important enough to contribute to.
How to ask people to contribute
Ask directly and personally. People who haven’t fundraised before often think this the hardest part—but once you’ve done it a few times you’ll find it easy, and even fun.
If you’re uncomfortable asking people for money, here are a few things to remember:
Here’s a pitch to try on people who haven’t contributed to candidates before: “Every year, you probably send between 15 and 40 percent of your income to the IRS. Isn’t it worth spending 1 percent deciding who gets to spend that money?”
You’re not asking someone to throw their money away—or even to give it to you. You’re asking them to use their money to support a cause they believe in.
Money is only one of the valuable things in our lives. You probably wouldn’t be uncomfortable asking a friend to drive you to the airport or to spend an afternoon volunteering. And for many working people, time is just as valuable as money—so don’t sweat it!
Different ways to ask
E-mail: It’s the easiest way to tell lots of people about our campaign. But resist the temptation to send out one massive e-mail, because it’s much more effective to e-mail people individually even if you say the same thing to everybody. Most importantly, don’t be a spammer! And be sure to include a link to our website.
Phone and face-to-face: These are the most compelling ways to ask because you’re making a direct personal connection. Try to get a commitment, and follow up by sending a reminder e-mail with a link to your/our contributions page.
Websites and blogs: If you have a website or a blog, post an appeal for readers to contribute to our candidate. Place a link on your website or page. You’ll need to be especially convincing because you’re not making a direct personal connection. Don’t let this be your only method.
House parties and fundraisers: These take a bit more work, but are a lot of fun!
What to say
Make it Important. Make it Simple. Make it Personal.
- Explain why it’s important to support the candidate(s)you’ve chosen. Just have one or a few simple, direct reasons.
- Explain how each contribution will help win the election.
- Explain why you personally are supporting the candidate(s) you’ve chosen. And if you can, tailor your pitch to the person you’re asking, and explain how this election will affect their life.
Closing the Deal
- Ask for a specific amount, by a specific deadline: “I’m trying to raise $500 for Claudia’s campaign this week, I HAVE to do it and it would make a big difference if you could contribute $25.”
- If your prospective donor says you’ve asked for too much money, ask for a smaller amount. Both of you will feel better if they make a contribution, even if it’s smaller than what you had hoped for. (Generally people feel like schmucks if they refuse outright to contribute even a little bit to a cause their friends care about—and you don’t want your friends to feel like schmucks.)
- Always stay cheerful and express your appreciation, regardless of whether you got a contribution: “Thanks for your time!” or “Thanks for letting me practice my pitch!”
Follow up
Send thank-you notes to contributors! Tell them that they’re making an important difference for Utah, and that their contributions mean a lot to you. Then ask contributors if they know of others who might be interested in contributing as well. If they do, ask for a connection or contact information.
Fun fundraising: House Parties and Ticketed Events
Throw a house party in honor of the Utah Citizens’ Candidate. At the party, make a short speech about how great it is to support Claudia as our next Representative from District 2 and she is going to win. Then tell people how they can help with this campaign, and ask people to contribute or volunteer.
You can use ActBlue to send out your invitations and to process ticketed contributions by setting up an event page: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/23801
If you create a ticketed event, you can require people to contribute a certain amount to our Citizens’ Candidate in order to attend, and you can combine a pleasant time with music, food, etc with a speech or discussion about why Claudia is the right person at the right time, how much you appreciate everyone’s contributions and how important this campaign is and how everyone attending can get more involved.
Invite Claudia to attend your event. E-mail us at: ut.citizens.candidate@gmail.com
