ActBlue LLC is the for-profit arm of the left-of-center political action committee ActBlue, the 501(c)(3) pass-through affiliate of ActBlue Charities, and the 501(c)(4) pass-through affiliate of ActBlue Civics. ¹

Background

The ActBlue website was launched in 2004 by Ben Rahn and Matt DeBergalis as a fundraising platform for left-of-center organizations and candidates. ¹ According to its own figures, ActBlue claimed to have raised $2.4 billion for its clients from 2004 through 2018. ² As of March 2021, ActBlue claimed that liberal causes and candidates had raised $8.4 billion on its platform since its creation. ³

Between February and March 2025, it was announced that at least 7 senior officials had resigned following the 2024 Presidential Election that saw President Donald Trump re-elected. According to a story by the New York Times, several unions representing ActBlue had released a letter to the organization’s board of directors listing the employees whom resigned while claiming the “alarming pattern” was negatively impacting “…our confidence in the stability of the organization.” ⁴ According to the letter from both unions, those whom left included the organization’s customer service and partnerships directors, which included ActBlue’s former vice president of customer service Alyssa Twomey whom later wrote on social media, “After 14+ years of living and breathing all things ActBlue, it’s time for a reset. I’m taking an intentional pause before setting course for my next adventure.” ⁴ In addition, other resignations included the group’s associate general counsel, the assistant research director, one human resources official, the chief revenue officer and a donation engineer. The New York Times article also claimed that a lawyer in the ActBlue general counsel’s office, Zain Ahmad, was on leave from the organization while his previous access to emails and internal platforms within the group had been cut off around February 26. In a statement on ActBlue’s Slack platform, Ahmad claimed, “Please be advised that we have Anti-Retaliation and Whistleblower Policies for a reason.” ⁴ The unions’ letter claimed Ahmad’s statements were, “unsettling and disturbing, and part of a growing pattern of volatility and toxicity stemming from current leadership.” ⁴

In April 2025, President Trump announced he directed Attorney General Pam Bondi and the U.S Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate ActBlue and its entities over allegations of illegal donations being made by people through the fundraising platform under different names (or straw donations) as well as alleged foreign contributions and donations being made to ActBlue. ⁵

ActBlue LLC

Little information is available about ActBlue LLC. ActBlue’s website does not mention its for-profit operations. The entity was incorporated in 2005 in Somerville, MA, under ActBlue leaders Benjamin Rahn, Erin Hill, Marc Laitin, and Matthew Debergalis. Branches have been incorporated in Maryland, Oregon, California, Texas, Maine, Washington, Montana, Delaware, Florida, Ohio, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Virginia. ⁶⁷

FEC Controversies

In 2016, the Federal Exchange Commission (FEC) dismissed a complaint against ActBlue LLC. The American Democracy Legal Fund alleged that ActBlue LLC had violated sections of the 1971 Federal Elections Campaign Act by failing to disclose its role in posting Facebook advertisements on behalf of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (D-VT). The FEC found the complaint lacked merit. ⁸

In 2021, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) fined ActBlue $3,300 for funneling $44,000 in illegal contributions during the 2020 election cycle. Wrigley gum heir Jim Offield and Democratic donor Deborah Simon were among those found to have violated federal election law by exceeding contribution limits. ⁹

1. Hartmann, Michael E. “ActBlue Fundraising Platform Strikes Gold — for Liberals | RealClearPolitics.” RealClearPolitics. January 23, 2018. Accessed March 9, 2021. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2018/01/23/actblue_fundraising_platform_strikes_gold_–_for_liberals_136068.html.
2. “Billions Raised Online since 2004.” ActBlue. Accessed March 9, 2021. https://secure.actblue.com/
3. “Billions Raised Online since 2004.” ActBlue LLC. Accessed March 9, 2021. https://secure.actblue.com/.
4. Epstein, Reid J. and Shane Goldmacher. “ActBlue, the Democratic Fund-Raising Powerhouse, Faces Internal Chaos.” New York Times, March 5, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/us/politics/actblue-democrat-fundraising-resignations.html
5. Haberman, Maggie, Reid J. Epstein and Kenneth P. Vogel. “Trump Directs Justice Dept. to Investigate ActBlue, Democrats’ Cash Engine.” New York Times, April 24, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/us/politics/trump-actblue-democrats.html
6. “ACTBLUE LLC.” Open Corporates. Accessed March 9, 2021. https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ma/000891172.
7. “Search: ACTBLUE LLC.” Open Corporates. Accessed March 9, 2021. https://opencorporates.com/companies?q=ACTBLUE+LLC.
8. “Federal Election Commission.” Federal Election Commission. December 12, 2016. Accessed March 9, 2021. https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/murs/7039/17044404858.pdf.
9. Schoffstall, Joe. “ActBlue Fined for Facilitating Nearly $44,000 in illegal contributions.” Washington Free Beacon. March 8, 2021. Accessed March 9, 2021. https://freebeacon.com/democrats/actblue-fined-for-facilitating-nearly-44000-in-illegal-contributions/.