Getting Started (Raise by ActBlue)

In this article

1. Set up a Raise by ActBlue account
2. Log into your account
3. Customize your fundraising page
4. Get to know your Dashboard
5. Adjust your Campaign Settings
6. Before you begin fundraising

Welcome to Raise by ActBlue! We’re so excited to have you as one of the first users of our new platform. Built with small (but mighty!) campaign teams in mind, Raise by ActBlue is a hassle-free digital fundraising tool designed to make your fundraising efforts effective and easy to manage.

Set up a Raise by ActBlue account

If you received an invitation from ActBlue to create a Raise by ActBlue account, you can click the invitation link in that email (subject line “You’re invited! Raise by ActBlue”) to get set up. Most groups can get set up in about one day.

If you did not receive an invitation email but are interested in creating a Raise account, please stay tuned for more information later this summer!

The setup form should take only a few minutes to complete. We’ll ask you to share some key information about your campaign so we can build a Raise account for you. You will need:

• A primary contact person from your team for follow-up questions.
• Your campaign or organization’s legal name.
• Your campaign finance ID number. This will speed up your setup!

After sharing this and other basic information, click “Save and submit” to queue your setup request for review. We’ll email you a confirmation shortly after. Once we review and approve your request, a member of our team will email you within 1-2 business days to help you get started!

After you’ve clicked “Save and submit,” we’ll also ask you to share some additional info, such as the emails of any users who need access to your Dashboard at setup and an image to be displayed in our Directory.

Once we receive your Raise by ActBlue account setup request, ActBlue staff will review your submission and determine whether your account requires a merchant account.

Your jurisdiction’s campaign finance laws might require that you fundraise on Raise through a merchant account, an electronic payment processor. With our partner, Stripe, we will securely process your donations and deposit them into your bank account. If this is the case, you will receive an email from support@actblue.com with an invitation to the Stripe onboarding process and specific instructions for completing it. Read about how to get your merchant account set up here.

If you are not required to use a merchant account, you will not have to set one up. Instead, we’ll set you up with a conduit account, which means you’ll automatically receive your payouts as checks. Each week, you’ll receive a check containing funds from the previous week at the mailing address listed on your account. (Make sure that your mailing address is accurate.) You can also choose to set up direct deposit, which eliminates the need to receive physical checks by mail. Learn how to set up direct deposit here.

Once your account is set up, we'll grant you and any other members you listed as users access to your new Dashboard and email you login instructions. You can enter and save a password or confirm your email using Google. Now you’re all set to log in.

Log in to Your Account

Click the “Sign in” button in the upper right-hand corner of secure.actblue.com and log in.

If you don’t remember your password, enter the email address you used to sign up and click “Use a temporary code.” A code will land in that email’s inbox. Copy and paste the code to log in. 

If you are new to our platform,  you will land on your new Raise fundraising Dashboard.

If you're already a user for another campaign(s) or organization(s), you'll land on a list of your groups with links to your Dashboards. You’ll see a new Dashboard listed under the name of the candidate or organization you set up a Raise account for. Click on the link to be brought to your new Raise Dashboard.

Customize your new fundraising page

When you first land on your Raise Dashboard, you’ll be prompted to customize your fundraising page. You can personalize the look of your page and edit the customizable text to make it stand out.

Click the “Customize your page” button to get started.

(If you’d rather skip this step, you can click “I’ll do this later.” Your page will be published with default settings. You can edit your fundraising page at any time by clicking the “Customize page” banner at the top of your Dashboard, by clicking the “Fundraising page” tab of your Dashboard, or by clicking the “Edit Page” button.)

The first step is to customize your page’s title and fundraising message. (You can click “Next” without inputting anything to skip a step at any time, or click “Cancel” to exit the page customization process. You can always come back and edit later!)

• Page title: This is the title that appears at the top of your fundraising page. Choose something short, simple, and memorable.
• Fundraising message: This is where you can tell donors about your mission and goals and make the case for why they should give you their support.

Next, add a logo to the page to help your donors recognize your campaign. Your logo will automatically appear at the top of your fundraising page. (The image you upload must be a JPEG, PNG, or PDF file, and the file size must be less than 5 MB.)

Next, choose a button color. This will help the buttons on your page – for selecting a donation amount, processing a donation, and more – stand out. Choose a color that matches your brand. You can even input an exact hex color code (a series of six numbers and letters (#XXXXXX) that specifies an exact color) to ensure a consistent look between your website and your fundraising page.

In the final step of the process, you can review your page customizations and make any changes. You can also add some additional customizations, such as:

• Preset donation amounts: Set donation buttons to any amount you want – separate amounts with a comma. Donors can still specify a custom amount if they wish.
• Thank you message: Customize the message that appears on the Thank You page donors see after they contribute and the email receipt they’ll receive from us. This is a great place to show donors your appreciation and share important information about your cause or campaign, such as Election Day reminders, links to your website and social media, and suggestions for other ways to get involved, like a volunteer sign-up.

Click “Publish my fundraising page” to finish.

Once you click  “Publish my fundraising page,” you’ll be brought back to your Dashboard, where you’ll see a banner confirming that your fundraising page was published. Once you begin fundraising, the rest of your Dashboard will begin to populate with performance data.

Get to know your Dashboard

Your Overview tab is the homepage of your Raise Dashboard. It’s where you can edit or share your contribution form and track essential data and metrics about your fundraising performance. Learn more about your Overview tab.

At the top of the Dashboard are different tabs where you can access different information about your account.

• Fundraising page: Edit your fundraising page.
• Contributions: View a list of your most recent contributions, search for specific contributions, and take actions like issuing a refund.
• Reporting: Download spreadsheets of the donor data you need for reporting.
• Payouts: View breakdowns of your pending and past payouts from ActBlue.

Adjust your Campaign Settings

The "Campaign Settings" tab of your Raise Dashboard allows you to update and confirm vital information about your campaign after set-up. This includes office sought details, campaign mailing address, contact information (for both ActBlue's support staff and donors), and other relevant information that will appear beside your campaign's listing in the ActBlue Directory. 

To access the "Campaign Settings" tab, click to expand the "Settings" tab located at the top right of your Dashboard: 

The Campaign Settings tab will display three groups of adjustable settings: Mailing Address, Contact Information, and Directory Info. You can click to expand each one to view and edit its associated information. 

Under the "Contact Information" tab, we strongly suggest adding a "Donor Contact" email address. This will allow our support team to more easily put donors in contact with your campaign in the event we're unable to answer their inquiry:

We also strongly suggest updating the "Directory Info" tab to include an image and any website or social media links you'd like to display to potential donors. The image and information included here will display beside your entry in ActBlue's Directory. 

Before you begin fundraising

• Make sure your mailing address is correct: Any payout checks we send you will be automatically mailed to the address listed in your account, so it’s crucial that this information is up to date. You can update your mailing address using the instructions found here. (Please note this is only applicable for campaigns that do not require a merchant account.)
• Set up direct deposit: Learn how to set up direct deposit for your account to make receiving your funds easier and more efficient. (This is only applicable for campaigns that do not require a merchant account.) 
• Assign user access: After our team at ActBlue gives you access to your account, you will need to grant access and assign roles to the rest of your team. Learn about roles and how to add and remove users from your account.
• Know the rules of refunds: We subtract donor refunds from your pending funds, which we send to you each week. If the refund exceeds your pending amount, we will wait for you to raise enough money to bring your account to at least net zero before sending your disbursement. If you have questions or have a deactivated account with a negative balance, get in touch with us to get the help you need. Read more about conduit account finances here.
• Add contact information: Accurate and up-to-date contact information will make communicating with ActBlue and resolving donor issues smoother. Learn how to update your account’s contact information.