We Are The 4%

There’s the 1%, then there’s the 4%.

That’s right, going forward, any candidate who signs up with Voters Act will only be charged a 4% transaction fee for the duration of their campaign. There are no other charges, fees, or expenses associated with our use.

With some online donation platforms as high as 9%, we’re proud to offer you one of the lowest rates in the industry. Here’s what all that includes.

1. Peer-to-peer advocacy and fundraising platform.
2. Secure online donation processing.
3. All necessary ethics information.
4. Follow up and training with the campaign’s key supporters.
5. Weekly checks to the candidate’s campaign (more frequently closer to reporting deadlines and media buys).
6. More involved supporters.

Hope you swing by Voters Act today and give us a try.

Our Biggest Assumption

Voters Act is predicated on a significant assumption.

We believe voters are willing to participate in Democracy if given the opportunity, and the reason many haven’t is because campaigns never thought to ask.

Now, that asks for clarification on two points.

What does participation look like?

Participate means get involved, and it can involve researching two candidates, putting a bumper sticker on your car, or fundraising on a campaign’s behalf. It’s not that we don’t care, it’s that politics has been a hassle. But if we knew more about a race, if we trusted a candidate, then we’d tell our friends, vote, and even contribute $25 to a campaign.

Why haven’t voters been asked to get involved?

Many campaign managers would argue they ask for help all the time, but it’s not true. Grassroots engagement has been limited to neighborhood canvasing and attending local rallies. That’s been the norm because it hasn’t made sense to ask anything more, and the people who helped rarely came back to help again. It became easier to buy a television ad to reach a neighborhood than to organize a half dozen volunteers to knock on doors.

But that’s not the case any longer. Campaigns don’t have to be dull, and they don’t have to be expensive.

The recent incorporation of social media into our personal interactions allows friends to network around a candidate. This means one member of a community can instantly influence who everyone else supports. It also means the ROI of engaging grassroots supporters online has never been higher.

That’s what we’re trying to do here at Voters Act.

We want to give voters new tools to support the candidates they trust. We want to give candidates a way to get their supporters more involved.

-Hudson Baird

A Declaration

We believe in opening up the political process to everybody.

We believe in providing a platform for informing, investing and influencing the political process.

We’re Voters Act, and now it’s simple for your voice to be heard.

Political fundraising is changing and technology hasn’t kept up. Telethons, bundlers, and $1,000-per-plate dinners are on their way out; crowdsourcing, social networks, and the $25 donation are in. It’s no longer enough to have the richest guys in town support you.

Look at Obama. In 2008, he received $500 million online. How? From 6.5 million folks like you and me – most donating less than $100. This wasn’t a fluke; it’s a telling sign of things to come. In this election cycle, Obama has already received 680,000 donations that total $47 million. The average gift size was $69.

This change isn’t just for Democrats, everyone’s getting involved. In Massachusetts, Republican Scott Brown raised $12 million online from 157,000 donors, all in the last ten days of the race. The Tea Party movement has harnessed that same momentum. Now you can too.

Voters Act is a tool to promote good candidates and maximize their support. Our competitors only offer donation processing, we provide much more. We give voters a place to see all the information and make their own decision. Once they do, they can tell their own networks. After all, who do you trust more, a slick ad campaign or a recommendation from your friend?

If a local mom wanted to run for the school board, she now has a place to start. She can create a profile, email her friends, and let them get involved on her behalf. Some may donate, some may just share the link with their social networks, and others may fundraise on her behalf. That’s what politics is supposed to be: good people spreading the word to their friends.

Voters Act is a new way to think about fundraising, and this is only the beginning. Voters used to have to go to politicians, either their events or to their website to contribute. Now, candidates and their activists are coming to us.

We saw the power of passionate individuals in 2008 with President Obama. They changed the face of American politics. We’re here to make those same tools accessible to everyone. So give us a try.

Be proactive. Support your favorite candidates. Tell your friends. Impact the political process.

We’ll help you get involved.

-Hudson Baird