Max Greenwood
Crowdpac, the online crowdfunding platform for political campaigns, is getting a makeover.
The site is set to announce this week that it’s rebranding as CrowdBlue, a Democratic-aligned organizing platform that the company is billing as an online space for would-be candidates and consultants to test the waters for their campaigns among grassroots supporters. The relaunch was shared first with C&E.
The idea, according to the company’s top officials, is to help upstart candidates and those exploring a run for public office connect with supporters, share news about their efforts and amass financial support to help lay the foundation for a campaign operation. CrowdBlue’s CEO Bart Myers said that it’s particularly helpful for campaign professionals working with emerging candidates who don’t necessarily have deep-experience in campaign politics.
“If you are a professional in the space, this is a fantastic tool to be able to direct and even help streamline your efforts with those kinds of early-stage candidates,” Myers told C&E. “So if you’re a consultant and you work in the campaign space, you just want to have something that can help them test the waters. You can help them build their initial audience. You can help them build their message and media.”
Supporters can pledge to give a prospective candidate a certain amount of money before they launch a campaign and CrowdBlue will save the person’s credit card information. The donor will only be charged once the candidate they’re supporting actually announces their campaign.
Testing the Waters
Jaime Peters, CrowdBlue’s head of campaigns, said that the platform is intended to ease the daunting – and often arcane – process of launching a campaign. The revamped site “soft launched” early last month and is already being used by candidates in states like California, Iowa and Virginia.
“There are people that are hungry to run for office,” Peters told C&E last week. “They’re looking for answers on how to do that.”
While CrowdBlue – as the name suggests – is geared toward Democratic and progressive campaigns and causes, Peters noted that it’s still an “open platform,” and won’t bar Republicans from using its tools. Peters noted that there’s at least one GOP candidate on the site.
The rebrand marks a major new chapter for Crowdpac, which launched more than a decade ago with the promise of democratizing political engagement by allowing outsider candidates to raise money online.
The company has faced its share of challenges in that time; it ousted its former CEO Steve Hilton in 2018 because of his Republican ties and support for President Donald Trump, and announced that it would bar conservative groups and candidates from fundraising on its platform.
In 2019, after failing to secure additional funding, Crowdpac shut down before relaunching later that year under new ownership. Earlier this year, Crowdpac brought on Myers, a longtime political tech executive, as its CEO and created a new advisory board. The company also announced a $4 million funding round intended to bolster its relaunch.
‘New Blood’ for the Left
Myers said that CrowdBlue is an “opportunity to inject some new blood into the left” at a time when Democrats and progressives are charting out their next steps. The site is intended to be a “safe nest” for grassroots candidates and activists to test their message and platform among friends, family and the Democratic grassroots.
The launch of CrowdBlue also offers the left a chance to counteract the growing influence and presence of online conservative media, Myers said. The goal isn’t to supplant large platforms like Facebook or Instagram, he said, but to give left-leaning upstarts a safe online space to build their support.
“At our core, we want to be a platform for campaigns,” Myers said. “So we have to build really the best version of that, so that out of the box you have everything you need. You can build your list, you can get the word out, you can fundraise and your audience is safe. They don’t feel like they’re going to get attacked.”
