Question from Tuesday:
Are there any  (affordable) software programs that automate sending hundreds of e-mails to prospective donors at one time? Is there anything better than the standard Microsoft Outlook lists? Also, how do you send HTML e-mails that look more professional than plain text e-mails?              -Adam from PA

Karl-Thomas Musselman answers:

If you have a relatively small list of contacts (under 1000 for instance), ActBlue allows individual fundraisers or campaigns to contact prospective donors. We've recently launched our "Spread the Word" feature visible on any candidate or individual fundraising page on ActBlue.com. You'll be able to load in email addresses 100 at a time, personalize your fundraising message, and have your ask sent out through our system to each individual directly from you. You're also able to track who's donating and be able to remind those that haven't yet while thanking those that have.

Question from Tuesday:

How do you set up an account with a service who will process the online credit card donations?  Any recommendations of a service provider?  What is the usual charge for processing each transaction?
-Steve

Karl-Thomas Musselman answers:

Bank accounts and specifically merchant accounts, which are typically required to receive campaign contributions, are one of the more complicated things to set up on a campaign. While any campaign is still going to need to set up a bank account, ActBlue.com can help remove the merchant account hassle for all federal campaigns as well as state campaigns in 23 states. ActBlue has already taken care of talking to Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express to save campaigns valuable time.  Since we eliminate this step for campaigns, users only need to know how to deposit weekly checks into their campaign bank accounts.

 The usual charge for processing political contributions is either a minimum charge (such as $0.50 per contribution) or a percentage of the total contribution (typically 5% or less). Some Republican processors charge up to 10% of an online contribution. ActBlue, as a partisan entity that was built specifically to help Democrats, has a lower fixed 3.95% rate with no fees. Be aware that some processors will charge setup fees, monthly fees, or minimum processing fees for political organizations so be savvy about choosing what best fits your needs.

Question from Tuesday:

My congressional candidate has a teenage daughter and I wonder if there is any legal problem with under 17-year-olds creating a fundraising page.  Could Dave's 14-year-old and her friends support his campaign in this way - not by donating money but by requesting others to?
-Jean in VA

Karl-Thomas Musselman answers:

Anyone can create make an fundraising ask regardless of age, voter registration, or otherwise. While you have to be over 18 years of age to donate to federal candidates (and most state candidates), that requirement applies only to actual donors.

Question from Tuesday:

How are fundraising pages set up?                                                                                                              -David 

 Karl-Thomas Musselman answers:

I would refer to the ActBlue Step-by-Step guide for creating fundraising pages: http://www.actblue.com/content/howto-use

Question from Tuesday:

Can you give us an example of a web site with current affinity pages like Patrick's ?                   -Lynne from NY 

Karl-Thomas Musselman answers:

A couple of examples of candidate who have created larger fundraising communities around their campaigns are those in the Massachusetts 5th Congressional District, a special election being held this summer.

Jamie Eldridge:  http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/17780

Niki Tsongas:    http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/17775