ActBlue Terms of Service

Effective August 19, 2024

Previous version

1. Introduction

ActBlue provides technology and services for Democratic candidates, progressive organizations, nonprofits, and donors.  These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to, interactions with, and use of ActBlue's platform, including our website, services, features, and other technology we offer (collectively, our "Services"), except where we have expressly stated that separate terms apply.  By accessing or using our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

The Services are provided by, and you are contracting with, ActBlue LLC or an affiliate in the ActBlue organization, depending on the Services provided. As used in these Terms of Service, “we”, “us”, “our”, and “ActBlue” means ActBlue LLC and our affiliates.

2. Privacy

By using ActBlue, you also agree that we can collect and use your personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy. This includes your interactions and communications with ActBlue on other websites, services, and platforms.  We encourage you to read it to better understand how we collect and use personal information.

3. Our Services

1. Scope of Services

   ActBlue builds technology and infrastructure for Democratic campaigns, progressive-aligned causes, and people trying to make an impact in order to fuel long-term, people-powered change.  In furtherance of this mission, we engage in a variety of activities that are subject to these Terms, including developing, operating, providing, improving upon, and protecting the ActBlue platform.

   Our Services include providing fundraising tools for building a campaign or movement, and solutions for donors to discover and contribute to a candidate or cause.  Some of our Services and features may require creating an account, such as ActBlue Express or fundraising on the ActBlue platform, while other Services can be used without an account.

   For donations to 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations, the respective merchants of record for those transactions are ActBlue Charities Inc. and ActBlue Civics Inc. We receive and process those donations and subsequently give them to the organization or cause indicated on the contribution form.

   We are not a professional fundraiser, fundraising consultant, or fundraising counsel to the individuals and organizations that use ActBlue. More information about our Services is available on our website, including in our Support page.

2. Service Modification

   We are constantly developing new technologies and features to improve our Services.  As part of this continual evolution, we may add, remove, change, or discontinue certain features or functionalities.  We cannot guarantee the ongoing availability of any of our Services, except where we have separately made such commitments to you.

4. Your Commitments

1. Your Eligibility

   You agree to the following commitments concerning your eligibility to access and use our Services:

   • Age Requirements. You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority in your state of residence, to use our Services.  If we become aware that you are under this minimum age, we will suspend your access to our Services and/or delete your account. 
   • Correct Information. To promote the safety and accountability of our platform and community, you shall truthfully represent yourself when using our services.  You must provide us with accurate, complete, and updated information for your account or when making a contribution.
   • Contract Authority. If you are using our Services on behalf of an organization or entity, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization or entity to these Terms.  All references to “you” and “your” in these Terms will apply to both you and that organization or entity.
   • Restricted Users.  You cannot use our Services if we have previously disabled your account or restricted your use due to violation of these Terms or other terms and policies, unless we specifically permit you to do so.]{.c2}
   • Other Limitations. You cannot use our Services if you are a person who is barred from doing so under the laws of the United States or any other applicable jurisdiction. For example, we cannot take part in transactions that involve any individual or entity that (1) is the target of U.S. sanctions or anti-terrorism measures, including parties that have been designated for economic sanctions or trade restrictions on any restricted party list maintained by U.S. authorities that administer applicable trade controls, including but not limited to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) of the United States Department of the Treasury; (2) is owned 50% or more, individually or in the aggregate, directly or indirectly, by any person or entity designated on any relevant restricted party list or that is otherwise acting on or behalf of or for the benefit of a designated party; or (3) is located or ordinarily resident in, or otherwise conducting activities in, a country or territory that is subject to comprehensive sanctions.

2. Your Use and Conduct

   We expect you to help keep ActBlue’s platform and community secure, safe, and respectful.  Your activity on our platform must comply with these Terms—including policies referenced in these Terms, such as our Account Use Policy—and any additional supplemental terms and policies that apply to certain ActBlue services or features that you use.  If you agree and comply with these Terms, ActBlue grants you a non-assignable, non-exclusive, revocable, and non-sublicensable license to use the Services in accordance with these Terms.  We reserve the right to suspend access to our Services, delete accounts, or take other reasonably necessary steps to address a violation of these Terms.

   • Respecting Laws.  Your use of our Services must comply with all applicable local, state, national, and international laws, rules, and regulations.  For example, while some of our Services are designed to support your legal compliance, you are ultimately responsible for ensuring that your political fundraising activities and contributions comply with applicable campaign finance laws, including source prohibitions and contribution limits.  Additionally, you may not use ActBlue’s Services to engage in any activities that would violate applicable international trade controls or anti-terrorism laws, including, but not limited to, economic sanctions laws and regulations administered by OFAC.
   • Respecting Others.  You may not use our Services to do anything that infringes or violates someone else’s rights, including their privacy and intellectual property rights.  You cannot use our Services to abuse or harm others, including threatening or encouraging such abuse or harm.  For example, you cannot use ActBlue services to mislead, defraud, illegally impersonate, defame, bully, harass, or stalk others.
   • Respecting ActBlue. You cannot abuse, harm, interfere with, or disrupt our Services, including ActBlue’s technology and infrastructure. For example, you cannot access or use our Services in unpermitted ways, introduce malware or spam, or attempt to circumvent our security, integrity, and other protective measures.

3. Your Content

   Some of our Services, such as contribution forms, allow you to upload, share, provide, or otherwise make available certain content that you own or have rights to use, including text, photos, videos, music or other audio, or branding including trademarks and logos (collectively, “Content”).  By providing any Content to the Services, you agree that (i) you have sufficient rights in such Content to provide ActBlue the license as set forth herein and (ii) the Content and/or the provision of such Content does not violate any third party’s privacy or intellectual property rights.

   • Accountability.  Content is the responsibility of the person or entity that provides or makes it available on or through the Services, and ActBlue is under no obligation to host or provide Content.  If you see any Content that you believe does not comply with these Terms or applicable laws, you can report it to us.
   • License. By providing us Content, you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, and worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of such Content. This license will end when Content is deleted from our systems.  However, our license will continue on a case-specific basis if deletion of the Content would impair our ability to (i) detect, investigate, or respond to illegal activity or violations of our terms and policies; (ii) protect the safety, integrity, and security of our platform, our employees, and our users; or (iii) respond to legal process or comply with legal obligations such as record keeping or preservation of evidence.

4. Feedback

   If you voluntarily send us feedback, suggestions or recommendations about the Services (“Feedback”), we may freely use Feedback without duty or obligation to you.  We are not obligated to use Feedback, but if we do, then it becomes part of the Services and our property.  All Feedback will be treated as non-confidential and non-proprietary and we will not be liable for any use or disclosure of any Feedback, nor will the submitter be entitled to any compensation for our use of their Feedback.  By sending us any Feedback, you represent and warrant (a) that you have the right to disclose the Feedback, (b) that the Feedback does not violate the rights of any other person or entity, and (c) that your Feedback does not contain the confidential or proprietary information of any third party or parties.  This Feedback section shall survive any termination of your account, these Terms, or your use of ActBlue’s Services.

5. Your Transactions

   • Payments.  When you make a contribution, we may ask you to provide certain information to complete your contribution, including your contact and payment information, and you expressly authorize us to charge you for such contribution and any recurring contributions you authorized.  You can also update  your saved payment information using our Services.  We and our service providers typically address payment issues such as fraud, chargebacks, and resolution of payment disputes, but in cases involving third party services or platforms, we may be unable to address your issue or may direct you to those parties.
   • Recurring Contributions. Some of our features provide the ability for you to make recurring contributions, such as on a monthly basis. If you make a recurring contribution, you authorize ActBlue to automatically initiate recurring payments as set forth in these Terms.  Your recurring contribution will automatically continue at the selected interval, and we will charge at the designated cadence (e.g., monthly) unless prior to the next contribution: (a) you cancel, pause, or otherwise modify your recurring contribution;  (b) the recipient stops fundraising on our platform; or (c) these Terms are otherwise properly terminated as expressly permitted herein.  You may cancel recurring contributions at any time, but please note that such cancellation will be effective only for future charges associated with your recurring contributions.  If you have questions about recurring contributions or believe you made a recurring contribution in error, please contact our Support team.
   • Refunds. ActBlue will make best efforts to accommodate requests for refunds and will honor each request on a case-by-case basis and at our sole discretion or where required by law.  All refund requests are subject to the availability of the contributions funds, and ActBlue will only refund a contribution if we still have the funds or can recover the funds from the recipient.  Any refund issued by ActBlue will be credited back to the original payment method used to make the contribution.  In cases where ActBlue is unable to accommodate a refund request, we may refer you to the recipient of your contribution so that you may request a refund directly from them.  You can learn more here.

6. Other Expectations

   Your reasonable efforts and sound judgment are necessary to help protect yourself, others, and the integrity of our platform.

   • Account Security.  If you have an account with us, you are responsible for keeping it secure, and for anything that occurs if someone else is signed in to your account.  ActBlue is not liable for any loss or damage resulting from your failure to maintain the security of your account or your password, and we expect you to contact us immediately if you believe your account is compromised.
   • Misuse of Services.  You are not permitted to access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, alter, modify or otherwise use any part of our Services, including Content hosted or made available by ActBlue, except as permitted by these Terms or with our prior written permission and, if applicable, the respective rights holder.  You may not cause or encourage any inaccurate measurements of user engagement with our Services, or access our Services using automated means—such as bots or scrapers—except in the case of indexing for public search engines or with our written permission.
   • Prohibited Commercial Activity. You may not use our Services to (i) distribute unsolicited commercial content, which is any media or material that is distributed with the intention of promoting, advertising, or generating revenue for a particular product, service, or for-profit business; [or (ii) use our Services to sell or market consumer products, advertising, sponsorships, or promotions to or on behalf of yourself or others.
   • Reporting.  We appreciate your help in reporting suspicious activity on our platform and potential violations of these Terms.

5. Copyright Claims

ActBlue may, in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion, remove Content or suspend or terminate accounts of users who infringe the intellectual property of others.  If you believe that your copyright or the copyright of a person on whose behalf you are authorized to act has been infringed, please provide ActBlue a written notice containing the following information:

• An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest;
• A description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;
• A description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the Services;
• Your address, telephone number, and email address;
• A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
• A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner’s behalf.

You can submit a copyright request here  or send it to P.O. Box 441146, Somerville, MA 02144 .  To be valid, a notice must be in writing and must follow the instructions above. You also may use the contact information in this Section to notify us of alleged violations of other intellectual property rights.

6. Other Legal Terms

1. Intellectual Property Rights

   As between the parties, ActBlue owns all right, title and interest in and to the Services including all associated intellectual property rights, and you own all right, title and interest in and to the Content, including all associated intellectual property rights.  All rights not expressly granted under these Terms are reserved by the granting party.

2. Indemnity

   You agree, to the extent permitted by law, to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless ActBlue and its affiliates, directors, officers, employees, and agents from and against any and all complaints, charges, claims, damages, losses, costs, liabilities, and expenses (including attorney’s fees) due to, arising out of, or relating in any way to: (i) your access to or use of our Services, or any action by a third party in connection with our Services, (ii) your Content, including infringement claims related to it; (iii) your breach of these Terms or any applicable law or regulation, or (iv) your negligence or willful misconduct.

3. Disclaimer

   Our Services are provided “as is” and “as available” and to the extent permitted by law without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. In addition, while we attempt to provide a good user experience, we do not represent or warrant that: (i) the Services will always be secure, error-free, or timely, (ii) the Services will always function without delays, disruptions, or imperfections, or (iii) that any Content or information made available on or through the Services will be timely or accurate.  ActBlue does not take responsibility or assume liability for any Content that you, another user, or a third party shares, uploads, provides, or otherwise makes available on or through our Services.  You understand and agree that you may be exposed to Content that might be offensive, illegal, misleading, or otherwise inappropriate, none of which ActBlue will be responsible for.

4. Limits on Liability

   To the fullest extent permitted by law, ActBlue and its affiliates, directors, officers, employees, and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or multiple damages, or any loss of profits or revenues, whether incurred directly or indirectly, or any loss of data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from: (i) your access to or use of or inability to access or use our services, or (ii) the conduct or content of other users or third parties on or through our services. In no event will our aggregate liability for all claims relating to our services exceed the greater of $100.00 USD or the amount you paid us, if applicable, in the 12 months preceding the date of the activity giving rise to the claim.

5. Governing Law and Venue

   These Terms will be governed by the laws of Massachusetts without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any claims will be litigated exclusively in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts or the state courts of Middlesex County, Massachusetts.  You and ActBlue consent to submit to personal and exclusive jurisdiction in those courts.

7. General Provisions

1. Changes to these Terms

   ActBlue may update these Terms from time to time as we improve our platform and develop new services and features.  Unless otherwise required by law, we will let you know of any important changes by revising the date at the top of these Terms.  In some cases, we may add an additional early notice on our website or send you an email if you provided us with that information.  Your continued use of the Services after changes indicates your acceptance of the new Terms.

2. Entire Agreement

   These Terms, including any additional terms and policies referenced within, comprise the entire agreement between you and ActBlue and supersede any prior agreements.  If we do not enforce a provision in these Terms, it will not be considered a waiver of our rights to enforce these Terms.  We reserve the right to transfer our rights under these Terms and provide the Services using another entity.  You may not transfer any of your rights or obligations under these Terms without our consent.  We reserve all rights not expressly granted to you.

3. Termination

   ActBlue reserves the right at any time to modify, suspend, discontinue, or terminate, temporarily or permanently, some or all of the Services (or any part thereof), with or without notice and without liability to you or any third party.

   ActBlue may terminate or suspend your right to access some or all of the Services, without prior notice or liability, if you breach any of the terms or conditions of these Terms or the Privacy Policy, including using the Services in violation of any applicable law such as trade controls or anti-terrorism laws.  Should ActBlue suspect that an individual or entity is using its platform in violation of said laws, we reserve the right to investigate the suspected unlawful conduct.  ActBlue will immediately suspend or terminate an individual or entity determined to have violated applicable law.

   In the event of termination of these Terms, all sections which by their nature should survive termination shall survive.

4. Contact Us

   If you have questions about these Terms or our Services, you can contact us.