The Republican online fundraising conduit WinRed processed $559 million in donations in 2021 for more than 3,200 Republican campaigns and aligned groups.
Of the $559 million in digital contributions WinRed processed in 2021, more than 28% of it, or $158 million, flowed through the platform in the fourth quarter. Of the 3,200 GOP campaigns and affiliated groups that used WinRed, more than 42%, equal to more than 1,350 of them, are active at the state and local level, according to a press release issued Tuesday.
“Following a record year of fundraising, WinRed is hitting the ground running in 2022,” WinRed President Gerrit Lansing said in a statement. “Between WinRed’s lower fee structure and continued growth and innovation, we’re putting Republicans at a competitive advantage.”
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WinRed launched in the 2020 election cycle to strengthen Republican fundraising and help the GOP compete with the Democrats, long the dominant party in the digital giving space because of ActBlue. Since 2004, ActBlue has processed more than $9.5 billion in online contributions for Democratic campaigns and aligned organizations.
Fourth-quarter and year-end fundraising figures for ActBlue were not yet available. But in the third quarter of 2021, the platform processed $305 million in contributions from 2 million donors for 12,676 recipients, according to an ActBlue blog post. During the same three-month period of July, August, and September, WinRed processed just $146 million in donations.
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Still, WinRed is pleased with its progress halfway through only its second election cycle in existence. Per the platform’s press release:
- “$80.7 million was processed at the state and local level in 2021, a 638% increase from 2020.”
- “$32 million was contributed to state and local campaigns” in the fourth quarter, “a 264% increase” over the first quarter.
- “$209.3 million was raised from first-time donors to campaigns in 2021.”
- “$63.4 million came from first-time donors to campaigns” in the fourth quarter, “an 87% increase” over the first quarter.
