Running Slatecard is not easy, inexpensive, or fun. It's without a doubt one of the most time-consuming projects we have ever taken on.

It requires constant attention from a team of volunteers spread throughout the nation including:

• Co-founder and chief developer Sendhil Panchadsaram,
  
• Day-to-day management officer Joe Mansour,
• Slatecard issue badge designer Katie Harbath,
• A dozen Slatecard Captains who help us keep the directory up-to-date and keep us motivated,
• Interns who help Joe with management activities,
• Consistent feedback from developers, candidates, bloggers, and users on how to make the utility better, and
• Me.
  

If even one of these folks were to walk away from the effort, it would doubtless be a chore replacing them.

So with that being said, you may be wondering Why we do it?

That's an easy question for me to answer.

1. First and foremost, we do it because we believe that candidates and a community of grassroots activists have a right to know honestly and transparently that there is a credit card processing fee associated with making a donation online. We believe in it so much that we're the only folks helping shine sunlight on the issue noting that we have the lowest fee in the market at a flat 3.95%. 
2. We do it because we believe that bloggers and citizen activists -- from massive national efforts like Redstate.com, Iraq Veterans for Congress, DontGo Movement, or Right Wing News to state and local efforts like Conservatieve Thoughts out of Texas or First State Politics out of Deleware -- need the utility to help make a difference.
3. And most importantly, we do it for you -- the Slatecard community. We believe that supporters like Ron and Tami Meade who gave the "Drill Here. Drill Now." badge to Luke Puckett (IN - 02) and John D. Cattano who gave the Jobs & Economy badge to Virgil Goode (VA - 05) and the thousands of others who have used the utility want and need to send an important message of support to their favorite candidates.

Slatecard is a challenge and a heavy responsibility which we take on every single day and we promise to do so for as long as we need to do it. We remain dedicated to its success because we are sick and tired of Democrats beating Republicans on the Internet.

If you want to help us with this effort -- if you believe in the utility and us -- I hope you'll consider making a $10 donation today.

Your $10 donation will help fund this volunteer effort and pay the high costs associated with overhead administrative fees and servers.

We have a record of success with a roadmap to catch up to the Democrats online but we can't do it alone.

Please step-up to the plate and stand with us today with a $10 donation so that we can stand stronger together tomorrow.

Revolution.

The #dontgo Movement has sparked the Revolution we had been waiting and hoping for. Bloggers are blogging. Citizens are getting engaged. Leaders are emerging. You, me, we, us — have come together to make a difference.

And it’s working.

Signing petitions is one important way to help. Another way is to harness this energy and make a real difference by supporting the #dontgo Movement’s Slatecard of Congressional candidates with a financial contribution. These Republicans are both incumbents and challengers working hard to help lower energy prices in Washington and in their districts. They need the money and are making us proud.

By using Slatecard to make a $1, $2 or even $5 contribution to each candidate on this card we will be able to raise thousands of dollars collectively. (You can even make the donation recur automatically monthly through November.)

Imagine if 30,000 people donate $1 to every candidate on this Slatecard and then gave each candidate the “#dontgo Movement” issue badge. Our message — this Movement — will make a huge impact. The candidates will know EXACTLY why we support them.

But this movement goes beyond this website. You can also spread the word and increase your impact by adding this widget to your website (two different sizes) by grabbing the code. And email your friends — ask them to make a contribution.

The time is now. Please consider making a contribution today.

[Cross-posted from the dontgoMovement.com blog]

Today marks 100 days until the general election in November and the conclusion of Slatecard's first election cycle.

We're still well away from our goal of raising more than $1 million in our first election cycle (which would be more than the Democrats raised through ActBlue in their first election cycle). However, we're hopeful that we'll be able to get there as the campaign season starts to heat up.

• $442,293.58 total raised
  
• 6,672 total donors
  
• $66.29 average donation
  

We're pumped about where we stand but we have work to do if we're going to beat the Dems online.

DeMint Embraces Online Fundraising Tool

July 11, 2008, 1:46 p.m.
By Nathan L. Gonzales
Roll Call Contributing Writer   

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has agreed to use the Republican Web site Slatecard exclusively for his fundraising.

DeMint, one of the most tech-savvy Members of the Senate, is the first Senator to utilize the popular Web site. And it's just an extension of his efforts to reach constituents, voters and donors through the Web.

"Sen. DeMint is excited about new technologies that allow direct and dynamic communication with people in South Carolina and throughout the country," DeMint Communications Director Wesley Denton said.

DeMint, the chairman of the Republican Steering Committee, has a sleek Senate Web site, where he and his staff blog. The site also has six separate regional blogs maintained by staff and accessed by inputting a county or ZIP code. He used YouTube to respond to President Bush's most recent State of the Union address. And he has a Twitter account, but it's just a feed from the blog on his campaign Web site, not a minute-by-minute breakdown of his daily activities.

The former owner of a marketing company, DeMint has engaged the blogging community and embraced the Internet has a strategic and marketing tool.

He committed just a few days ago to Slatecard and has taken in $3,581 from 12 contributors. But his race for a second term isn't until 2010.

The move could give the Web site a boost. DeMint is a star within conservatives in the caucus. He raised $9 million in 2004 and will raise more next cycle. DeMint is also using the site to raise money for his political action committee, Senate Conservatives Fund.

Slatecard, considered the Republican equivalent of ActBlue on the Democratic side, has taken in about $411,000 since its inception nine months ago. The goal of the site's founders is to raise $1 million for the cycle.

ActBlue was founded in 2004 and has taken in $56.8 million since. According to the Wall Street Journal, the site took in nearly $792,000 in its first cycle.

The top Republican fundraiser on Slatecard thus far was Kevin O'Neill, who raised $64,744 from 126 contributors by using Slatecard exclusively for all his fundraising for the special election last fall in Virginia's 1st district. He lost the GOP nominating contest to Rep. Rob Wittman (R).

The site was co-founded by David All, a former communications director to Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), and San Diego software developer Sendhil Panchadsaram. All is also the founder of TechRepublican.com.

Thank you Senator DeMint. You da man. 

A few weeks ago, the Left's ActBlue team announced on their blog that they had raised more than $50M for liberal candidates and committees since their launch four years ago. To be honest, this is quite an impressive fete and is credit to the hard work and dedication of the ActBlue community which their staff has worked hard to support. I'm willing to tip my hat in their direction and acknowledge what they've done.

However, there was one little nugget in their press release that I've been thinking about quite a bit. You see, they decided to take a little swipe at Slatecard.com, the Republican counter to ActBlue.

From their release:

ActBlue's nearest Republican counterpart, Slatecard.com, has raised $350,000 since 2007. (For comparison, ActBlue raised more than $890,000 in its first six months of operation.)

But according to this Wall Street Journal (no subscription needed) grapic, ActBlue raised $791,900 in 2004/the 2004 election cycle:

 

Let's be the better people and collectively agree that ActBlue raised somewhere between $790-$890K in the 2004 election cycle and let them clarify the inaccuracies.

Making an apples-to-apples comparison -- first election cycle to first election cycle -- could Slatecard outraise ActBlue's 2004 election cycle? Could we raise $1 million dollars by the end of this year?

I believe so and I'm hoping the Slatecard community joins us in beating ActBlue's first cycle by raising more than $1M in our first election cycle (2008).

Reaching this goal will not be easy. We are more than $600K away from breaking $1M.

TOTALS:

• $397,869.48
• 6,280 donors
• $63.36 average donation
  

So look, I'm willing to do everything in my power to help make it happen. I believe we can raise more than $1 million and beat ActBlue.

In fact, if every donor makes a $100 donation right now , we'd break their goal today.

But we're going to have to do it alone. You, me, we, us -- the Slatecard community.

We can't count on "big donors" who give hundreds of thousands of dollars and want a handshake grip picture with a candidate next to a flag. We can't count on any help from anyone.

It's up to us to make it happen.

To reach our goal, simply contribute money to any Republican candidate in our candidate directory, give money to a Cause you believe in, or make a contribution to Slatecard to keep this site up and running. If you're looking to contribute money to a Republican candidate -- do it here. Trust us, your contribution, name, address, etc. will be sent to the campaign so you'll be noted in their books as a supporter.

The time to step up to the plate and beat the Democrats at their own game is now.

We need to win this one for the team.

If you're sick and tired of high gas prices and our nation's growing dependence on foreign oil, you should check out Newt Gingrich's "Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less." online petition at AmericanSolutions.com.
 
This petition is a great way to send a loud and clear signal to Congress that we should not only aggressively look for alternative solutions to oil and invest in green technology, but that we also need to explore domestically. The time to do so is now.
 
At Slatecard, we've always had an "Energy Independence" issue badge because we know you support this issue; but today, we added the "Drill Here. Drill Now." issue badge.
 
And boy is it popular.
 
A quick look at the Ticker on the homepage of Slatecard tells us that Anonymous gave the badge to New York candidate Lee Zeldin through the Iraq Veterans for Congress Slatecard.
 
And Ralph gave the badge to the Senate Conservative Fund (Political Action Committee headed up by U.S. Senator Jim DeMint) with the note, "So much at risk, so little time, so many wimps!"
 
An issue badge is a great way to tell the candidates you support that this is an issue you care about RIGHT NOW.
 
Today, Senator John McCain laid out a comprehensive plan to address America's energy crisis which includes among many other commonsense solutions, lifting the federal moratorium on exploring for oil reserves on the Outer Continental Shelf. It's about time!
 
If you support this initiative, I hope you will consider making a $25 contribution to John McCain right now and assign the Drill Here. Drill Now. issue badge with your donation.
 
Solving America's energy crisis won't happen due to an online petition or a donation to a candidate, but it's just a few of the ways to help bring more attention to this important issue. And that's a step in the right direction.

Last week we asked our community to help us select the issue badge that best represents Barack Obama.

You can see the final results here. 

The Slatecard community has voted and we have listened. Here is the latest issue badge to enter our system:

There's only one appropriate way to welcome Barack to Slatecard.

Will you help us check out this new badge by making a $25 donation to John McCain right now?

He could use the help.

An internal poll obtained by lanewslink.com shows Republican Woody Jenkins with a 45-40 lead over Democrat Don Cazayoux. The Jenkins campaign internal tracking poll conducted by the Washington Political Group also shows a rapid increase in Don Cazayoux's negatives since the NRCC and other conservative groups began exposing Cazayoux's record on taxes.

• As a former state Representative, Woody authored over $3 billion in tax cuts.
• Woody also established a right to property in Louisiana for the first time by amending the Constitution. The amendment limits the power of the state government to take property and requires fully compensating owners for their full loss.
• As evidence of his success in the legislature, Woody Jenkins was named "Legislator of the Year" by the National Taxpayers Union in 1977.
• He was also named “Outstanding State Legislator in America” by the Eagle Forum.
• Woody has been endorsed by the Club for Growth, House Conservatives Fund, National Rifle Association, and the Family Research Council among others.

On Friday, I sent out an email to Slatecarders asking them to join me in supporting John McCain.

I noted that I was going to give $25 to John McCain for the next nine months through Slatecard (and hopefully more). What that means is that I'm going to be putting in at least $225 to help ensure that a liberal Democrat doesn't take the White House.

A few people have already joined me in the effort and I'm proud to report that John McCain will be receiving over a $1,000 over the next nine months from me and the few that have already stepped up to the plate.

I'm pleased with the early response I've received through this effort and I plan on sending more emails to help garner support for McCain.

If you haven't already, I'd ask you to join us by making a $25 donation to John McCain today and make it a recurring monthly donation for the next nine months.

Remember, every effort, no matter the size, starts small. Together, we will continue to make a difference.