A new Trump-aligned online fundraising platform has emerged, and is poised to upend the Republican Party's massive cash ecosystem.
Why it matters: The new platform — called Impact — will clash with the party's dominant small-dollar fundraising partner, WinRed, for supremacy over the GOP gold mine.
- The stakes are huge: During the 2024 campaign, WinRed — which like Impact is a for-profit business — processed $1.8 billion in donations from 4.5 million small-dollar donors.
Zoom out: Impact launched Thursday, promising to "innovate and strengthen the Republican campaign infrastructure."
- It's led in part by Alex Bruesewitz, a Trump 2024 aide and conservative influencer.
- Impact is owned by PublicSquare, a MAGA-friendly online marketplace that describes itself as an "anti-woke" alternative to Amazon.
How it works: The clash over MAGA cash will unfold as both platforms process online donations made to campaigns, PACs, political committees and others.
- For each donation, the processing platform keeps a percentage.
Zoom in: People familiar with Impact's plans say its goal is to break the stranglehold of WinRed, which processed contributions for more than 5,000 campaigns and committees in 2024.
- "The introduction of a thoughtful, conservative-minded alternative will only help strengthen and uplift the broader Republican ecosystem," a GOP operative close to Impact said.
- Chief among Impact's promises: It will take less of a cut of donor contributions than WinRed does, and provide greater transparency about how donations are being handled.
- Representatives for Impact and WinRed declined to comment.
The backstory: WinRed launched in 2019 with an eye toward competing against the liberal fundraising juggernaut ActBlue. Republicans had been getting swamped by Democrats in the small-dollar game, and were leaning heavily on mega-donors such as the late casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.
- Since then, WinRed has become the dominant GOP fundraising platform.
But it's also faced criticism — including from some Republican candidates who've complained about WinRed's fees and accused the GOP of forcing them to use that platform.
- After the 2020 election, several state attorneys general launched investigations into whether the company deceived donors by pre-checking boxes that automatically enrolled them in a recurring contribution plan.
Other Republicans defend WinRed.
- They say that unlike Impact, its technology has a proven track record.
- Some have raised concerns about PublicSquare's financial picture, noting that its stock price has dropped 68% in the past year.
- WinRed supporters say that because it's so integrated into the GOP's ecosystem and so many candidates are on its platform, it's particularly easy to donate to groups through WinRed with a single click.
- That's harder to do with a just-launched platform.
What they're saying: "The hard part of this problem isn't the technology or the pricing. It's ... getting our whole team on the same system for single-click donations," said Eric Wilson, a Republican digital strategist.
- "That's WinRed's advantage."
The intrigue: The big question now is whether President Trump's PAC, Never Surrender, will move from WinRed to Impact — or be on both platforms.
- There are signs the president's team is open to the new option.
- Launchpad, the Trump operation's digital vendor, has praised the new platform as "the innovation 'America First' donors and candidates have been waiting for."
Impact representatives have huddled with officials from the Republican National Committee, among other party groups.
What's next: Trump dictates the GOP's direction, so he could go a long way toward deciding whether WinRed or Impact wins out.
- If Trump joins Impact, party committees and candidates are likely to follow.
For now, the Trump operation is staying put.
- The president's fundraising is still being done on WinRed and two of his top political lieutenants, Chris LaCivita and Tony Fabrizio, remain on WinRed's board.
