NGP VAN’s Donation Processing Platform is Getting an Upgrade
Democratic data powerhouse NGP VAN is beefing up its donation processing platform as the party confronts an uncertain future for ActBlue, the fundraising behemoth that has long served as the main financial engine for Democratic campaigns and causes.
The voter data and software giant announced last week that ActionKit, NGP VAN’s popular ongoing organizing and fundraising tool, is rolling out new digital fundraising features that support NGP VAN Payments, the donation processing service launched by NGP VAN last year.
The goal of the integration, according to ActionKit’s Director of Product Karin Roland, is to streamline the donation processing space for ActionKit clients. NGP VAN Payments accounts can be managed entirely within ActionKit. The system is also powered by the payment processing platform Stripe, which Roland said will allow ActionKit’s clients to increase conversation rates by enabling donors to use details saved across Stripe’s payment network.
In other words, Roland said, “if you checkout using stripe on another website, then when you come to an ActionKit contribution form that’s using NGP VAN Payments, you’ll put in your phone number and email, and it’ll recognize that information. Your name, address and credit card information is all remembered for you.”
“It brings NGP Payments into ActionKit, which will unlock a lot of fundraising potential and just make things a lot easier for our clients,” Roland told C&E.
Roland said that the rollout is just “phase one” of a broader effort to integrate NGP VAN Payments into ActionKit. In the coming weeks and months, the company plans to introduce a streamlined, three-step donation form that it hopes will increase donor conversion rates. There are also plans to introduce support for donors’ mobile wallets and one-lick donations via Stripe Link.
‘A Clear Political Attack’
NGP VAN Payments launched last summer as a direct competitor to ActBlue, the fundraising platform that has been a mainstay for Democratic and progressive campaigns for years.
And while the new features have been in the works for some time, the rollout comes as ActBlue confronts a new federal probe into its security and anti-fraud practices that Democrats widely view as an attempt by President Donald Trump to target his political rivals’ financial infrastructure.
Trump directed the Justice Department last week to investigate ActBlue, alleging in a presidential memorandum that “online fundraising platforms have been willing participants in schemes to launder excessive and prohibited contributions to political candidates and committees.”
Trump’s memo does not say whether he wants the Justice Department to pursue a potential criminal case against ActBlue. It instructs Attorney General Pam Bondi to report back on the results of the investigation within 180 days.
ActBlue has denied any wrongdoing and cast Trump’s directive as a “brazen attack on democracy in America.” The group said that it would “immediately pursue all legal avenues to protect and defend itself against the Administration’s baseless claims.”
Democrats have almost universally rushed to ActBlue’s defense, raising concerns that Trump is attempting to leverage the power of the presidency to undermine – and possibly even shutdown – a fundamental Democratic campaign tool.
Chelsea Peterson Thompson, NGP VAN’s general manager, called the Trump administration’s investigation of ActBlue a “clear political attack.”
“They’re going after what is the infrastructure of the Democratic and progressive ecosystems to hurt our ability to be successful in 2026 and 2028,” Peterson Thompson told C&E.
Some Democrats have raised concerns that the Trump administration could go after other vendors. Peterson Thompson said that the investigation into ActBlue is proof that “anything can happen,” adding that NGP VAN is approaching the situation “very soberly and clear headed.”
“It’s important that we use every channel that we have available, whether it exists today or in six months from now,” she said.
