Launching One Year Out From The 2020 Presidential Election, The Change4Change App Is Shifting The Balance Of Power In Political Fundraising

AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Change4Change, Inc., a mobile app company based in Austin, Texas, is announcing today that after 12 weeks in beta, it is officially launching its political contribution app throughout the U.S. Now available on iOS devices, the Change4Change app exists to democratize the political fundraising process by broadening the donor base, making fundraising easier and more accessible while combating the influence of big money in politics.

The service Change4Change provides is straight to the point. Users download the app and sign up for an account, then are prompted to choose the democratic politicians and political campaigns they support. Once specified, the app lets users automatically round up their debit and credit card transactions to the nearest dollar, contributing that spare 'change' directly to the candidates and campaigns they've selected. This automatic rounding up process can be paused at any time. In addition to – or instead of – the round up option, the app also lets people easily make one-time contributions to any democratic candidate they choose. Change4Change takes a ten percent platform and processing fee to support the service, with the rest being sent directly to the chosen candidates. Users can support a single campaign or choose to contribute to multiple campaigns with each transaction.

"After the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling allowing unlimited 'dark' money into the political process, I knew there had to be a better way for people to fight back," says Nik Kulkarni, the Co-founder and CEO of Change4Change. "I had an 'Aha!' moment one day while discussing the state of government with a friend and the idea for Change4Change was born. We want to democratize political fundraising, making it accessible to all, not just the super-rich."

The current world of political fundraising is overwhelmingly influenced by special interests, corporations, and Super PACs, all of whom leverage vast sums of money with the expectation of political influence in return. According to the nonprofit group The Center for Responsive Politics, super PACs alone raised almost $1.8 billion dollars during the 2015-2016 election cycle and while not donated directly to candidates, this money is used to help sway elections in favor of super PAC positions which often don't align with the overall interests of American citizens. This fundraising system has fostered a pay-to-play atmosphere in which average American citizens – the group government officials are elected to represent – are considerably disempowered in terms of their ability to effect political change through financial means.

"One of the major problems with the current political campaign financing system is that many Americans do not feel they are able to contribute in any meaningful or impactful way," says J.C. Otero, Co-founder and COO of Change4Change. "Taking into account that the Center for Responsive Politics is estimating that in the 2020 election, 1% of donors will account for 76.4% of money delivered, these feelings of disempowerment are not without merit. Change4Change exists to enable voters to easily and effectively contribute their pocket change regularly towards the candidates working for them."

The Change4Change app also benefits the political candidates themselves. On average, only around five percent of a candidate's supporters actually donate to their campaign. This leaves a large untapped pool of supporters who, while not able to donate significant amounts of money, would be able to afford a passive recurring drip of small donations. Encouragingly, there is evidence of an emerging trend toward candidates raising money from their supporters in smaller amounts. For example, both Bernie Sanders and Beto O'Rourke are increasingly leveraging small-scale donations to help support their campaigns. Change4Change allows this to happen at scale and seamlessly as compared to the traditional approach of calls, emails, and traditional mailers. Through a candidate's promotion of Change4Change among their base, the app can help "unlock" new donors who are attracted to its ease of use and minimal financial commitment; two issues that regularly prevent supporters from making financial contributions to campaigns.

Change4Change is addressing a monumental issue facing today's political campaign finance process. The influence that large corporate interests, dark money organizations, and elite "mega donors" wield over our political system has consistently increased and in recent elections has reached a point where it unreasonably outweighs citizens' influence on the U.S. political system. By providing an effortless way for Americans to use their spare change to benefit the politicians and political causes they support and by leveraging individual financial contributions to act as a counterbalance to the outsized influence "big money" currently has on our political system, Change4Change is helping to solve our government's undeniable campaign finance problems.

Change4Change – Political fundraising, democratized.

About Change4Change:
Change4Change is a mobile technology company based in Austin, Texas, that is revolutionizing political fundraising at the grassroots level. Built upon a dynamic technology stack, Change4Change is poised to change the way politicians & donors interact, while combating the influence of mega-donors. The mission of Change4Change is to democratize the political fundraising process by broadening the donor base, making political fundraising accessible to all. For far too long, politicians have been beholden to special interests, corporations, and SuperPACs. It's time to tip the balance of democracy back to YOU, the people. Now you can take your spare change and use it to affect REAL change. For more information visit Change4Change.co

Website: https://change4change.co/

Social:
https://www.facebook.com/Change4ChangeCo/
https://twitter.com/change4changeco

iOS Download: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/change4change-politics/id1473488254

For more information, please contact:
Priscilla Vento
Founder & CEO | 30 Miles North
[email protected]

SOURCE Change4Change

Related Links

http://www.change4change.co