An assumption explorer
What a public total assumes
Change the participation, gift, duration, retention, and assumed percentage cost. The figures below are synthetic arithmetic: they describe a model, not observed donors, available funds, or predicted influence.
Time matters: the article compares a twelve-month model with the 21 days between October 13 and November 3, 2026. A year of contributions cannot be collected retroactively for those remaining days. Dollars cannot predict votes.
Set the assumptions
No names, contact details, recipients, voting choices, or payment information are collected. This page runs locally in your browser and stores nothing.
What the assumptions produce
- Gross if everyone gives every modeled installment
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- Gross under the retention assumption
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- After assumed percentage cost
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- Modeled contributions
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Synthetic scenario. Contributions are installments, not unique people or observed donations.
What a total leaves out
A large number can hide how many people contributed, whether those contributions recur, what remains after costs, and who has authority over the resources. A count of contributions is not a count of unique people. A financial total does not establish organizing, reach, governance, or electoral effect.
The percentage cost is an adjustable modeling assumption, not a claim about any provider’s current pricing. This simplified model leaves out fixed charges, failed transactions, refunds, withdrawals, overlapping contributors, timing, and allocation. It is not a forecast or fundraising plan.
Capabilities and accountability
This map describes capabilities and proposed connective work, not a commissioned fundraising platform or an evaluation of provider performance.
| Need | Existing basis or proposed capability | Accountability and access |
|---|---|---|
| Receive contributions | Existing legitimate recipient donation services; ActBlue illustrates aggregate scale, not a universal solution. | Make recipient, source, and rules visible; qualified review of the actual structure. This model collects nothing. |
| Organize volunteer work | Mobilize documents events, signups, and shifts. | Explain tasks and commitments accessibly; no payment should be needed to volunteer. |
| Explain and distribute ideas | Sourced publishing, version history, and optional sharing are proposed capabilities. | Preserve sources and corrections; a share action cannot establish electoral effect. |
| Allocate resources | A decision register and financial/activity record are proposed. | Name decision authority, challenge paths, and priority changes; protect private information. |
| Preserve continuity | Handoff and history records inside existing organizational workflows are proposed. | Keep owners, dates, next actions, and useful low-tech alternatives clear. |
| Protect consent | Existing recipient consent controls plus clear commitment and cancellation explanations. | Minimize data; explain recurring commitments; provide straightforward cancellation. |
| Examine claims | Source-linked accounts, qualified independent financial examination, and bounded activity measurement. | Separate pledge, receipt, work, and outcome; an audit is not electoral certification. |
| Explore arithmetic | This private synthetic calculator. | Hand-checkable assumptions; no personal information, payment, live total, or targeting. |
Federal guidance: individual candidate contributions and independent expenditures follow different rules. Current limits and requirements depend on the actual activity. This explainer is not legal guidance or a fundraising recommendation.