50 nonprofit and campaign professionals urge Democratic fundraising company to crack down on 'prolific political scammers' and 'deceptive political emails'

• 50 nonprofit and Democratic professionals sent a letter to EveryAction, a Democratic fundraising company.
• The group urged EveryAction to crack down on 'prolific political scammers' and 'deceptive political emails.'
• Signatories are also worried that EveryAction will cater to Republicans since being bought by a private equity firm.

Fifty professionals from a smattering of Democratic and liberal groups signed onto an open letter Wednesday urging EveryAction -- a fundraising company used by nonprofits, unions, and Democratic campaigns -- to crack down on spam and deceptive email solicitation.

"EveryAction can't call itself a company that operates for social good while knowingly letting scammers use its software to cheat and scam seniors," said Josh Nelson, who spearheaded the letter. Nelson is the co-founder of The Juggernaut Project which helps Democratic campaigns and progressive nonprofits grow their email lists with opt-in supporters who "actually want to hear from them."

"We believe that your company has a profound responsibility to play a leadership role in pushing the digital fundraising industry in more ethical and sustainable directions," reads the letter, which was signed by professionals from Democracy for America, Common Cause, Greenpeace USA, Win Without War, and a variety of other nonprofits and Democratic consulting firms.

"Yet sadly, as it stands today, EveryAction is not playing that role," the letter continues. "Your customers also include prolific political spammers and some of the most egregious senders of deceptive political emails in the industry."

Specifically, the letter asks EveryAction to crack down on unsolicited spam emails and misleading or deceptive donation requests, as well as prohibit repeat offenders from using the company's software.

The letter references a New York Times report from June that exposed how campaigns use pre-checked donation boxes, email designed to look like flight reservations or bill notices, and other deceptive tactics to scam older people into unintentionally giving them money. Insider has also reported on how "matching" gimmicks, another tactic used by campaigns, have come under greater federal scrutiny recently, prompting Democratic and Republican consultants alike to abandon the practice.

Nelson said he's raised the issue of scam emails with a senior employee at EveryAction numerous times over the past year and has had at least one in-depth conversation with the company about it. On Wednesday evening, EveryAction responded to the letter in a public press release.

"Clients who are unable or unwilling to abide by our terms of service are subject to removal from our platform," said the company. "Any client who engages in illegal actions using our tools, including but not limited to fraud, such as deceiving donors into making unintended donations, is subject to immediate termination.

The bottom line versus progressive causes

Nelson's open letter comes as EveryAction, which is mainly a fundraising and donor management platform, undergoes a $2 billion merger with case management software Social Solutions and corporate philanthropy management company CyberGrants.

Apax Partners, a private equity firm, will now own the company as it undergoes rebranding and eventually gets a new name. Nelson described the merger as "terrifying."

"It's people coming into the equation who may not see it as more than a business," he said. "There's a fear that down the road, they could make decisions that are much more influenced by the bottom line, and the return for the company, than they are by what's good for Democrats or what's good for progressive policies."

Another demand made by the letter is that EveryAction "publicly commit to ensuring that your products are not used by Republican campaigns or conservative causes," reflecting the anxieties of the liberal and Democratic signatories that ownership of EveryAction by a private equity firm could change how the company operates.

"I think there's some fear and concern that they could, at some point, make the decision to open the tools up to causes and campaigns that we strongly disagree with," said Nelson, arguing that when liberal groups are investing in and "building up the functionality" of the platform, it's a betrayal to open those services up to conservative causes.

For now, EveryAction is indicating they won't move in that direction.

"We have declined, and will continue to decline, to work with organizations that focus on being anti-choice, anti-LGBTQ rights, anti-action on climate change, anti-racial justice," the company said in a press release.