How CounterPledge Works
A simple mechanism that turns political spending into charitable giving.
You make a pledge
Choose your candidate and pledge a dollar amount. You also select a charity. Your payment information is collected but no money moves until the weekly match.
Pledges accumulate (blind)
Throughout the week, pledges come in from both sides. You can see the number of pledges on each side, but the dollar amounts are hidden. This prevents strategic behavior — you can't time or size your pledge based on what the other side has done.
Weekly matching
Every Sunday at 8pm ET, the matching window closes. The smaller side is fully matched against the larger side. For example: if Democrats pledged $5,000 and Republicans pledged $4,000, then $4,000 from each side is matched.
Matched funds go to charity
The matched amount from both sides — $8,000 in our example — goes to the charities selected by each donor. The unmatched $1,000 on the Democratic side goes to the Democratic candidate, as originally intended. Everyone gets at least as good an outcome as donating directly.
The reveal
Results are published publicly. Everyone can see how much was matched, how much went to charity, and the running totals. Then a new matching week begins.
Example: Week 2 Results
$14,400 to charity · $900 to Democratic candidate · $0 to Republican candidate
94% of all money pledged went to charity instead of campaigns
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are amounts hidden during the week?
If you could see that one side had more money pledged, you could strategically time or size your pledge to game the system. Hiding amounts ensures everyone pledges based on their genuine intent, not on what the other side is doing.
What if my pledge isn't matched?
Any unmatched amount goes to your chosen candidate, exactly as if you had donated directly. You're never worse off than donating normally — you can only be better off (if matched, the opposing donation also goes to charity).
Is this legal?
Who chooses the charities?
You do. When you make your pledge, you select from a curated list of well-known 501(c)(3) charities. If your pledge is matched, your portion goes to the charity you chose.
What stops someone from pledging in bad faith?
Several safeguards: payment information is collected upfront (your card is authorized but not charged until the match), donor identity is verified per FEC requirements, and the blind matching mechanism prevents strategic manipulation.
How is this different from just donating to charity?
When you donate to charity, the opposing candidate still gets funded. With CounterPledge, your pledge neutralizes an opposing donation AND sends both amounts to charity. It's like donating to charity with a 2x multiplier on political impact.
Why would someone on the other side participate?
For the same reason you would: they'd rather see money go to charity than to the opposing campaign. Both sides benefit equally from the match. This isn't a partisan platform — it's a tool for anyone who thinks political spending is wasteful.