Case Study: Yang2020 grows a 100K+ donor base and qualifies for the 2019 debates with NationBuilder

How political outsider Andrew Yang grew his base and qualified for the 2019 debates

Yang2020, the campaign for Democratic outsider Andrew Yang, faced the challenge of turning viral online fandom into measurable fundraising, volunteer sign-ups, and the 65,000 unique donors required to qualify for the 2019 primary debates. After early tools left them without clear reporting or donor visibility, the campaign chose NationBuilder to provide a unified platform for donation pages, supporter tracking, and engagement.

Using NationBuilder’s site, donation pages, tagging, and trackable paths and goals, Yang2020 funneled supporters from Reddit, social media, and podcasts into organized local “Yang Gangs” and a volunteer recruitment pipeline. The campaign raised $1.7M, secured more than 100,000 individual donors, and drew rallies of about 5,000 attendees—surpassing debate thresholds—and NationBuilder’s tracking made those impacts visible and repeatable.

Yang2020

Carly Reilly

Chief of Staff and Director of Engagement