Contributions to Dem candidates

It seems that a 'nonprofit' called ActBlue has a monopoly on the the processing for contributions to Dem candidates.  At their website one of the first proclamations you read is:  

10,857,536 Democratic donors have saved their payment information with us via an ActBlue Express account.

This seems really sleazy to me.  If you read into the fine print you will find that they charge each candidate 3.95% of the contribution plus the credit card processing fees.  This seems like a low fee, but since they are stating that they've processed billions in contributions, they've also collected $39.5 million for each of those billions.  I have no interest in supporting middlemen opportunists regardless of their political leanings. 

Am I being too picky here?  Have any of you used other methods to get your $$$ directly to the candidates?  I'm tempted to mail a paper check to the address listed for the campaign.  

Red_Barchetta said:

It seems that a 'nonprofit' called ActBlue has a monopoly on the the processing for contributions to Dem candidates.  At their website one of the first proclamations you read is:  

10,857,536 Democratic donors have saved their payment information with us via an ActBlue Express account.

This seems really sleazy to me.  If you read into the fine print you will find that they charge each candidate 3.95% of the contribution plus the credit card processing fees.  This seems like a low fee, but since they are stating that they've processed billions in contributions, they've also collected $39.5 million for each of those billions.  I have no interest in supporting middlemen opportunists regardless of their political leanings. 

Am I being too picky here?  Have any of you used other methods to get your $$$ directly to the candidates?  I'm tempted to mail a paper check to the address listed for the campaign.  

I am not too keen on middlemen either, but I still use them because most candidates pretty much completely rely on them. And remember, checks come at a cost too (albeit less than actblue). 

From what I understand, ActBlue operates at a lower cost to the candidate than others who did this work.  I believe that ActBlue also does reporting for the candidates.

ActBlue is used by SOMA Action. I believe it is reputable.

I am not even sure that you can donate to a Democratic candidate or Committee online without using them.

So after posting the above I checked a fundraising email I received from Carole King on behalf of Biden campaign. When I clicked on it it immediately took me to ActBlue.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActBlue

Last donation I sent in also took me right to ActBlue.