WASHINGTON – The nonprofit advocacy group formed to back President Barack Obama’s agenda, which was sharply criticized as a potential conduit for wealthy interests to influence the White House, has been financed overwhelmingly by thousands of small donors since its launch in late January.

Organizing for Action took in just three six-figure donations through the end of March. The biggest, $250,000, came from a son of Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner. Only about two dozen of the 770 fundraisers who collected major donations for Obama’s re-election gave to the organization, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis.

The vast majority of the nearly $4.9 million raised came in small increments, with 109,582 donors contributing $44 on average, according to an email from Executive Director Jon Carson to supporters Friday.

But Organizing for Action’s first foray into fundraising also underscores the challenge it faces in galvanizing Obama’s network of supporters to finance issue advocacy campaigns.

The group’s haul represents a modest debut for an entity built on the infrastructure of Obama’s behemoth re-election campaign. And it raises questions about whether Organizing for Action will raise enough to serve as a counterweight to the deep-pocketed groups on the political right.

Its first fundraising report reflected a truncated first quarter, as the group did not begin soliciting donations in earnest until February.

In his email, Carson said he “couldn’t be prouder” of the group’s total. But he also added a plug for more donations, asking backers to “chip in $5 or more.”

 

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