Capital Research Center (CRC) is an American

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

501(c)(3)

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

watchdog group located in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, that monitors liberal money in politics. Its stated purpose is "to study non-profit organizations, with a special focus on reviving the American traditions of

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, and voluntarism." According to ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', it also discourages donations by corporations and non-profits supporting what it sees as liberal or anti-business policies. CRC monitors the giving of major liberal donors in the U.S. and has done extensive research into nonprofits funded by left-leaning donors.

History

CRC was founded in 1984 by Willa Johnson, former senior vice president of

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

, deputy director of the Office of Presidential Personnel in the first term of the

Reagan administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following his landslide victory over ...

, and a legislative aide in both the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

and

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. Journalist and author

Marvin Olasky Marvin Olasky (born June 12, 1950) is Christianity Today's executive editor for news and global, a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute, and an affiliate scholar at the Acton Institute. He also chairs the Zenger House Foundation and is the ...

previously served as a senior fellow at CRC. In 2011, ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

'' reported that CRC had received millions of dollars from conservative philanthropists over the years, with a total budget in 2009 of $1.4 million. CRC reported contributions and grants totaling $7.46 million in 2023. David Clarke, the former sheriff of

Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Milwaukee County () is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely ...

, is the chair of CRC's American Law and Culture program. In March 2025, CRC president Scott Walter briefed senior White House officials on a range of liberal and Democratic donors, nonprofits, and fundraising techniques, including

ActBlue ActBlue is an American Democratic Party political action committee (PAC) and fundraising platform founded in 2004. ActBlue is a major part of the Democratic Party's fundraising infrastructure. As of 2025, ActBlue reports that it has raised $16 ...

and

Arabella Advisors Arabella Advisors is a Washington, D.C.–based for-profit consulting company that advises left-leaning donors and nonprofits about where to give money and serves as the hub of a Modern liberalism in the United States, politically liberal "dark m ...

. Walter is the author of a book about Arabella Advisors, ''Arabella: The Dark Money Network of Leftist Billionaires Secretly Transforming America'', published in 2023. Of the White House briefing, Kenneth Vogel of ''The New York Times'' wrote that "A small group of White House officials has been working to identify targets and vulnerabilities inside the Democratic ecosystem, taking stock of previous efforts to investigate them" and that "The president and his allies in Congress are targeting the financial, digital and legal machinery that powers the Democratic Party and much of the progressive political world." According to ''The Wall Street Journal'', a focus of Walter's briefing was on nonprofits that CRC alleges have promoted views tied to

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

and are supported by foreign donors.

InfluenceWatch

In 2017, the CRC launched the website InfluenceWatch, which is an online encyclopedia of donors, nonprofits, and political influencers. InfluenceWatch documented "the extent to which dark money from Democratically aligned groups was used during the 2020 election."

Film production

CRC has a film production arm called Dangerous Documentaries, which partially funded '' No Safe Spaces'' by

Adam Carolla Adam Carolla (born May 27, 1964) is an American radio personality, comedian, actor and podcaster. He hosts '' The Adam Carolla Show'', a talk show distributed as a podcast which set the record as the "most downloaded podcast" as judged by ''Guin ...

and radio host

Dennis Prager Dennis Mark Prager (; born August 2, 1948) is an American conservative radio talk show host and writer. He is the host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show ''The Dennis Prager Show''. In 2009, he co-founded PragerU, which primarily cre ...

, about

political correctness "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...

on college campuses.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1984 establishments in Washington, D.C. Conservative organizations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. Political and economic think tanks in the United States Think tanks established in 1984