OpenSecrets is a

nonprofit organization 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 ...

based 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 tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a

revolving door A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a central shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a cylindrical enclosure. To use a revolving door, a person enters the enclosure between two of the doors and then m ...

database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector and lobbying firms and may have

conflicts of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations in whi ...

. It was created from the 2021 merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP), both of which were organizations that tracked data on

campaign finance in the United States The financing of electoral campaigns in the United States happens at the federal, state, and local levels by contributions from individuals, corporations, political action committees, and sometimes the government. Campaign spending has rise ...

and advocated for stricter regulation and disclosure of political donations. Examples of investigations conducted by the organization include uncovering that Carolina Rising, a

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social welfare Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance p ...

organization spent $4.7 million in 2014 on political ads in support of Thom Tillis, Senate candidate from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and that the

Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign Donald Trump, a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, sought re-election in the 2020 United States presidential election. He was First inauguration of Donald Trump, inaugurated as president of the United States on ...

was financially related to the rally that preceded the

January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of Donald Trump, President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months afte ...

. The organization is funded by donations; since 2020, the largest donors have been: the

Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Since its founding, the Carnegie Corporation has endowed or othe ...

, Democracy Fund, the Gaia Fund,

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

, the

Hewlett Foundation The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, commonly known as the Hewlett Foundation, is a private foundation, established by Hewlett-Packard cofounder William Redington Hewlett and his wife Flora Lamson Hewlett in 1966. The Hewlett Foundation awa ...

, the Kaphan Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the

Omidyar Network Omidyar Network is a self-styled "philanthropic investment firm," composed of a foundation and an impact investment firm. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, Omidyar Network has committed over US$1.5billion to no ...

Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...

, the Popplestone Foundation, and the

Rockefeller Brothers Fund The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) is a philanthropic foundation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was founded in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle for the five third-generation Rockefeller brothe ...

. In 2023, the organization reported $2.5 million in revenue and $4.3 million in expenses. In 2024, having serious financial difficulties, OpenSecrets laid off a third of its staff.

History

Center for Responsive Politics

The Center for Responsive Politics was founded in 1983 by retired U.S. Senators Frank Church of

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, of the Democratic Party, and Hugh Scott of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, of the Republican Party. In the 1980s, Church and Scott launched a "money-in-politics" project, whose outcome consisted of large, printed books. Their first book, ''Spending in Congressional Elections: A Never-Ending Spiral'', published in 1988, analyzed spending patterns in congressional elections from 1974 through 1986, including 1986 soft money contributions in five states. The first data was published by CRP in 1990 and the website OpenSecrets.org was launched in 1996, making the data more readily available.

National Institute on Money in Politics

The National Institute on Money in Politics traces its roots to the "Money in Western Politics" project launched in 1991 and funded by the

MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.6 billion and ...

. Prior to 1991, data was not digitized and therefore was not easily available. In 1999, three regional teams merged to form NIMP, based in

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat, seat of Lewis and Clark County, Montana, Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold ...

. The organization published the Follow The Money website, where it compiled political funding information from government disclosure agencies. The organization did not receive any government funding and relied on philanthropic efforts; among its donations received was $2.3 million in funding from

Leadership history

Sheila Krumholz Sheila Krumholz (born 1964 or 1965) is the former executive director of OpenSecrets. Biography Krumholz was born and raised in Owatonna, Minnesota. She grew up in an apolitical family, the second-youngest of eight children. She attended Owatonn ...

, who joined the organization in 1989, was the executive director of OpenSecrets and its predecessor from December 2006, having previously served as research director, until December 2023.

References

External links