OpenSecrets

OpenSecrets is a <a href="/facts/Nonprofit_organization/AmXu2c85">nonprofit organization</a> based in <a href="/facts/Washington%2c_D.C./enXPK156">Washington, D.C.</a>, that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a <a href="/facts/Revolving_door_(politics)/Q44qAfgw">revolving door</a> database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector and <a href="/facts/Lobbying_in_the_United_States/NgKqo1Ln">lobbying firms</a> and may have <a href="/facts/Conflicts_of_interest/Qdcsd326">conflicts of interest</a>. 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 <a href="/facts/Campaign_finance_in_the_United_States/cBxa7t14">campaign finance in the United States</a> and advocated for stricter regulation and disclosure of political donations.
Examples of investigations conducted by the organization include uncovering that Carolina Rising, a <a href="/facts/501(c)(4)/Qx1XrC9t">501(c)(4)</a> <a href="/facts/Social_welfare/awUwQxkd">social welfare</a> organization spent $4.7 million in 2014 on political ads in support of <a href="/facts/Thom_Tillis/YckNtXNp">Thom Tillis</a>, Senate candidate from <a href="/facts/North_Carolina/VhKNTULI">North Carolina</a>, and that the <a href="/facts/Donald_Trump_2020_presidential_campaign/4D5I4RxV">Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign</a> was financially related to the rally that preceded the <a href="/facts/January_6_United_States_Capitol_attack/hcF25Aqf">January 6 United States Capitol attack</a>.
The organization is funded by donations; since 2020, the largest donors have been: the <a href="/facts/Carnegie_Corporation_of_New_York/1T3Mc8aa">Carnegie Corporation of New York</a>, <a href="/facts/Democracy_Fund/xJd9wdu3">Democracy Fund</a>, the Gaia Fund, <a href="/facts/Google/GT9Sugza">Google</a>, the <a href="/facts/Hewlett_Foundation/sGMWg8xf">Hewlett Foundation</a>, the Kaphan Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the <a href="/facts/Omidyar_Network/pF6tIU2o">Omidyar Network</a>, <a href="/facts/Open_Society_Foundations/F2wCh4Ur">Open Society Foundations</a>, the Popplestone Foundation, and the <a href="/facts/Rockefeller_Brothers_Fund/rRGw2M21">Rockefeller Brothers Fund</a>. 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.

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OpenSecrets