From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

OpenSecrets

Government watchdog group based in the US

Field	Value
name	OpenSecrets
logo	OpenSecrets logo.svg
founded_date
founders
merger	Center for Responsive Politics
National Institute on Money in Politics
type	Research
tax_id	52-1275227
status	[501(c)(3)](501-c-3)
focus	Campaign finance in the United States
location	Washington, D.C.
coordinates
area_served	United States
leader_name	Bert Brandenburg
leader_title	Chair, Board of directors
leader_name2	Hilary Braseth (December 2023 – present){{Cite web	title=OpenSecrets Welcomes Hilary Braseth as New Executive Director
url	https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/12/opensecrets-welcomes-hilary-braseth-as-new-executive-director}}
leader_title2	Executive director
revenue	$2.5 million
revenue_year	2023
expenses	$4.3 million
expenses_year	2023
website

National Institute on Money in Politics OpenSecrets is an American nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector and lobbying firms and may have conflicts of interest. 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 and advocated for stricter regulation and disclosure of political donations.

Examples of investigations conducted by the organization include uncovering that Carolina Rising, a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization spent $4.7 million in 2014 on political ads in support of Thom Tillis, Senate candidate from North Carolina, and identifying that the Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign was financially related to the rally that preceded the January 6 United States Capitol attack.

The organization is funded by donations; since 2020, the largest donors have been: the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Democracy Fund, the Gaia Fund, Google, the Hewlett Foundation, the Kaphan Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the Omidyar Network, Open Society Foundations, the Popplestone Foundation, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. 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, of the Democratic Party, and Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania, of the Republican Party.

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. 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. The organization published the Follow The Money website, where it compiled political funding information from government disclosure agencies.{{Cite web | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt14bs1xp.8 | title=Shining a Light on State Campaign Finance: An Evaluation of the Impact of the National Institute on Money in State Politics | publisher=RAND Corporation | first1=Geoffrey | last1=McGovern

The organization did not receive any government funding and relied on philanthropic efforts;

Leadership history

Sheila Krumholz, 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

Harvey, Kerric. (January 2014). "Encyclopedia of Social Media and Politics". [[Sage Publishing]].
"OpenSecrets: Board of Directors". OpenSecrets.
Wiist, William. (March 3, 2010). "The Bottom Line or Public Health: Tactics Corporations Use to Influence Health and Health Policy, and What We Can Do to Counter Them". [[Oxford University Press]].
"Revolving Door". OpenSecrets.
Giorno, Taylor. (May 6, 2023). "Over 500 Former Government Officials Are Now Lobbying for Defense Contractors". [[Truthout]].
(June 12, 2019). "Reporting Raises Questions About Washington's Potential Political Conflicts Of Interest". [[WBUR-FM]].
Drake, Philip. (June 3, 2021). "Helena-based political transparency group merges with another watchdog". [[Helena Independent Record]].
O'Connor, Maura. (April 4, 2012). "National Institute on Money in State Politics". [[Columbia Journalism Review]].
Suderman, Alan. (May 16, 2014). "Lax state rules provide cover for sponsors of attack ads". [[Center for Public Integrity]].
Farnam, T.W.. (January 23, 2013). "Florida group wants to end caps on campaign donations". [[The Washington Post]].
Stassen-Berger, Rachel. (December 3, 2014). "Money in State Politics report: Minnesota fails disclosure test, again". [[Minneapolis Star-Tribune]].
Maguire, Robert. (October 27, 2015). "Carolina Rising offers new low in campaign finance". [[The News & Observer]].
Fung, Katherine. (January 22, 2021). "Trump rally organizers received millions from re-election campaign before Capitol riot". [[Newsweek]].
"Funders". OpenSecrets.
(9 May 2013). "Opensecrets - Nonprofit Explorer".
(16 December 2024). "Open-Government Nonprofits Are Dying Off Just When They’re Needed Most". [[The Bulwark (website).
(July 5, 2017). "OpenSecrets.org". [[Candid (organization).
Luzer, Daniel. (May 20, 2011). "OpenSecrets.org".
Pero, Dan. (October 6, 2011). "Soros vs. American courts". [[The Washington Times]].
"Our Team". OpenSecrets.
(May 9, 2023). "Press Release: Executive Director Sheila Krumholz to Leave Open Secrets". OpenSecrets.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

government-watchdog-groups-in-the-united-states lobbying-in-the-united-states non-profit-organizations-based-in-washington,-d.c. open-government-in-the-united-states

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about OpenSecrets — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report