Eleanor Finch
Political donations are a matter of public record, and there are several tools available to the public to search for campaign contributions. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees. This database can be searched by the donor's name, recipient, contribution amount, date, and other filters. Other tools, such as FollowTheMoney.org, Zippia, and OpenSecrets, also provide searchable databases and aggregated data on campaign contributions, making it easier to track the flow of money in politics. These tools can be useful for individuals curious about the political affiliations of their acquaintances or for organizations developing strategies for fundraising projects.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Political donations public record | Yes |
| Search by | Individual contributor name, employer, occupation, location, contribution amount, committee receiving contribution |
| Tools | FEC database, FollowTheMoney.org, OpenSecrets, Zippia, DonorSearch |
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What You'll Learn
Using the Federal Election Commission website
The Federal Election Commission website provides a wealth of information on political campaigns and contributions. The site offers detailed guidance on how to research and record individual contributions, as well as browse data on various types of contributions.
To start, the FEC website maintains a database of individuals who have contributed to federally registered political committees. This database can be searched by the contributor's first and/or last name, employer or occupation, city, state, and/or zip code. You can also search by the date or amount of the contribution or by the committee receiving the funds. For example, you could search for "all contributions to a particular committee on a specific date" or "all contributions to a candidate's committee from individuals listing the same employer."
The site also provides information on different types of contributions, such as in-kind contributions, which are goods or services offered at a reduced rate, and earmarked contributions, where the contributor directs their funds to a specific candidate or committee. It's important to note that the FEC considers the full amount spent on items like fundraising dinner tickets or campaign t-shirts as contributions, even if the item itself costs less.
Additionally, the FEC website offers data tables that summarize financial activity by election cycle and coverage period for congressional candidates, political parties, and political action committees (PACs). These tables include information on independent expenditures, electioneering communications, and communication costs. The site also provides access to downloadable bulk data files, which are useful for in-depth campaign finance research.
The FEC also offers guidance on recording receipts and maintaining records for contributions. For contributions exceeding $50, the committee must record the amount, date, and contributor's name and address. If the contribution exceeds $200, the committee must also record the contributor's occupation and employer. Records must be kept separately for each election, and committees must demonstrate that cash on hand is greater than or equal to the sum of general election contributions received minus disbursements made.
By utilizing the Federal Election Commission website, individuals can access a comprehensive overview of political contributions, gain insights into the financial activities of various campaigns, and understand the regulations surrounding the recording and reporting of contributions.
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Using third-party search tools like DonorSearch
DonorSearch is a leader in prospect development resources, offering one of the most exhaustive and accurate suites of prospecting solutions on the market. Its databases and search tools provide a comprehensive overview of an individual's donation history and political contribution information. This allows organisations to make faster and more informed decisions about potential donors for their campaigns.
DonorSearch is particularly useful for generating longer prospect lists and identifying potential major donors. Its advanced search functionality allows users to filter by various fields, including location, employer, and contribution date and amount. This enables organisations to identify individual prospects by more than just wealth markers and statistics. For instance, if you are trying to identify potential donors for a hospital capital campaign, you can filter the database to uncover professional affiliations and discuss corporate giving.
DonorSearch can also be used to identify commonalities and trends between donors and prospects. This can be the first step towards growth, especially when you have access to political contribution data. For example, if you know that a prospect, such as Bill Gates, has made a major contribution to support women candidates for the Senate, this indicates that he may be willing to support similar causes, such as empowering young women who study law and political science.
In addition to DonorSearch, there are other third-party search tools available for tracking political donations. These include OpenSecrets (formerly known as the Center for Responsive Politics), which compiles detailed reports on spending by lobbyists, political action committees (PACs), interest groups, and other donors. Another tool is FollowTheMoney.org, run by the National Institute on Money in Politics, which allows users to browse and search state campaign finance data and select specific races to narrow down donation details.
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Using company donation data
OpenSecrets
OpenSecrets is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation that has been operating since 1983. It provides access to state and federal datasets on political contributions, expenditures, personal financial disclosures, candidate lists, and lobbying activities. OpenSecrets has a searchable campaign donation database that allows you to trace donations to politicians and political committees at the federal and state levels. You can also use the advanced search option to sort by recipient or donor data like occupation, employer, or zip code. Their website also has a "lobbying and groups" section that allows you to explore disclosures and contributions for politicians at every level of government.
FEC Database
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees. You can search this database by the donor's name, date of contribution, amount of contribution, or committee receiving the contribution. The FEC also allows you to narrow your search using filters such as the donor's employer, occupation, or location. However, it is important to note that the FEC database can be overwhelming to navigate due to the large volume of information it contains.
FollowTheMoney.org
FollowTheMoney.org is a website by the National Institute on Money in Politics and the Center for Responsive Politics, which is now part of OpenSecrets. It provides state campaign finance data through the 2024 election year. You can select a specific state and office type to narrow down donation details for specific races.
Other Tools
There are also other tools available that provide insights into company donations to political campaigns. These include the Goods Unite Us mobile app, which allows users to search for a company and learn about the political parties and candidates that senior employees have donated to. Additionally, MarketWatch, a financial news website, has compiled a searchable database of political contributions made by CEOs of S&P 500 companies during the 2018 midterm election cycle. Zippia, a job search portal, has a similar tool that aggregates the contributions of employees from various companies.
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Using state-level data
State-level data on political campaign contributors in the US can be found on various platforms. OpenSecrets, for example, provides access to state and federal datasets on political contributions, expenditures, personal financial disclosures, candidate lists, and
The National Institute on Money in Politics and the Center for Responsive Politics joined forces to create OpenSecrets, and their website displays state campaign finance data that is current through the 2024 election year. However, the site states that it is not actively maintained anymore as it integrates with OpenSecrets, and users may encounter bugs.
Additionally, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees. This database allows users to search for individual contributors by their first and last name, employer, occupation, city, state, zip code, date of contribution, amount of contribution, or the committee receiving the contribution.
Another platform, FollowTheMoney.org, also provides insights into campaign expenditures to explore how candidates and political groups are spending donor money. It allows users to trace donations to politicians and political committees at the federal and state levels, as well as explore the influence of organizations lobbying Congress and federal agencies.
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Using donor information for prospect development
Political donations are a matter of public record. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) maintains a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees. This database includes information such as the donor's name, address, employer, and the amount and date of the donation. The FEC website allows users to search for individual contributors by name, employer, occupation, location, and contribution amount, among other filters.
However, poring over FEC reports can be overwhelming due to the sheer volume of data. As a result, other tools and websites have been created to help users distill this information, including FollowTheMoney.org and OpenSecrets (formerly known as the Center for Responsive Politics). These websites aggregate campaign finance data and present it in an easily digestible format.
This donor information can be incredibly valuable for prospect development. Nonprofits can use this data to identify high-impact donors, learn about their backgrounds, and understand their philanthropic motivations. By analyzing a prospect's political leanings and past giving history, nonprofits can determine a donor's affinity for their mission and likelihood of giving. This information can then be used to develop tailored outreach and cultivation strategies, strengthening donor relations and increasing the chances of receiving funding.
Additionally, prospect research can help nonprofits discover major gift donors. For most fundraising campaigns, the majority of funds come from a small number of generous donors, so identifying and cultivating relationships with these individuals is crucial. Screening companies, or prospect research companies, can assist nonprofits in this process by providing donor information in readily accessible formats, saving researchers time and allowing them to focus on other tasks.
Overall, using donor information for prospect development can be a powerful tool for nonprofits, helping them make more informed decisions and increase their fundraising success.
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Frequently asked questions
There are several tools and databases that allow you to search for political contributions made by individuals. These include:
- The Federal Election Commission (FEC) website, which has a database of individuals who have made contributions to federally registered political committees.
- FollowTheMoney.org, which allows you to browse and search state campaign finance data.
- DonorSearch, a political contribution search tool that uncovers the professional affiliations of prospects.
- OpenSecrets, a non-profit and non-partisan organisation that tracks money in U.S. politics and compiles detailed reports on spending by lobbyists, political action committees, interest groups, and other donors.
Yes. All donations made to political campaigns are a matter of public record. The FEC database, for example, allows you to search by contributor name, contribution amount, and other filters.
Yes. By law, campaigns and political action committees must disclose the personal details of individuals who donate $200 or more. You can search for these on the FEC website or use tools like Zippia, which aggregates the contributions of employees.
Yes. You can use the FEC database or tools like OpenSecrets to search by contributor name and find out which campaigns they have contributed to.
Yes. You can search the FEC database by the committee receiving the contribution or use tools like OpenSecrets to search by the candidate to see their donors.
