National Institute on Money in Politics

Founded in 1999, the National Institute on Money in State Politics is the only nonpartisan, nonprofit organization in the United States compiling state and federal campaign finance reports in all 50 states. The Institute currently collects data on political contributions, independent expenditures, and political action committee records. In 2013 it significantly expanded its work to include the collection of data in two new areas: federal funding and state lobbying expenditures. This would be the Foundation’s second grant to the Institute and would support the organization’s continued role as an invaluable resource on campaign contributions for journalists, academic researchers, public interest groups, government agencies, policymakers, and the public at large.

Founded in 1999, the National Institute on Money in State Politics is the only nonpartisan, nonprofit organization in the U.S. tracking data on campaign financing in state-level elections in all 50 states. The Institute currently collects data on political contributions, independent expenditures, and political action committee records. In 2013, it plans to significantly expand its work to include the collection of data in two new areas: federal funding and state lobbying expenditures. This would be Special Projects’ first grant to the Institute and would support the organization’s continued role as an invaluable resource on campaign contributions for journalists, academic researchers, public-interest groups, government agencies, policymakers, and the public at large.

The National Institute on Money in Politics’ highly credentialed empirical evidence about political candidates, donors, and lobbyists is essential to the healthy evolution of our democracy. Developed over two decades, the unique data provides the capacity for scholars, attorneys, journalists, and advocates across wide-ranging policy arenas to ground their work in facts. These facts serve as a prophylactic to the corrosive effects of fast-changing, highly partisan narratives around our state and federal elections and the foundational principles of our representative form of governing. Metrics from the data ensure that policy initiatives achieve their desired outcomes or point to areas for further debate and analysis