Following the Money: 26M+ Individual Contributions in American Elections

American elections run on money. In every cycle, billions of dollars flow from individual donors to campaigns, from PACs to super PACs, and from campaign committees to vendors who produce ads, run phone banks, and organize rallies. This money is disclosed — the Federal Election Commission requires it — but the raw FEC data is notoriously difficult to navigate. DonorSecrets.com transforms this data into 9 searchable platforms that make political money transparent, traceable, and understandable.

26 Million Individual Contributions

The individual contributions database is the engine of DonorSecrets, containing over 26 million records of contributions made by individuals to federal candidates, PACs, and party committees. Every record includes the donor's name, city, state, employer, occupation, contribution amount, and the recipient committee or candidate.

This is the dataset that reveals who funds American politics at the grassroots level. Search any name and see their full contribution history — which candidates they've supported, how much they've given, and how their giving has changed over time. Search any ZIP code and see the political leanings of a neighborhood measured in dollars. The data paints an extraordinarily detailed portrait of political engagement across every community in the country.

For journalists, the individual contributions database is a primary research tool. When a politician claims to be funded by small donors, the data either confirms or contradicts that narrative. When a public figure's political affiliations are questioned, contribution records provide documentary evidence. And when patterns emerge — a cluster of executives at one company all maxing out to the same candidate — the data raises questions worth investigating.

Campaign Spending and the Vendor Economy

Where does campaign money go once it's raised? DonorSecrets tracks the outflow as thoroughly as the inflow:

• Campaign Spending — 10.6 million disbursement records showing exactly where campaigns spend their money, from media buys and consulting fees to travel and catering
• Vendors — 597,000 vendor records identifying the companies and individuals who receive campaign payments. This reveals the political consulting industry — the ad makers, pollsters, direct mail firms, and digital strategists who profit from campaign season

The vendor data is especially revealing. A relatively small number of firms dominate the political consulting industry, collecting hundreds of millions across election cycles. By tracking vendor payments across campaigns, DonorSecrets exposes the business networks that connect seemingly independent political operations. When five different candidates all pay the same consulting firm, it suggests coordination — or at least shared strategic DNA — that voters deserve to know about.

Contributions, Donors, and Employers

DonorSecrets provides multiple angles for analyzing who funds American politics:

• Campaign Contributions — 3.2 million records aggregating contributions at the committee-to-committee level, including PAC contributions to candidates and party transfers
• Donors — 1.2 million unique donor profiles with aggregated giving histories, allowing users to see a donor's total political footprint across all recipients and cycles
• Employers — 1.2 million employer records that aggregate contributions by workplace, revealing which companies' employees are most politically active and where their money goes

The employer aggregation is one of DonorSecrets' most powerful features. While corporations cannot contribute directly to federal candidates, their employees certainly do — and the patterns are illuminating. Search any major company and see the total contributions from its employees, the partisan split, and the top recipient candidates. This data often tells a more honest story about corporate political alignment than lobbying disclosures or PAC contributions alone.

Committees and Candidates

Rounding out the platform are directories of the organizational infrastructure of American elections:

• Campaign Committees — 46,000 registered committees including candidate committees, PACs, super PACs, and party committees with their FEC filing details
• Federal Election Candidates — 24,000 candidate records covering everyone who has run for federal office, with their committee affiliations, party, office sought, and election results

Why Political Money Transparency Matters

Money in politics is not inherently corrupt — but it is inherently influential. When voters can see who funds their representatives, they can make more informed judgments about whose interests those representatives are likely to serve. When journalists can trace the flow of political money, they can hold powerful actors accountable. When researchers can analyze contribution patterns at scale, they can identify systemic issues in how campaigns are financed.

DonorSecrets exists because this data should be easy to access, not buried in FEC bulk downloads that require database expertise to query. Visit DonorSecrets.com to search contributions, trace spending, look up any donor, and follow the money in American politics.

DonorSecrets is one of the political transparency platforms built by TheDataProject.AI — making election finance data free, searchable, and accessible to everyone.