Leadership now project invests $400k in opensecrets

Washington, DC -- Today, roughly a year away from one of the most important elections in modern history, the Leadership Now Project announced its members will invest more than $400,000 in OpenSecrets.org. OpenSecrets provides essential data infrastructure to understand our democracy and the growing influence of money in politics. 

For years, OpenSecrets has compiled data and analysis that have helped inform efforts for the public, journalists and organizations like Leadership Now, dedicated to reforming democracy. With political dollars focused on interests and candidates, and partisanship transforming the funding landscape, the data infrastructure to understand and reform the political system has been too often ignored and non-partisan resources like OpenSecrets are competing for limited funding. 

“OpenSecrets is essential to a data-driven approach to understanding our political system. This investment ensures OpenSecrets can be a resource for anyone who seeks to better understand or be a part of developing solutions for our democracy,” says Leadership Now CEO, Daniella Ballou-Aares.

“The Center for Responsive Politics is excited about the wealth of information we will be able to share on OpenSecrets.org because of this investment from Leadership Now members,” says Sheila Krumholz, the Center’s Executive Director. “We are committed to creating money in politics data that is nonpartisan, fair, accurate, and removed from any political agenda. This support allows us to power our collaborations with media partners and the nonprofit community who rely on our data, and to better inform American voters about their choices.”

Data shows that Americans from both parties believe that money in politics is one of the top challenges for democracy and one of the factors driving political dysfunction in the U.S. This means that major legislation and innovation into the way campaigns are financed is needed, but oftentimes, unlikely. Platforms like OpenSecrets, which are committed to supporting democracy and uplifting transparency, play an important role in providing evidence for policy reformers and advocates focused on the influence of money in politics.

“This investment is essential to supporting the work of OpenSecrets,” says Investor Group Chair Lisa Blau. “OpenSecrets is an invaluable resource and is a strategic use of philanthropic dollars to improve our democracy.”

With this investment, Leadership Now hopes to continue its efforts to activate an enduring commitment to American democracy. OpenSecrets has over 9 million users annually, has been providing freely available data online for more than 20 years and is an essential resource for journalists.