Dear Community,
We hope you are faring well amidst election week.
I wanted to reach out personally and thank you for supporting our nonpartisan work at OpenSecrets. We’ve had a busy and exciting election season, including wrapping up our strategic plan, launching a new website, and receiving coverage of our data by most major news outlets.
I also wanted to share an important update with you, as this week has been difficult at OpenSecrets. During one of the most expensive election cycles in history, where record-setting sums went to candidates and political organizations, money flowing to good government groups like OpenSecrets has dwindled. Unfortunately, that meant we had to make some difficult decisions this week, including saying goodbye to several dedicated employees.
OpenSecrets remains committed to its mission — serving as the trusted authority on money in American politics — but our task has become more difficult as groups have opted to fund a partisan outcome rather than nonpartisan democratic infrastructure. Historically, 90% of our budget has come from the generosity of institutional foundations, an increasingly difficult challenge for a nonpartisan organization in a partisan world.
Earlier this year, we finalized a strategic plan to make the shift toward a diversified funding model that promises greater sustainability. We hope — and believe — we will be better positioned than ever to continue shining a light on the increasingly expensive and murky world of American politics. We carry an important, 40-year legacy as the only organization providing data on money’s role in politics at both the federal and state levels, spanning all 50 jurisdictions. We’ve painstakingly built processes to ensure this data is available and accurate, and as the world has changed, so has OpenSecrets: from our origins in a 3-inch-thick book, to our recently relaunched website.
We remain dedicated to providing accurate and accessible data on money in politics. In light of another record-breaking election cycle, and with no indication that spending will slow down in the future, our work has never been more needed.
Stay tuned for updates and thank you for being dedicated fans of OpenSecrets.
Yours,
Hilary Braseth
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