Be aware of shady political groups masquerading as charities
Dear Friend of OpenSecrets, When you hear nonprofit names like American Breast Cancer Coalition, Cancer Recovery Action Network, or the National Committee for Volunteer Firefighters, you’d think these organizations all stand for noble causes.
But a joint investigation between OpenSecrets and the Daily Beast revealed payments from these organizations and others like them to multi-million dollar “scam PAC” networks. Scam PACs masquerade as charities, but invest donations into political fundraising and make major payouts to questionable firms.
As scammers and unscrupulous fundraisers continue to evade FEC and IRS oversight, it's more important than ever that we have a clear and transparent understanding of how political groups raise and spend money. OpenSecrets provides the data necessary to shine a light on these practices.
Donors should never be lied to. As a nonprofit ourselves, we promise to be transparent and uphold the integrity of our donors’ gifts to achieve our mission. We will continue to track the flow of money in American politics and provide the data and analysis that strengthens democracy.
