Citizens United for Transparency investigates and documents how money and influence move through NGOs, government agencies, and corporations — from activist funding networks to lobbying and public contracts — so citizens, journalists, and policymakers can judge for themselves.
A 501(c)(3) public charity. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Modern influence rarely announces itself. It moves through grant chains, fiscal sponsorships, shell entities, lobbying disclosures no one reads, and public records no one requests. Citizens United for Transparency exists to do that unglamorous work — requesting, reading, cross-referencing, and publishing — so that the public record actually reaches the public.
We examine nonprofits and NGOs, government at every level, and corporations with equal rigor, including the funding behind advocacy and activist campaigns on all sides. Transparency is not an attack on any cause; it is the condition under which every cause can be fairly judged.
"Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman." — Justice Louis D. Brandeis
Each program produces public, sourced, plain-language research that anyone can verify.
Mapping grant flows, fiscal sponsorships, and governance across the nonprofit sector — including the funders behind major advocacy and activist campaigns.
Filing and publishing public-records requests, tracking agency spending and contracts, and pressing for open-data compliance at every level of government.
Documenting lobbying, political spending, ESG and philanthropic commitments, and the gap between what corporations say publicly and what they fund privately.
Free guides that teach anyone to file records requests, read a Form 990, trace a grant, and hold local institutions accountable without a newsroom behind them.
Sample entries — replace these with your organization's actual reports as they're published.
A cross-ideological analysis of the foundations, DAFs, and fiscal sponsors behind the decade's largest advocacy campaigns.
Which agencies answer public-records requests — and which quietly run out the clock. Based on 1,200 tracked requests.
Comparing Fortune 500 public commitments against their lobbying disclosures and trade-association dues.
Records requests, database access, and careful research take time and resources. As a 501(c)(3) public charity, we rely on readers — not the institutions we cover. Your gift is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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Tips and documents: we welcome confidential submissions from whistleblowers and the public.