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Democracy Initiative
Move to Amend

Sunlight Foundation


Mission: To advocate “for open government globally and [use] technology to make government more accountable to all.”

The nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation, through policy research and original reporting, provides citizens detailed data and resources on political spending at the federal, state, and local levels.

 

Current Democracy Work

(Note, the Sunlight Foundation does not work to get money out of politics, but defines its work as promoting transparency in money-in-politics.)

The Sunlight Foundation is passionate about making government information accessible online. It advocates for real-time transparency in government and politics and focuses on following money to show how it influences government and how government responds. The Sunlight Foundation also reports on many policy issues related to money in politics, including super PACs and outside spending in elections, and political ads on TV.

 

Recent Successes

In 2012, the Sunlight Foundation contributed to shaping the Stock Act, passed in 2012. Among other things, this act prohibits covered officials from turning non-public information gained in the course of official duties into personal profit, and requires legislators to disclose employment negotiations to the ethics committees of the House and Senate. In 2014, it also helped to pass the DATA Act, which brings transparency and accountability to federal spending information by ensuring that agencies use common data standards and put accurate and timely information online for public viewing.

 

Your Entry Points

Become one of the thousands of transparency activists, software developers, bloggers, or on-and-off-line citizens and journalists that Sunlight engages in research projects, “hackathons,” and more. Use its Real-Time Campaign Finance tracker, Political Party Time fundraising database, and Political Ad Sleuth website to follow the money yourself. Follow Sunlight’s blog to learn about money in politics and other open government issues.


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