Center for Responsive Politics (non-profit)

About Our Organization

The Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) launched OpenSecrets.org following the 1996 elections. Before that time, CRP, founded in 1983 by U.S. Senators Frank Church (D-Idaho) and Hugh Scott (R-Pa.), published its work tracking money in politics and its effect on elections and public policy in extensive reports and books.

The first Open Secrets book, published in 1990, was a massive 1,300 pages and analyzed contributions by political action committees (PACs) in the 1988 congressional elections. Featuring contributor profiles for every member of Congress, it was an unprecedented resource that illuminated money’s role in congressional elections and policymaking. Open Secrets also profiled the spending patterns of interest groups and major industries, and included an extensive "Big Picture" section on the patterns of PAC spending and the flow of PAC dollars to each congressional committee.

The second edition of Open Secrets, published in 1992, added an analysis of large individual donations—a mammoth task that had never before been attempted.

For the 2000 elections, the Center unveiled several new groundbreaking features on OpenSecrets.org, including detailed contribution profiles of more than 80 industries in the U.S. economy, fund-raising breakdowns for federal party committees, and analyses of contributions from special interests to members of specific congressional committees.

Today, the Center has expanded the information it analyzes beyond just the Federal Election Commission’s offerings on campaign finance. OpenSecrets.org has become a clearinghouse for data and analysis on multiple aspects of money in politics—the independent interest groups called 527s committees, federal lobbying, Washington’s “revolving door”, privately sponsored congressional travel and the personal finances of members of Congress, the president and other officials.

The Center’s work has been rewarded many times from a wide range of organizations, including the National Press Club, Voice of America, Yahoo!, Time.com and Forbes magazine. We’re especially proud of the four Webby Awards—or “online Oscars”—that OpenSecrets.org has received over the years.

Find out more about the Center for Responsive Politics and take a virtual tour OpenSecrets.org.

Capital Eye Blog

Join the Debate

Do campaign contributions to Congressmen buy votes? -- Yes or No

Should corporations, unions and trade associations be permitted to write checks directly to politicians and parties? -- No or Yes

Should lobbyists be allowed to make campaign contributions to politicians? -- Yes or No

Should there be spending limits on political campaigns? -- Yes or No

Should members of Congress be allowed to add earmarks to appropriations bills? -- Yes or No

Should the government continue to allow children under the voting age to donate money to political candidates? -- Yes or No

Should federal political candidates have to disclose the means by which they raised their money - by mail, online, in person, etc.? -- No or Yes

Should federal political candidates have to reveal the names of all their donors, not just those who give them more than $200? -- No or Yes

Mission Statement

• Inform citizens about how money in politics affects their lives
• Empower voters and activists by providing unbiased information
• Advocate for a transparent and responsive government

We pursue our mission largely through our award-winning website, OpenSecrets.org, which is the most comprehensive resource for campaign contributions, lobbying data and analysis available anywhere. And for other organizations and news media, CRP's exclusive data powers their online features tracking money in politics—counting cash to make change.

CRP relies on financial support from a combination of foundation grants and individual contributions. The Center accepts no contributions from businesses, labor unions or trade associations. You can support the work of the Center directly by contributing through OpenSecrets.org.

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