InfluenceWatch, a project of the Capital Research Center (CRC), continues to update its database with information on advocacy groups, foundations, and donors that impact public policy. The platform aims to provide transparency about these organizations’ funding sources, objectives, and networks.
According to CRC, “The information compiled in InfluenceWatch gives news outlets and other interested parties research to use in reporting on significant topics that are often overlooked by the American public.”
Among recent additions is the Advancing Girls Fund. This grantmaking initiative supports activism by young women of color, including transgender girls. The fund operates as a project under the Tides Foundation but was initially established through the NoVo Foundation’s Adolescent Girls Grantmaking Initiative. Shauné Zunzanyika serves as managing director of the fund and is also deputy director of philanthropy at Tides Foundation. Previously, Zunzanyika worked as director of programs for the Women’s Funding Network.
Another entry is The Giving Pledge, which encourages wealthy individuals to donate at least half their fortune to charity during their lifetime or posthumously. Established in 2010 by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett, notable signatories include Elon Musk, Mackenzie Scott, Michael Bloomberg, Ted Turner, and Mark Zuckerberg.
InfluenceWatch has also documented The People’s March—a protest held in January 2025 in Washington D.C., two days before President Donald Trump’s second inauguration. Organized by Women’s March and supported by groups such as Reproductive Freedom for All Foundation and Planned Parenthood, it advocated for issues like environmentalism and abortion rights.
DemocracyAID has been added as well; this organization recruits former employees from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) after its closure under the Trump administration and partial integration into the State Department. DemocracyAID reportedly hosts workshops for federal workers and was co-founded by Danielle Reiff and Rosarie “Ro” Tucci.
Lastly, InfluenceWatch now includes Better Budget Alliance (BBA), an economic policy group based in Boston that promotes participatory budgeting aimed at directing public funds into Black and Brown neighborhoods. Its steering committee features organizations such as Center for Economic Democracy and MassBudget.
CRC states: “CRC is pleased to present some of the most significant additions to InfluenceWatch in the past week.”
