InfluenceWatch, a project of Capital Research Center, compiles research on advocacy groups, foundations, and donors involved in influencing public policy. The organization announced on May 29 that the website provides transparency into these influencers’ funding, motives, and connections.
According to Capital Research Center, the information gathered by InfluenceWatch is intended to support news outlets and interested parties in reporting on significant topics that may be overlooked by the public. The group said it regularly updates the site with new entries.
Among the most recent additions is AZ Liberty Network, described as a right-of-center coalition advocating for increased civic participation in Arizona through community outreach and leadership training. Its member organizations include Goldwater Institute, Heritage Action for America, Turning Point Action, and affiliates of Moms for Liberty and Restoration of America.
Another entry is Free the Future, a project of Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS), which organizes teachers and students opposing policies from the Second Trump Administration’s Department of Education. AROS operates under fiscal sponsorship from Schott Foundation for Public Education with initial support from Annenberg Institute for School Reform and funding from Ford Foundation. Partner groups include Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Popular Democracy, Alliance for Educational Justice, and National Education Association (NEA).
The update also features CARE International—a global network supporting United Nations Sustainable Development Goals—and notes its multilateral funding partners such as the European Union (EU), International Labour Organization, World Bank, United Nations Population Fund, and World Health Organization (WHO). Other highlighted organizations are Conservative Reform Network (CRN), which ceased operations in 2020 but previously promoted right-of-center policies; and Town Creek Foundation—a Maryland-based private foundation focused on environmental issues until its closure in 2021 after spending down its endowment.
