InfluenceWatch, operated by the Capital Research Center (CRC), has updated its database with new entries on advocacy groups, foundations, and donors involved in public policy. The project 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 the recent additions is the Coastal Trollers Association, a Washington-based trade association supporting troller fishermen’s economic interests and local fish conservation. The group is part of the Save Our Wild Salmon coalition, which includes national and regional environmental organizations such as Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, NW Energy Coalition, Oceana, and Sierra Club.
Another profile added is Brown Votes. This initiative at Brown University works to increase civic engagement through campus voter turnout campaigns. It participates in broader efforts like the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge and the Rhode Island Voting Access Coalition. The latter also includes groups such as the League of Women Voters (Rhode Island chapter), NAACP Providence branch, National Council of Jewish Women, Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, and Working Families Party (Rhode Island).
The Center for Community Alternatives (CCA) is highlighted for its advocacy on criminal justice issues in New York state. According to its website, CCA supports reforms including changes to drug laws and ending cooperation between local prisons and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Its funding comes from several left-leaning sources: Tow Foundation, New Venture Fund, Vital Projects Fund, Open Society Institute, and Robin Hood Foundation.
CRC’s update also covers the Evjue Foundation—a philanthropic arm linked to Wisconsin’s Capital Times newspaper—which describes itself as a progressive media outlet. Since 1958 through 2024, Evjue Foundation has awarded more than $72 million in grants for causes within Wisconsin related to children’s welfare and social justice initiatives. In 2024 alone it supported Voces de la Frontera, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC), Dane County United Way chapter, Centro Hispano, The Progressive magazine, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s Wisconsin chapter.
Finally included is ImpactAssets Inc., a nonprofit financial services firm specializing in donor-advised funds with an emphasis on impact investing focused on environmental or social governance criteria. Founded in 2010 as a spin-off from Calvert Impact Capital by Tim Freundlich, Ron Cordes, and Wayne Silby; ImpactAssets made grants in 2023 to organizations such as Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Tides Foundation, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, and New Venture Fund.
CRC states that “the website offers transparency into these influencers’ funding, motives, and connections while providing insight often neglected by other watchdog groups.”
