InfluenceWatch, a project of the Capital Research Center, announced on Apr. 10 new updates to its database that tracks advocacy groups, foundations, and donors involved in public policy. The website aims to provide transparency about the funding sources, motives, and connections of these organizations.
The latest additions are intended to help news outlets and others access research on topics that may not receive widespread attention from the public. InfluenceWatch compiles information to support reporting on significant but often overlooked issues.
Among the highlighted entries is Pivotal Philanthropies Momentum Foundation—also known as the Rosefinch Foundation—which operates under Melinda French Gates’s philanthropic umbrella. In 2024, it received nearly $1 billion from Bill Gates as part of a $12.5 billion separation agreement following their divorce in 2021.
The update also features Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp and philanthropist. Along with his wife Tegan Acton, he established Wildcard Giving—a network including Sunlight Giving (supporting Silicon Valley families in poverty), Acton Family Giving (a donor-advised fund at Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund), and Solidarity Giving (another donor-advised fund at Fidelity supporting left-leaning initiatives).
Other notable entries include the Biomimicry Institute—a Montana-based group focused on climate change through biomimicry—and Save Bristol Bay, an environmental project opposing Alaska’s Pebble Mine due to concerns for local salmon fisheries. BreakThrough News was also added; it is described as a far-left nonprofit media outlet based in New York City whose leaders have ties to communist organizations.
These updates reflect InfluenceWatch’s ongoing effort to document key players shaping policy debates across sectors.
