InfluenceWatch Friday

InfluenceWatch, a project of Capital Research Center, is a comprehensive and ever-evolving compilation of our research into the numerous advocacy groups, foundations, and donors working to influence the public policy process. The website offers transparency into these influencers’ funding, motives, and connections while providing insight often neglected by other watchdog groups.

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.

CRC is pleased to present some of the most significant additions to InfluenceWatch in the past week:

• New Practice Lab is a project of Washington D.C.-based left-of-center think tank New America. It argues for policies that increase access to welfare services within the United States. The group’s founder and executive director, Tara Dawson McGuinness, previously served as a senior advisor for the Obama Administration and held positions with the Center for American Progress (CAP) and the National Democratic Institute. Between 2020 and 2023, New America received three grants earmarked for New Practice Lab from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF) worth a total of $6.25 million.
• Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) is an advocacy group that argues for mining industry policies that respect “human rights,” “fair labor,” and “cultural heritage.” One of its main publications, “Standard for Responsible Mining,” advocates for mining companies to implement new guidelines regarding payment transparency, resettlement of property due to mining, and environmentalism. As of 2024, IRMA has received donations from companies and left-of-center groups including USAID, Tortuga Foundation, Microsoft, the Ford Foundation, ClimateWorks Foundation, and Open Society Foundations (OSF)
• Global Strategic Litigation Council for Refugee Rights is a legal advocacy group that claims to provide “strategic litigation” to assist refugees with migrating into other countries including the United States. It is a project of Cornell University’s Law School as well as The New School’s Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility. As of 2024, the Council’s “thematic priorities” include “legal status & lawful stay,” “detention & due process,” and “climate displacement.”
• Organize Action is a pass-through organization that connects donors to political advocacy projects largely directed towards the Asian American & Pacific Islander community. The group’s president, Tod Hill, previously served in several positions with the left-of-center Tides Foundation, including as senior strategist, vice president of marketing and business development, and director of philanthropic services. Between 2022 and 2023, Organize Action donated to left-of-center groups including Freedom Action Now, the Rising Voices Project managed by Center for Empowered Politics, the Asian American Advocacy Fund, and Movement Voter Project.
• No Boundaries Coalition is a community advocacy group that provides social services within Baltimore neighborhoods, including youth programs, promoting healthy food, and improving relations with local police. The Coalition works with several local groups to manage its community projects including Truth to Power and the ACLU of Maryland. Between 2016 and 2023, the group received 11 grants totaling $685,000 from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF).