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:

• America Votes Education Fund is a left-of-center advocacy group that promotes voter registration and education. It is the charitable arm of America Votes, a left-of-center lobbying and advocacy coalition that claims to be the “coordination hub of the progressive community.” American Votes Education Fund has received funding from organizations that include Future Forward USA Action, the New Venture Fund, the Marin Community Foundation, the Tides Foundation, and the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation.
• 10,000 Degrees is a nonprofit that promotes “educational equity” by supporting low-income students in higher education. In October 2025, it was reported that 10,000 Degrees received a $42 million donation from MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos, through her philanthropic vehicle Yield Giving. Listed partner foundations of 10,000 Degrees include the Bank of America Foundation, the Marin Community Foundation, and the Peter E. Haas Jr. Family Fund.
• Democracy and Power Innovation Fund (DPI Fund) is a fiscally sponsored project of the Rockefeller Family Fund that works to build a “progressive multiracial democracy” through “multiracial democratic practice” and “organized power.” According to its website, DPI Fund’s partner groups include the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, Voces de la Frontera, the New Georgia Project, Missouri Organizing and Voter Engagement (MOVE) Collaborative, and Color of Change. Listed funders include the NoVo Foundation, the K. Kellogg Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, and the Libra Foundation.
• Trustees for Alaska is a public interest law firm that engages in environmental and climate-related litigation within the state. Its clients have included the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Greenpeace, the League of Conservation Voters, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. In 2024, its funders included the Campion Foundation, the Northlight Foundation, Patagonia, the Tortuga Foundation, and the WestWind Foundation.
• Forward Together Wisconsin is an advocacy group founded by former Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes (D) to promote left-of-center energy policies at the state and national level. In 2024, it hosted a conference sponsored by Invest in Our Future, Citizen Action, the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, the Open Society Foundations, and a number of other groups to “celebrate the successes of the Inflation Reduction Act” passed during the Biden Administration. Forward Together Wisconsin has received funding from the Tides Foundation, the Amalgamated Charitable Foundation, the Windward Fund, and the Muriel Pollia Foundation.