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:

• The Alaska Progressive Donor Table, also known as Progress Alaska, is an activist group that promotes left-of-center environmentalist policies within the state. In 2024, its largest donor was the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a nonprofit organization managed by philanthropic consulting firm Arabella Advisors (or Sunflower Services as of 2026). The Alaska Progressive Donor Table has also received funding from the Committee on States, the Wellness Advocacy Fund, the Inatai Foundation, the Western Futures Fund, and the State Leadership Project.
• The Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) is a conservationist organization that supports national wildlife protection policies and initiatives. In 2024, the WCN received funding for “general support” from donor-advised fund (DAF) providers including Donor Advised Charitable Giving, the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, and the National Philanthropic Trust. That same year, the WCN made grants to the Jane Goodall Institute, the Conservation Fund, the Wildlife Crossing Fund, the Trust for Public Land, and other groups.
• The Walter Scott Family Foundation is a private foundation that coordinates other foundations related to the family of the late Walter Scott, a Nebraska-based billionaire and reportedly a longtime friend of Warren Buffet. Scott had sat on the board of Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy before passing away in 2021, with a reported fortune of roughly $4.2 billion. Family foundations overseen by the Walter Scott Family Foundation include the Suzanne & Walter Scott Foundation, the Amy L. Scott Family Foundation, the Dixon Family Foundation, the Lori & David Scott Foundation, the Parker Family Foundation, and the Singer Foundation.
• The Western Landowners Alliance is a membership organization founded in 2014 to advocate in favor of conservation efforts on privately owned land in the Western United States. The group uses a “stewardship” program that oversees local initiatives focused on land and water conservation, protecting wildlife, and improving relations between wildlife managers and “working lands stewards.” Its listed funding partners include the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the New Land Foundation, the TomKat Ranch Educational Foundation, and the Walton Family Foundation.
• The Solutions Project is a California-based nonprofit that provides funding to groups promoting left-of-center environmentalist policies and community organizing. It previously received a $43 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020, as well as an undisclosed portion of a $140 million grant in 2025 through Yield Giving, the philanthropic initiative of MacKenzie Scott. In 2024, the Solutions Project provided funding to several nonprofits including the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, People United for Sustainable Housing, the Tides Center, and We Count.